 | |
| Abbreviation | IPPF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 24 November 1952 |
| Founded at | Bombay (present-day Mumbai), India |
| Type | International non-governmental organisation |
| Headquarters | London, SE1 United Kingdom |
| Website | www |
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global non-governmental organisation with the broad aims of promoting sexual and reproductive health, and advocating the right of individuals to make their own choices in family planning. It was first formed in 1952 in Bombay (present-day Mumbai), India by Margaret Sanger and Lady Rama Rau at the Third International Conference on Planned Parenthood with support of an expanding population with limited resources. Presently, it consists of more than 149 Member Associations working in more than 189 countries. The IPPF is highly developed and organised into six regions. The organisation is based in London, England.
Purpose
Member
Associations provide non-profit family planning services, sexual health
and abuse prevention training and education. Their goals include giving
clients the information necessary to make informed sexual health
decisions, promoting continuing sexual health, making available high
quality sexual health services, improving the overall health of low
income individuals, and using democratic organisation and the leadership
of volunteers to promote these goals. Over 40% of the organisation's
resources are aimed at serving the needs of young people; as the IPPF
explains, individuals under 25 (and especially females) are at a much
higher risk of getting infected with HIV.
Funding
The
IPPF is financially supported by governments, trusts, and foundations
including the European Commission and the United Nations Population Fund
for special projects. Half of the balance of their funding comes from
government official development assistance programmes. To achieve their
goals as an organisation, the IPPF often collaborates with the World
Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD).
The IPPF is a prominent lobbyist in the European Union:
specifically, for the European Council and the United Nations Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC). It is the only non-governmental
organisation (NGO) that focuses on sexual health and reproductive rights
to qualify for Consultative Status with the Council of Europe. This
allows the IPPF to sit in on the Parliamentary Assembly.
Canadian funding
In
April 2011, it was revealed that IPPF, which had applied for an $18
million grant more than a year previously, had been denied funding by a Conservative Party government due to lobbying efforts by anti-abortion groups.
On 22 September 2011, the Canadian International Development Agency
granted IPPF $6 million over three years. The money is for services yet
to be rendered in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mali, Sudan, and Tanzania. Many anti-abortion activists have been critical of the spending including conservative MP Brad Trost who criticised his own party for supporting the "pro-choice" group.
United States funding
IPPF
advocates for access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health
services including contraception and safe abortion services. On his
first day in office, U.S. President George W. Bush, reinstated the Mexico City Policy. This policy required non-governmental organisations in receipt of U.S. funds to refrain from providing or advocating for safe abortion services. IPPF opted not to sign the Global Gag Rule and lost 20% of its funding during the time the Mexico City Policy was in effect. The policy was rescinded by President Barack Obama in January 2009, but was reinstated by President Donald Trump in January 2017.
Selected affiliates
- Category:International Planned Parenthood Federation affiliates
- IPPF/Western Hemisphere Region (Caribbean and the Americas)
- Family Planning Queensland
- Pro Familia (Germany)
- IPPF European Network
- Mouvement français pour le planning familial (France)
Conferences
The
International Planned Parenthood Federation was established after
earlier efforts to organise the post-World War II family planning and
population control movements. The first conference was organised by the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education in Stockholm, in August 1946.
Two years later another meeting was held, the International Congress on
Population and World Resources in Relation to the Family, in Cheltenham, England in August 1948, predated the establishment of the IPPF.
- Third International Conference on Planned Parenthood, Bombay (present-day Mumbai), India (24–29 November 1952)
- Fourth International Conference on Planned Parenthood, Stockholm, Sweden (17–22 August 1953)
- Fifth International Conference on Planned Parenthood, Tokyo, Japan (24–29 October 1955)
- Sixth International Conference on Planned Parenthood, New Delhi, India (14–21 February 1959)
- Seventh International Conference on Planned Parenthood, Singapore (February 1963)
- Eighth International Conference on Planned Parenthood, Santiago, Chile (April 1967)
- Ninth International Conference on Planned Parenthood, Brighton, England (October 1973)
Projects
The
IPPF is connecting with the poor and vulnerable population to improve
healthcare support. Throughout 2016, the IPPF provided over 45 million
people with services, many of these people are in a humanitarian crisis.
These services include access to sexual and reproductive health
services and training local people to educate others about healthcare.
The IPPF help over 46,000 clinics and facilities by giving health
products and services. One of their main focuses is on improving sexual
health services, so they also give contraceptives to over 14,000
providers, which many are in rural areas. The IPPF is working on helping
countries, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, with HIV epidemics by
providing HIV testing and counseling. In 2016, the IPPF supplied over 40
million HIV services, which 59% was delivered to Africa. Africa has
seen improvements among HIV and sexually transmitted infections testing
and counseling. The IPPF is working alongside the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) to promote preventions and treatments.
In Cairo in 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development
(ICPD) stated that around 55% of couples were family planning in some
way. Due to the family planning efforts, fertility rates are three to
four children per women in 1994 which is much lower than the average of
six to seven children per woman in the 1960s.
