Search Results
At a Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the end of September, dozens of heads of state and other government leaders described their countries’ progress in advancing women’s reproductive health and rights, reaffirming the Programme of Action that came out of the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo in […]
In countries around the world, sexual violence against women and girls contributes to their higher risk of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. In Nigeria, a youth-led social media campaign is raising awareness of the link between sexual violence and reproductive health and adding a critical new voice to the national debate over reform of the […]
Diverse coalition of 80 groups calls on Obama Administration to allow U.S. foreign assistance for abortion care Washington, DC (September 8, 2014) – In a letter to President Obama, a broad-based coalition of leading domestic and global organizations spanning women’s rights, health, human rights, reproductive justice, young people, the LGBT community, faith, and development are […]
Ipas announces two small grant awards that are funding innovative research in South Africa attempting to better understand the safety and prevalence of women using medical abortion (abortion with pills) outside the formal health system. Women around the world who face barriers to abortion care—such as restrictive laws, abortion-related stigma, and limited financial resources—are increasingly […]
South Africa’s national abortion guidelines say women are entitled to accessible, equitable abortion care at state facilities. But many women aren’t able to get care because fewer than 50 percent of the public-health facilities licensed to provide abortion care are actually providing services. Against this backdrop, Ipas began working with South Africa’s National Department of […]
Aiming to inform and inspire organizations and advocates around the world, Mexican organization Las Libres has produced a short documentary film detailing its successful “accompaniment model” that pairs women seeking medical abortion with women committed to accompanying others on a volunteer basis throughout the process of a safe abortion.
Yes, there is strong evidence that trained midlevel providers such as nurses, midwives and clinical officers can provide first-trimester medical abortion as safely and effectively as physicians. Backed by this evidence, health-care system managers and policymakers increasingly support expanding the provider base to include non-physician providers as a way to increase women’s access to safe […]
At a two-day conference held in Johannesburg last month, Ipas global leaders and staff met with key government officials and civil-society partners to explore how best to continue working collaboratively toward a future for sustainable comprehensive abortion care services and to celebrate Ipas’s nearly two decades’ work in South Africa. Calling the conference “timely and […]
At a two-day conference held in Johannesburg last month, Ipas global leaders and staff met with key government officials and civil-society partners to explore how best to continue working collaboratively toward a future for sustainable comprehensive abortion care services and to celebrate Ipas’s nearly two decades’ work in South Africa. Calling the conference “timely and […]
The U.S. House Appropriations Committee today approved a measure that would enable Peace Corps volunteers to have what other federal employees and members of the military have: health coverage that covers abortion in cases of rape, incest or threat to life. It was a rare vote to extend abortion coverage in a chamber led by […]
The government of India has launched two national initiatives aimed at saving women’s lives by making comprehensive abortion care accessible to more women. Even though India enacted a liberal abortion law more than 40 years ago, an estimated two-thirds of abortions in India are unsafe and a woman dies from complications of unsafe abortion every […]
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) has approved a major four-year grant to Ipas, establishing itself as Ipas’s largest core donor. “Sida has a strong commitment to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially in the world’s poorest countries,” said Kerstin Jonsson Cissé, Head of Global Programmes in Sida’s Department for International Organisations […]
New reports from the United Nations and other organizations suggest a pronounced decline in maternal mortality worldwide and indicate that global efforts to reduce deaths of women from unsafe abortion are beginning to work. One of the new reports, backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN agencies, is Trends in Maternal Mortality: […]
Once a country with one of the world’s most restrictive abortion laws, Nepal today offers safe and legal abortion services in each of its 75 districts. The expansion of safe abortion care is one of several strategies that helped Nepal nearly halve its maternal mortality ratio between 2000 and 2010. A key factor in this […]
Repeal criminal abortion laws, ensure universal access to services WASHINGTON—Political, health and human rights leaders from more than 25 countries issued a declaration today, “The Airlie Declaration for Safe Legal Abortion,” calling for the repeal of all criminal abortion laws and universal access to safe legal abortion. The Declaration was released at a press briefing following […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a new, online document to assist health professionals in the provision of evidence-based safe abortion care. The Clinical Practice Handbook for Safe Abortion is a companion to the 2012 edition of WHO’s Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance for Health Systems. “The handbook will be useful to a […]
Most people associate the public health model called harm reduction with the innovative clean needle exchange programs started in the 1980s to curb HIV infection among intravenous drug users. Since then, however, harm reduction has become an evidence-based approach to reducing public health risks—including those from unsafe abortion. “In broad terms, a harm reduction approach […]
When the staff of the Women’s Promotion Center (WPC) in Tanzania’s rural Kigoma Region realized women were suffering and dying unnecessarily from unsafe abortion—and that misoprostol could provide an option for safe abortion if only it was available—they got angry. So they started a pharmacy to bring misoprostol to local communities to save women’s lives. […]
In a ruling that marks a significant step forward for women’s rights in the region, Bolivia’s highest court, the Plurinational Constitutional Court, issued a decision ending the requirement for judicial authorization for women seeking legal abortion in Bolivia. “This court ruling represents an important step for Bolivia,” said Ipas Bolivia Interim Director Malena Morales. “It […]