Stories

Humanitarian crises Largely brought on by sudden onset and slow-onset natural disasters, humanitarian crises are increasingly prevalent in the Pacific. During responses to humanitarian crises in the Pacific, sexual and reproductive healthcare is often under-prioritised and under-resourced. As a result, women and girls of reproductive age and vulnerable and marginalized groups are disproportionately affected and facing increased health and psychosocial risks. Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Fragile environments Low topography, rising sea levels and insufficient fresh water supply leaves Kiribati’s population vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis. The fragility of the outer islands of Kiribati during natural disasters is compounded by their geographic isolation, which makes transportation and communication during post-disaster relief and response both expensive and difficult. Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Coastal exposure The majority of the population of 115,000 people live a subsistence lifestyle. Communities are geographically dispersed across 33 atolls covering 3.5 million square kilometres in the central Pacific Ocean. The population and infrastructure within Kiribati are largely concentrated on the coast, where communities face increased exposure to climate threats and natural hazards such as tsunamis, earthquakes, king tides, flooding, droughts, and occasionally cyclones. Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Takaria, leader and youth organizer in the Tebikenikua community Takaria will be running to be a Member of Parliament in Kiribati in 2020. “I assist the youth with family problems and family planning and disasters. In our community there are unforeseen pregnancies, domestic violence, and disasters such as high tide waters and strong winds, which can also affect this community. The Kiribati Family Health Association (KFHA) is the key point for us with outreach and training so people in this community know how to prevent and treat STIs, etc. They all know where the KFHA clinic is and that they can get counselling or services there. The problem now is you can’t survive with the sea rise levels. I want all members of my community to live better and have better health and peace.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Susan*, sex worker Susan receives care at the Kiribati Family Health Association (KFHA) including a pap smear. Susan*, 28, is a sex worker from the town of Betio on the main island of Kiribati. Originally from an outlying island, she moved into Tarawa to seek work. Unable to find employment that would fulfill her dream of sending money back to her two children, she was introduced to sex work. With other sex workers, she regularly travels out to the large cargo ships from China, Philippines and Korea anchored off the coast of Kiribati. Despite her new income, she still can’t speak with her children or see them due to the restrictive costs involved of travel between islands.*pseudonym Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Theta, 25-year-old mother and youth volunteer Theta is part of the Humanitarian Youth Club set up by the Kiribati Family Health Association in her village. “We face a lot of situations here, one of them is disasters and the second is unemployment and school drop out with our youth. I have helped the Humanitarian Youth Club to apply for financial grants from the Australian High Commission [for $1,000] I am recognized as the smartest member who can write in English. We have learned how to design a disaster plan for the community and share our ideas on sexual and reproductive issues such as STIs. We discuss what we can do for the next strong tide, where we can gather as a community and what we can do if even the maneabe (town hall) floods? If the tide and wind is too strong, we need to go to another safer place, such as another community’s town hall. For now, I want to enjoy the chance to be in our own beloved country. I won’t move until the majority have already left. I want my daughter to grow up in the same place I grew up in.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Beitau, youth volunteer Beitau is the Chairperson of the Humanitarian Youth Club. “I was lucky to be selected as Chairperson as the Humanitarian Youth Club. I feel like I get more respect from the community now I am in this position. I would love advanced training on leadership now, to further assist the club. As I am the Chairperson of the HYC, my main target is to help people during a disaster. I have attended training through KFHA. What I took from this is that when a disaster strikes, we have to do our best for pregnant women, small children and people with disabilities. They more vulnerable and less able to survive a disaster.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Abe, youth officer Abe was involved with KFHA since 2012. “I was inspired by what they KFHA was doing and the issues they were addressing that affects youth. I was surprised to see how many young people come to the clinic as they are affected by STIs, HIV and teenage pregnancy. The lack of education here is a big problem, most people here have a lot of children and yet can’t afford to send them to school. Sexual and reproductive health is our responsibility and we must talk about it with young people. Climate change affects many countries, but Kiribati is small and low lying. I used to go visit a very nice beach with a lot of nice trees and plants. Now, the trees are gone, and the waves have taken over, and the houses have disappeared so no one can build there. In my role as a youth worker and activist, I tell people to fight climate change: to grow more mangroves, to clean up the beach, because we love our Kiribati.”©IPPF/Hannah Maule-Ffinch/Kiribati Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email

