Our weekly round-up brings you external communications news and content.
International News
Why is the UK slashing its international aid budget? – Guardian Today in Focus podcast (13.05.21)
Boris Johnson says he has to cut international aid because of Covid, but is that really what it’s all about? The impact around the world can barely be overestimated. It means the closure of whole programmes and will affect the lives of thousands of people living in poverty. Anushka hears from Alvaro Bermejo, IPPF’s director-general, Luka Nkhoma, the WISH programme director for the Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia and Yves Sassenrath, UNFPA representative in Haiti.
Alvaro Bermejo, IPPF’s director-general, said: “They’re doing this and explaining it as an inevitable consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Well let’s be clear that there is nothing inevitable in this decision, in fact, no other government has decided to slash aid in this way and to make the poorest women and girls around the world going through some of their darkest moment pay the price of these cuts.” Tweet this now
Tracking the UK’s controversial aid cuts – Devex (13.05.21)
March 19 — International Planned Parenthood Federation Director General Dr. Alvaro Bermejo tells Devex cuts to the orgnization’s services could mean 7.5 million additional unintended pregnancies, 2.7 million unsafe abortions, and 22,000 maternal deaths worldwide over the next year. Tweet this now
From Women’s Health to Yemen Crisis: 6 Key Issues Hit by UK Aid Cuts – Global Citizen (07.05.21)
In addition to the cuts to UNFPA, the International Planned Parenthood Federation has said it will lose about £72 million in UK aid this year. It describes this as a “significant” loss that will mean reductions to the UK’s flagship Women’s Integrated Sexual Health programme and the closure of services in countries including Lebanon, Mozambique, Nepal, and Uganda in the next 90 days. More countries will see services stopped if additional funding is not found, the organisation. Tweet this now
Government Cuts to Reproductive Health Funding Fit into an Anti-Rights Agenda – The Byline Times (06.05.21)
Reproductive and sexual rights charity the IPPF said the “brutal cuts are a tragic blow for the world’s poorest and most marginalised women and girls.” Tweet this now
News from the Regions
100 days since Poland banned abortion, Polish women are fighting back – EuroNews (12.05.21)
Since January 27, the only exceptions to the total ban on abortion are in cases of rape or incest or when the mother’s health is in danger. Doctors who carry out abortions face up to 3 years in prison. “It’s been devastating for women because it is clearly an oppressive system that has developed against their health and their lives,” said Irene Donadio, senior lead of strategy and partnership at the International Planned Parenthood Federation-European Network (IPPF-EN). But she also noted the “amazing resistance and resilience among women in Poland with activists that have been engaged immediately in mobilising solidarity and raising funds to support women in situations of hardship.” Tweet this now
Engage duty bearers through advocacy – PPAG, IPPF to youth – The Ghana Guardian (08.05.21)
The Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), a non-governmental organisation in collaboration with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), has urged the youth in the country to use advocacy to engage duty bearers and demand accountability for their rights.
Speaking at a day’s training session for some selected youth in the country in Accra, the Executive Director of PPAG, Abena Adubea Amoah said, “engaging duty bearers through advocacy would help the youth in the country to demand better accountability”. Tweet this now
If you would like to add news to the round-up or have any feedback, please do get in touch with Karmen Ivey at media@ippf.org.
Spotlight IPPF
Dr Ratni: a day in the life of an emergency response volunteer – IPPF Stories
Dr Ratni Palullungan is a fearless doctor, mother, and selfless volunteer providing sexual and reproductive healthcare to marginalized groups in fragile humanitarian settings. Currently, she is deployed with the Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association’s (IPPA/PKBI) response team. Tweet this now
IPPF on Social Media
Twitter: Dr Ratni: a day in the life of an emergency response volunteer
Facebook: Why is the UK slashing its international aid budget? A podcast
Instagram: The UK bans forced ‘conversion therapy’
IPPF Culture Spot
Book – This week, we’ve selected Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. Teeming with life and crackling with energy — a love song to modern Britain and black womanhood, Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives and struggles of twelve very different characters. Mostly women, black and British, they tell the stories of their families, friends and lovers, across the country and through the years.
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Warm regards, the London Communications Team