Media center

6 August 2025 - The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has learned that over $9.7 million worth of US-funded contraceptives are now set to be incinerated in France. Seventy-seven percent of these essential supplies were earmarked for five countries in the Africa Region - including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Mali — many of which are already facing severe humanitarian crises. The incineration of these contraceptives will deny more than 1.4 million women and girls access to life-saving care. Rather than reaching the communities who need them most, these essential medical supplies - many of which don’t expire until 2027 to 2029 - are being needlessly and egregiously destroyed.IPPF Member Associations in the affected countries were due to receive a share of these contraceptive stocks. Instead, they are now facing a sharp decline in supply following the decision to incinerate them. More than 40% of the total value of the contraceptive stockpiled in Brussels was allocated for shipment to Tanzania alone. Dr Bakari Omary, Project Coordinator at UMATI, IPPF’s Member Association in Tanzania, said:  “We are facing a major challenge. The impact of the USAID funding cuts has already significantly affected the provision of sexual and reproductive health services in Tanzania - leading to a shortage of contraceptive commodities, especially implants. This shortage has directly impacted clients' choices regarding family planning uptake.”This development adds a new layer of outrage to what is already a cruel political decision. These contraceptives were already manufactured, packaged, and ready for distribution. IPPF offered to take them for redistribution at no cost to the US taxpayer, but this offer was declined. The actions of the U.S. administration make it clear that politics trump economics, given the additional costs necessary for transportation, storage, and incineration of these products. “This decision to destroy ready-to-use commodities is appalling and extremely wasteful. These life-saving medical supplies were destined to countries where access to reproductive care is already limited, and in some cases, part of a broader humanitarian response, such as in the DRC. The choice to incinerate them is unjustifiable and undermines efforts to protect the health and rights of women and girls,” said Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, Africa Regional Director of IPPF.IPPF's local partners in Africa will now face increased challenges to deliver essential and life-saving care. According to RHSC, the loss of these supplies is projected to result in 362,000 unintended pregnancies and 110,000 unsafe abortions:  Tanzania: 1,031,400 injectable contraceptives and 365,100 implants will not be distributed. These products represent over 50% of USAID annual support to Tanzania's health system and a terrifying 28% of the total annual need of the country.Mali: 1,100,880 oral contraceptives and 95,800 implants will be denied, 24% of Mali’s annual need.Zambia: 48,400 implants and 295,000 injectable contraceptives will be denied to women.Kenya: 108,000 women will not have access to contraceptive implants, 13.5% of its annual need. Nelly Munyasia, Executive Director for the Reproductive Health Network in Kenya (IPPF Member Association): “In Kenya, the effects of US funding disruptions are already being felt. The funding freeze has caused stockouts of contraceptives, leaving facilities with less than five months' supply instead of the required 15 months; reduced capacity building for health workers; disrupted digital logistics and health information systems, and caused a 46% funding gap in Kenya’s national family planning program. These systemic setbacks come at a time when unmet need for contraception remains high. Nearly 1 in 5 girls aged 15–19 is already pregnant or has given birth. Unsafe abortions remain among the five leading causes of maternal deaths in Kenya.” Sarah Durocher, President of Le Planning familial (IPPF’s French Member Association): “We call on the French government to take responsibility and act urgently to prevent the destruction of USAID-funded contraceptives. It is unacceptable that France, a country that champions feminist diplomacy, has remained silent while others, like Belgium, have stepped in to engage with the US government. In the face of this injustice, solidarity with the people who were counting on these life-saving supplies is not optional: it is a moral imperative.”“We will not stay silent while essential care is destroyed by ideology”, continued Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry.Notes: IPPF’s local partners in the countries affected include Reproductive Health Network Kenya, Chama cha Uzazi na Malezi Bora Tanzania, Association Malienne pour la Protection et la Promotion de la Famille, Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia, Association Burkinabé pour le Bien-Etre Familial and the Association pour le Bien-Etre Familial/Naissances Désirables.For more information or to interview one of our staff, please contact media@ippf.org or +66628683089. About the International Planned Parenthood Federation  IPPF is a global healthcare provider and a leading advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for all. Led by a courageous and determined group of women, IPPF was founded in 1952 at the Third International Planned Parenthood Conference. Today, we are a movement of 158 Member Associations and Collaborative Partners with a presence in over 153 countries.  Our work is wide-ranging, and includes services for sexual health and well-being, contraception, abortion care, sexually transmitted infections and reproductive tract infections, HIV, obstetrics and gynecology, fertility support, sexual and gender-based violence, comprehensive sex education, and responding to humanitarian crises. We pride ourselves on being local through our members and global through our network. At the heart of our mission is the provision of – and advocacy in support of – integrated healthcare to anyone who needs it regardless of race, gender, sex, income, and, crucially, no matter how remote. 

