Looking to the future with the International Planned Parenthood Federation – sexual and reproductive health in 2023 and beyond
January 9, 2023Author: Dr Alvaro Bermejo
For many in development, the last two years have been frantic, with organizations working around the clock to ensure people can access the care and support they need despite an ever-changing and increasingly challenging global climate.
For sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), we have seen the devastating consequences of political, social, and economic turmoil on women and girls’ bodies, with existing inequalities exacerbated by continuing humanitarian crises, including the pandemic, war, famine, and environmental destruction.
Alongside many in the sector, we also face reduced funding and commitments from global leaders amid growing threats from a sinister opposition from those actively attacking people’s rights and freedoms.
For the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), which recently celebrated its 70th birthday, the changing landscape of SRHR necessitates radical transformation. 2023 brings fresh energy and a bold new strategy so we can stand up forcefully and fearlessly to support those excluded, locked out, and left behind.
If SRHR experts across the sector are to galvanize support for human rights, invigorate the development space and deliver with impact and purpose for generations to come, there are five steps we must take:
Foster global solidarity
If 2022 taught us anything, it’s that our freedoms must not be taken for granted, hammered home by the reversal of Roe vs Wade and the loss of 50 years of constitutional abortion rights across the U.S.
But tough times create resilient people, and we cannot let the opposition define us. As we work to ensure access to SRHR regardless, building bridges inside and outside our movement is more critical than ever, bolstering the fierce support that already exists for sexual and reproductive health and abortion rights worldwide, fostering solidarity to win hearts and minds, and reinforcing the commitment to human rights for all.
And we are not in this alone. Across the sector, our work intertwines with struggles for climate survival, social justice, and equality. Development organizations can unite through shared values to continue supporting and transforming communities and countries.
Stand up and confront tough challenges to deliver more equitable care
The last two years have been a period of reckoning for many in the sector, highlighting pervasive oppression and injustice within our organizations and the services we deliver.
As global human rights leaders focused on equality, empowerment, and ending discrimination, we must champion social justice principles, addressing the toxic legacies of longstanding racism, sexism, and homophobia in the workplace and beyond, and pushing for cultural change to shift existing imbalances in power.