2010 Haiti PROFAMIL, the IPPF Member Association in Haiti, deployed teams to help communities affected by the earthquake that struck in January 2010.During crises we work closely with our clinics on the ground to deliver life-saving care to people in need. Our mobile clinics provide on-the-spot healthcare such as STI and HIV diagnosis and treatment, short and long-acting contraception, and emergency obstetric and neonatal care.©IPPF/Toan Tran/Haiti Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email 2011 Bolivia IPPF’s Member Association in Bolivia, CIES, offers the HPV vaccine in schools, health centres, and mobile clinics to ensure widespread access to this lifesaving prevention measure.By 2011, more than 75,000 girls had received vaccinations.©IPPFWHR/Juan Pablo Richter/Bolivia Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email 2012 Palestine A group of young women attend a theatre session as part of PFPPA’s gender based violence work delivered through a mobile healthcare clinic in a Bedouin village.In 2012, 40% of our sexual and reproductive healthcare was delivered to young people.©IPPF/Graeme Robertson/Palestine Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email 2013 Philippines In response to the devastating aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013, IPPF's humanitarian team worked with our Member Association, the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP), supporting relief efforts to provide lifesaving healthcare to affected communities.©IPPF/Suzanne Lee/Philippines Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email 2014 Uganda In 2014, IPPF distributed 187,257,756 condoms globally. Condoms are the only form of contraception that can protect you from HIV and STIs and are 87-98% effective for an external (male) condom and 79-95% effective for an internal (female) condom.Using a condom alongside another form of contraception (for example an IUD or the Pill) is the best way to protect against unintended pregnancy.©IPPFTommy Trenchard/Uganda Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email 2015 Nepal On Saturday 25 April 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook Nepal, causing massive devastation and loss of life. It was the worst natural disaster to strike the country for 80 years.The Family Planning Association of Nepal set up a mobile healthcare clinic in Gagarfedi; one of the worse affected villages in the Kathmandu district north of the city delivering vital healthcare to the local community.©IPPF/Amelia Andrews/Nepal Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email 2016 Nigeria IPPF has played a major role in the introduction – and accessibility – of Sayana Press; a three-month, progestin-only injectable contraceptive favoured for its convenience in administration and portability.Emiade Kudirat is a Community Health Extension Worker with the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN). Specializing in Sayana Press, she says:"I go from house-to-house to provide health education and introduce family planning services. I do counselling and provision of these services too. The PPFN model can really reduce the mortality rate of women in the community. We're taking the clinic to women at the market, to their homes and to their work."©IPPF/George Osodi/Nigeria Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email 2017 Mozambique Albertina, now retired, worked with HIV patients for Amodefa for 38 years and was their longest serving nurse. “I like helping people, that’s why I do this job.”Albertina headed up Amodefa’s home care programme which provides medical, nutritional and emotional support to HIV positive patients living in the poorest suburbs of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.©IPPF/Grant Lee Neuenburg/Mozambique Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email 2018 Ireland 2018 brought a legislative victory to repeal the 8th amendment; on 25 May people voted for a more caring and compassionate Ireland, where women can access abortion care in their own country.Áine, activist with IFPA says, “It was exciting to be part of a big campaign. Young people are often seen as politically apathetic, but it’s important my generation are involved in the reproductive rights movement.For me abortion is about motherhood at the end of the day. It’s about allowing us the right to be the best mothers we can be, if and only when we decide it’s right for us to be."©IPPF/Barry Cronin/Ireland Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email 2019 India Pradipta Kumar, 22, a security guard and Pankanjini Behera, 21, are recently married. The young couple have decided not to have children for a couple of years.They attended a clinic set up by the Family Planning Association of India (FPAI) to help those affected by Cyclone Fani for advice on types of contraception available.©IPPF/Kathleen Prior/India Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email