“We regret the decision of the Western Hemisphere Regional Office to withdraw from the federation. IPPF has been working in the Americas for more than 70 years and we remain committed to protecting and enhancing the rights of women and girls and providing essential services in the region. We will not delay in that commitment, and we will move to re-establish our presence over the coming months.”
Alvaro Bermejo
On the night of Friday 31 July, IPPF received a letter from the Western Hemisphere Regional Office (WHRO) informing us of their withdrawal from the federation. The letter was co-signed by the Directors and Presidents of 19 out of 24 Member Associations. Two Board members, who come from Member Associations in the Western Hemisphere Region, also handed in their resignation.
The letter, which was completely unexpected, required the IPPF Board and leadership to take immediate action, in seeking to understand, absorb and contain the still unfolding situation.
On 2 August, the IPPF Board Chair, Kate Gilmore, and the Director General, Alvaro Bermejo, issued a response to the letter, addressed directly to the member associations. You can read the original withdrawal letter and the response here: withdrawal letters.
On 4 August, an extraordinary Board meeting was held, in which the IPPF Board resolved to fast-track the re-establishment of a regional office and the recruitment of new MAs in the region.
The resolution expressed shock at the way in which the withdrawal had been handled by the former regional office. In particular, the Board lamented the lack of consultation leading up to the decision
On 5 August, Kate and Alvaro met with the donors and informed them of the events that had unfolded and the future plans as per the board resolution. Although the withdrawal was met with surprise, especially given the success of the reform, the donors remained very supportive and committed to IPPF.
On 6 August, Kate and Alvaro held open dialogues with the IPPF members, who, although shocked, broadly expressed solidarity and commitment to strengthen the Federation. The comments made during these calls has been put up on a special page on the reform website. If you want to leave your own comment you can do so here.
During the week commencing 10 August, a cross-secretariat working group was convened to deliver on two objectives:
- The uncoupling of WHRO from IPPF by 1 September 2020;
- The establishment of a new regional presence, including a regional office in the Americas.
The group has commenced work on aspects relating to brand, intellectual property, contracts and funding liabilities, donor engagement, advocacy structure, MA engagement, among other urgent tasks.
In the course of the week, Kate and Alvaro composed individual letters to all the MAs in the region and are planning to hold bilateral conversations in the coming week.
They also sent a letter to the WHRO office requesting them to cease and desist from using the IPPF brand and informing them of the timelines for the withdrawal.
We will continue to keep you informed of the main development through the MA newsletter. If you require further information please do not hesitate to reach out to the Reform Team, who remain on hand to support our ongoing change process. ippfreform@ippf.org