25 July 2024 – The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) laments the missed opportunity by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to ensure that the human rights of sex workers are respected, protected and fulfilled by all European Member States, in accordance with the European Convention of Human Rights.  The ruling comes after 261 sex workers, many of them migrants and/or gender minorities, filed a complaint to the ECHR in December 2019 to challenge the French Prostitution Law 2016, upheld by the French Constitutional Court earlier in 2019, which criminalizes the clients of sex workers and led to human rights violations of the sex workers.   IPPF and its Member Association in France, Le Planning Familial, were among the numerous communities, health, human rights and feminist organizations that supported the sex workers’ application to the ECHR, noting the extreme deterioration in the living and working conditions of sex workers since the criminalization of clients came into force.  We are disappointed that the ECHR has chosen to neglect its duty to ensure the protection of human rights of all people, without discrimination. In doing so, the leading human rights norms and standards on sex workers rights remain in the recommendations of the major UN agencies including the World Health Organization, UNAIDS and the UNDP, as well as by major international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA) World, Human Rights Watch, and Transgender Europe, as well as IPPF.  The court’s decision was an opportunity for the European region to establish a precedent in human rights jurisprudence that reaffirms what sex workers themselves have demanded for decades: that sex workers are entitled to the respect, protection and fulfillment of their human rights, free from discrimination, including the right to privacy and autonomy, the right to be free from violence and discrimination, and the rights to physical integrity and life.  Micah Grzywnowicz, Regional Director of the IPPF European Network, said:  “Rather than seizing a critical opportunity to protect human rights, we are disappointed that the European Court of Human Rights has instead deferred the issue to legislatures, despite recognition that the Swedish Model infringes on sex workers rights. Rather than ensuring the human rights of sex workers in Europe are guaranteed by States, their human rights are now dependent on their geographic location and the country in which they live.  Strong evidence demonstrates that criminalization laws have negative consequences for sex workers and their families, and lead to violations of their human rights. We are disappointed that the voices, human rights, and autonomy of sex workers have been deferred by a Court established exactly for the purpose of guaranteeing the human rights of all people, without discrimination.”  In 2022, IPPF adopted a Sex Work Policy which focuses on evidence-based policies which best respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of sex workers. Informed by the lived experiences of sex workers globally, our policy strongly supports decriminalization, together with social policies that address structural inequalities that manifest in all areas of society including sex work. Notably, the policy notes that “widespread criminalization, stigma and discrimination not only violate their human rights to live free from violence and discrimination, the right to health, and sexual and reproductive rights, but also limit sex workers’ capacity to self-organize, access funding for service provision and advocacy, and meaningfully engage with civil society organizations (including unions) and policymakers.”   It is essential that we stand with sex workers to support their continued advocacy to be free from discrimination and exercise their human rights. IPPF stands in solidarity with all sex workers around the world and calls on all governments to take immediate steps to guarantee sex workers’ human rights.  For media inquiries please contact media@ippf.org  About the International Planned Parenthood Federation  The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global healthcare provider and a leading advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for all. We are a movement of 150 Member Associations and Collaborative Partners with a presence in over 146 countries.  Building on a proud history of 70 years of achievement, we commit to lead a locally owned, globally connected civil society movement that provides and enables services and champions sexual and reproductive health and rights for all, especially the under-served.  We advocate for a world where people are provided with the information they need to make informed decisions about their sexual health and bodies. We stand up and fight for sexual and reproductive rights, and against those who seek to deny people their human right to bodily autonomy and freedom. We deliver care that is rooted in rights, respect, and dignity - no matter what. 

U.S congressional leaders have announced they have reached a final spending deal for the fiscal year 2022. This bill results from months of negotiations over funding and policy decisions, including those that impact sexual and reproductive healthcare globally. Despite the inclusion of language to permanently repeal the global gag rule passed in the House and introduced in the Senate, the final legislation fails to permanently end the harmful policy that has destroyed the lives of women and girls around the world for so many years. It also does not remove discriminatory abortion bans like the Hyde, Helms, and Weldon amendments or include much-needed new investments in sexual and reproductive healthcare and international family planning programs. Dr Alvaro Bermejo, Director-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, said: “We are outraged to learn that the long-awaited U.S spending bill failed to permanently repeal the global gag rule, nor did it include other areas of sexual and reproductive health and rights progress on which advocates had built strong momentum. The bill fell foul to anti-choice Congress members whose primary goal is to control the bodies and reproductive rights of women and girls they will never know, whose lives they could never imagine. “Failure to utilize this golden opportunity risks the continuation of the flip-flopping of American policy that has played with the lives of millions across the globe for nearly 40 years. Ultimately the global gag rule destroys long-term access to lifesaving contraception, maternal health and HIV/STI services and forces vulnerable women and girls to carry pregnancies to term or make the agonizing decision to get a potentially deadly unsafe abortion. It also manipulates the ability of international organizations, like IPPF, to use their own funding to provide legal, safe abortion, which unethically denies women care and imposes neo-colonial policies around the world. “While the global gag rule poses serious challenges to sustained engagement with USAID, especially at a time when anti-choice movements continue to attack the rights of people worldwide, IPPF is grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for the current rescission of the policy. We will continue to engage with U.S Government global health assistance programs when possible. We are also thankful to our relentless Member Association, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Despite the challenges, they have worked tirelessly alongside thousands of women’s rights campaigners across the United States and worldwide to advocate for vulnerable women and girls everywhere. The fight for reproductive rights and justice will not end until every person can access high-quality sexual and reproductive healthcare when and where they need it.” Santos Siminone, Executive Director at Associação Moçambicana para Desenvolvimento da Família (AMODEFA), said: “We are deeply saddened by the failure to permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule. For AMODEFA, IPPF’s Member Association in Mozambique, a national provider of sexual and reproductive healthcare in the country since 1989, the impact of the global gag rule meant a $2 million gap in funding - about 60% of our total budget. “The impact was almost instantaneous, forcing the closure of six programs across 12 districts in Mozambique. This denied nearly 390,000 clients access to contraception, STIs, HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis services. Almost every local population was affected, with closures impacting adolescents, youths, women, and marginalized people. “For the people we serve, the permanent repeal of the policy would have meant an end to the violation of human rights. It would have meant dignity and that women’s lives would no longer be at risk. It would have meant an end to fear, pain, tears, and chaos, especially for black and brown women from low-income countries who bear the brunt of restrictive abortion policies.” For media enquiries, please contact Karmen Ivey on kivey@ippf.org or media@ippf.org  

