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20 March 2026 - The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) strongly condemns the UK Government’s latest ODA budget allocations, which entrench deep cuts to UK aid and mark a profound and damaging retreat from its commitment to women and girls, with immediate and life-threatening consequences for millions.UK ODA will fall to £6.8 billion in 2026/27 and £6.2 billion in 2027/28, with only a partial recovery to £6.9 billion in 2028/29, locking in years of reduced support. This is not a reprioritisation of aid, it is the continuation of a political choice by successive UK governments to cut lifesaving support as global crises intensify, prioritising military spending over the health and rights of civilians, a decision that directly endangers the lives of women, children, and health workers.Among the programmes affected is the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health 2 (WISH2) programme, the UK’s flagship initiative delivering contraception and sexual and reproductive health services across 13 African countries, with IPPF delivering in seven of those countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. Despite being described as “relatively protected” according to the government’s own Equality Impact Assessment (EIA), IPPF’s delivery will receive a 22% funding cut.These reductions will force a rollback of frontline services, severely disrupting access to lifesaving care for millions of women and girls. The consequences are stark: fewer clinics, fewer trained providers, and reduced access to contraception and essential life-saving health services. Since 2024, IPPF’s implementation of WISH2 has averted over 567,000 unintended pregnancies, 157,000 unsafe abortions, and more than 1,000 maternal deaths. However, a 22% funding cut now threatens to reverse this progress, projected to lead to over 442,000 unintended pregnancies, 122,000 unsafe abortions, and 770 maternal deaths due to reductions in IPPF’s programming — outcomes that would otherwise have been prevented.This decision will also have significant consequences for the UK’s relationships with partner governments across Africa. The programme has been a cornerstone of long-standing, trusted partnerships in fragile and conflict-affected settings, supporting national priorities and strengthening public systems. Abrupt funding reductions risk undermining that trust, disrupting jointly planned programmes, and weakening the UK’s credibility as a reliable and predictable partner.At a time when global aid is contracting and opposition to sexual and reproductive health and rights is growing, this decision sends a dangerous signal about the future of UK leadership on women’s health and rights.Maria Antonieta Alcalde, IPPF Director General, said:“Yesterday’s confirmation of deep cuts to UK aid through the government’s budget allocations will have devastating and immediate consequences. We know what these decisions mean in practice. They mean more women dying in childbirth, more unsafe abortions, and millions denied access to the most basic, lifesaving care.These decisions reflect a deliberate and sustained choice, in the UK and globally, to scale back aid while increasing military spending, placing the communities we serve and our healthcare workers directly in harm’s way. At the same time, we are seeing a growing and coordinated opposition to sexual and reproductive health and rights, exploiting the gaps left behind as funding is withdrawn.”We call on the UK Government to urgently reconsider these decisions, restore its commitment to women and girls, in all their diversity, and ensure that programmes like WISH2 can continue delivering the care that millions depend on. The consequences of inaction will be measured in lives lost.ENDSAbout WISH:The Women’s Integrated Sexual Health 2 (WISH2) programme is funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and delivered through two consortia led by IPPF and MSI, alongside partners. The WISH2 Lot 2 Consortium is led by International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), with Ipas, International Rescue Committee (IRC), John Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (JHUCCP), and Options.The programme operates across 13 countries in Africa, with IPPF delivering in seven, and has been critical in expanding access to contraception, supporting community-based healthcare providers, and strengthening health systems in some of the most underserved and fragile settings.The sudden reduction in funding now puts this progress at risk, threatening clinic closures, disrupting contraceptive supply chains, and limiting outreach to the most marginalised communities.IPPF’s Impact:WISH2 builds on the success of the original WISH programme (2018–2024), which reached an estimated 16.9 million women and adolescent girls with modern methods of contraception across Africa and Asia.Since launching in 2024, IPPF’s delivery under WISH2 has achieved:1.8 million family planning visits, including 15% for young people under 201.2 million couple-years of protection567,000 unintended pregnancies averted157,000 unsafe abortions averted1,000 maternal deaths averted11,000 child deaths avertedIPPF’s partners have also generated £39.8 million in healthcare cost savings across seven countries, while driving policy reform and strengthening national health systems.About IPPF: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 100+ locally led Member Associations with a presence in 150+ 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 gynaecology, 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.  

23 January 2026 - The International Planned Parenthood FederationIPPF condemns the US government’s announcement of a sweeping expansion of the Global Gag Rule (GGR), also known as the Mexico City Policy. Trump's expansion, announced today continues on a path of instrumentalising those most marginalised. It marks increasing attempts to capture global health and human rights with a deeply regressive act of imperialism masquerading as foreign policy.  The expanded policy is no longer limited to global health funding but  weaponizes all non-military U.S. foreign assistance. This now includes diversity, equity and inclusion policies, and gender identity rights, recast as threats and condemned as “radical gender ideologies that prey on our children” by JD Vance at today’s March for Life, giving fuel to a populist politics that institutionalises fear through a culture of misinformation that is yet again entrenched in official policy by the Trump administration. The Trump Administration attempts to block foreign assistance funding to U.S. organizations, other governments, and multilateral institutions who engage in human rights.  This is yet another attack on national sovereignty and colonial intervention through the curtailing of sexual and reproductive rights.This is a clear and deliberate strategy to destabilise democracies, undermine human rights, and prioritise the commercial and political interests of a few powerful industries over the health and freedoms of millions. “In an age of Epstein scandals and hocus pocus designed to undermine science and medicine, the Trump Administration has read the room. He knows his obsession with women’s bodies is viewed cynically, so he has utilised the man-made panic funded by the fossil fuel industry to shift the focus of his policy against trans people. The Global Gag rule is hate-bait designed to keep his donors happy and export more division to countries reliant on US aid, in the absence of economic justice.” said Mina Barling, IPPF’s Global Director of External Relations. “We stand in solidarity with women and trans people in all their diversity. We demand debt relief, and we support national sovereignty. We want to see a new global health architecture that is less susceptible to the whims of American politicians.” IPPF remains unwavering. We will continue to defend sexual and reproductive rights and justice for all, including the right to abortion, and gender affirming care. We stand with our partners resisting this continuation of American imperialism. We call on the global community to protect rights in law and practice: repeal regressive laws; decriminalise abortion, and offer care for all. ENDS--Notes: The GGR already prevents foreign groups receiving U.S. global health funding from providing or promoting abortion, even if those programs are paid for with other sources of financing. IPPF has never signed the Global Gag Rule. 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 gynaecology, 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.