Following the disturbing reports coming out of Ukraine, IPPF has released a media statement on behalf of the Federation and its Member Association in Ukraine.   Despite the fact that sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRHR) needs increase significantly during conflict and humanitarian situations, the significant vulnerabilities of affected populations and displaced people are often overlooked, especially the experiences of women, girls and marginalized populations who are at increased risk of unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and sexual and gender-based violence. IPPF’s Director-General, Dr Alvaro Bermejo, said:   "The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is deeply concerned about the escalation of conflict in Ukraine. We take our responsibility to preserve the enormous gains made in life-saving sexual and reproductive healthcare across the country very seriously, especially for women, girls and marginalised populations, whose vulnerability and experiences are so often overlooked in humanitarian situations.  "For 20 years, IPPF has consistently worked to strengthen and protect the reproductive rights of people in Ukraine, working in the frontline conflict zones of Lugansk and Donetsk since 2014, training medical specialists to provide life-saving reproductive healthcare, psychosocial support and quality care to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. “Our teams are now contingency planning across the region to address not only the needs of those still in Ukraine, but also the millions who are likely to be displaced by the conflict and who will require critical support to continue accessing healthcare. We will work closely with partners and other NGOs to ensure the least possible disruption to services. "IPPF stands in solidarity with the international community and the brave people of Ukraine who for the last eight years have faced terrifying and difficult circumstances that nobody should ever have to suffer through. We stand by IPPF's frontline team, who, despite the dangers, continue to facilitate life-saving healthcare for those who need it most. We will be monitoring the situation closely to ensure the safety of our colleagues across the region.” For European outlets, please contact press@ippfen.org For UK and other international media outlets, please contact Karmen Ivey on kivey@ippf.org or media@ippf.org  

The Guttmacher Institute has today released new data showing the impact of the UK aid cuts on sexual and reproductive health and rights for the fiscal year 2021 - 2022.  The figures show the devastating impact on the lives of women and girls around the world. Together with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the cuts threaten to undo years of progress towards gender equality and increasing access to reproductive choice. When surveyed, major sexual and reproductive health organizations reported they expected to receive at least £218.9 million in the fiscal year (FY) 2021–2022 (from April 2021 to March 2022) for family planning activities in low- and middle-income countries. The resulting cuts to the family planning programs of these major program-implementing organizations are estimated to have totalled £132.4 million in FY 2021–2022. The loss of funding will result in: 9.5 million fewer women and couples receiving contraceptive services  4.3 million more unintended pregnancies 1.8 million more unplanned births 1.4 million more unsafe abortions and 8000 more maternal deaths  The figures also show how much could have been achieved through sustained UK aid spending.  IPPF’s Director-General, Dr Alvaro Bermejo, said:   “The Guttmacher figures are a harrowing, but sadly unsurprising, insight into the catastrophic impact that the UK aid cuts will have on the health and lives of millions of women, girls and marginalized people across the globe, and serve to confirm what sexual and reproductive health charities have been saying since they were first made aware of the cuts. “We must also remember that the Guttmacher numbers are just a snapshot of the 2021 – 2022 fiscal year, and the effects of the Government’s sudden and short-sighted termination of support will stretch far beyond that, piling unthinkable pressure on people already dealing with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, and leading to millions of unintended pregnancies and thousands of preventable deaths. “With the upcoming spending review in November, we ask the UK Government to reconsider the cuts, which IPPF still believe to be outside of the boundaries of the law, and reinstate the 0.7% commitment, so that it can finally deliver on its promises to the millions of people it chose to abandon.” IPPF also signed on to a joint letter from the UK SRHR Network. For media inquiries please contact media@ippf.org