On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The impact of the pandemic would be felt across the world in all sectors, including health, where major disruptions were witnessed. Access to basic health information and services, including sexual reproductive health (SRH) information and services became constrained owing to various government-led protective directives such as restrictions on movement, lockdowns and curfews. The pandemic also put a strain on IPPF Member Associations (MAs) across the world. MAs are IPPF affiliated locally owned health organizations which provide a wide range of sexual reproductive health information and services. The pandemic saw many MAs cut down on their services, with some having to shut down completely or suspend some of their operations in their static clinics, community-based outlets and mobile outreach services. Surveys conducted by the IPPF Africa Region in April and June 2020 to establish the impact of Covid 19 on its MAs established that a total of 1,405 service delivery points (SDPs) were reported to have been closed during round 1 of the survey while 2,161 SDPs were closed during round 2 out of the 13,049 service delivery points reported in 2019. 447 mobile clinics were also shut down. These disruptions affected people’s access to the essential sexual reproductive healthcare services provided in our MA facilities, such as family planning services, sexually transmitted infections services, maternal and child health services, among others. Young people were no longer able to congregate at the youth-friendly centers where they would access SRH information and services. This called for innovation on the part of IPPF in ensuring that the populations, especially the vulnerable and marginalized, continued accessing SRH services. Various partners came on board to mitigate the gap occasioned by COVID-19 by providing various resources for this, including financial resources. These donors included Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Levi Strauss Foundation and Danida. The Danida grant for COVID-19 was disbursed to 45 IPPF MAs in the Africa region and was geared towards filling the gap created by the pandemic by ensuring there was continued SRH service delivery despite the challenges. The interventions facilitated by these grants have yielded commendable results, as more than 100 million SRH services were reported in the Africa Region - mostly women, girls, the vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations have been able to access SRH information and services. The range of services, offered by the MAs in partnership with government agencies and development partners in the private sector, included ante-natal and post-natal care, childbirth services, family planning services, STI treatment and management services, Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) for the young people, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) services. In a series of five case studies, we highlight some innovations and adaptations developed by IPPF Africa Region MAs, that enabled thousands of their target populations to continue accessing quality and affordable sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and services amidst the pandemic. Cameroun: Adopting a Home-based Service Delivery Approach Nigeria: Establishing Digital Health Interventions Zambia: Training Women on Self-Managed Care for Contraception Benin: Bringing Comprehensive Sexuality Education Online Sao Tome: A Clinic on Wheels 

Nairobi, 25 June 2021 - The International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR) held its first ever Youth Forum and Regional Forum from 22 to 25 June 2021. The forums, which took place virtually, were attended by over 120 participants drawn from 39 countries across the region. Participants included representatives from the Youth Action Movement (YAM) - the youth arm of IPPF Africa Region's volunteer body based within the Member Associations (MAs) -, Executive Directors from MAs in the Africa Region, MA Board Presidents, the IPPF Director General, the IPPF Board of Trustees, and the Africa Regional Secretariat staff. The Youth Forum and the Regional Forum, which are the first-ever forums to be held within the Federation in line with the new IPPF governance reforms of November 2019, were aimed at fostering collaboration, sharing experiences, successes, challenges and best practices among IPPFAR’s MAs. In November 2019, IPPF overhauled its governance and resource allocation system to address concerns of its MAs, donors and other stakeholders. The reforms resulted in the adoption of an MA-centric approach aimed at strengthening MAs and making them more efficient, effective, and accountable. In his keynote speech, the IPPF Director General, Dr. Alvaro Bermejo, noted the resilience that MAs had demonstrated in delivering on their core mandate; that of providing quality sexual reproductive health (SRH) services to poor and vulnerable populations in sub-Saharan Africa. “The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic placed tremendous strain on healthcare systems globally, and I commend our Member Associations for their continued efforts to offer much-needed SRH services to those who need them”, said Bermejo. In 2020, MAs in the Africa region provided a total number of 105,429,716 sexual reproductive health services. These included 56,670,238 family planning services, 1,783,523 safe abortion services and 1,939,051 Gender-Based Violence (GBV) services. Women received 89% of the services provided, while young people accounted for 55% of the total SRH services provided. Notably, and despite the challenging COVID-19 circumstances, the Africa Region provided 14,6 million couple-year protection (CYP) - its highest volume ever achieved – which is the  estimated protection provided by contraceptive methods, based upon the volume of all contraceptives sold or distributed free of charge to clients during the year[1]. In light of the rapidly changing political and financial context in which MAs have had to and must continue to deliver lifesaving services, some of the successful adaptive strategies they have implemented included innovations in health service delivery such as home-based service delivery in Cameroon, self-managed contraception care in Zambia, and the adoption of Digital Health Strategies in the form of online Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Benin, or the use of different social media platforms for SRH information and services in Nigeria.  With young people at the heart of IPPF’s work, the IPPF Africa Regional Director Marie-Evelyne Pétrus-Barry emphasized the role of this invaluable group. “In our organization, we have embraced young people as partners, and they are at the core of our global strategy and business plan. We highly value youth involvement across all areas of our work, including in our governance structures. We benefit from their ideas and contributions, with many of our achievements being significantly contributed by them,” she said in a speech delivered on her behalf by Mr. Sam Ntelamo, the Acting Regional Director. Young people attending the forum also lauded IPPFAR for their inclusion in its operations. “There is nothing about us without us, and as young people, IPPFAR continues to exemplify this. Through the MAs, the organization has provided us with safe spaces to discuss our issues and youth-friendly clinics where we comfortably seek sensitive services in a comfortable manner. We are also involved in making programme decisions and implementing them. As young people, we feel appreciated,” said Marian Pleasant Kargbo, YAM President in Sierra Leone. The first-ever IPPFAR Youth and Regional forums presented a great opportunity for all participants to collectively discuss and learn about how to diversify their funding base while strengthening their networks and partnerships across all levels for the benefit of the people we serve.   Media Contacts: - Mahmoud Garga, Lead Specialist - Strategic Communication, Media Relations and Digital Campaigning, IPPF Africa Regional Office (IPPFARO) – email: [email protected] -Phone +254 704 626 920 - Maryanne Wanyama, Communications Officer, IPPFARO, Nairobi (Kenya) - Email: [email protected]  ABOUT IPPF AFRICA REGION (IPPFAR) The International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR) is the leading sexual and reproductive health (SRH) service delivery organization in Africa, and the leading sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) advocacy voice in the region. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, the overarching goal of IPPFAR is to increase access to SRHR services to the most vulnerable youth, men and women in sub-Saharan Africa. Supported by thousands of volunteers, IPPFAR tackles the continent’s growing SRHR challenges through a network of Member Associations (MAs) in 39 countries. We do this by developing our MAs into efficient entities with the capacity to deliver and sustain high-quality, youth-focused and gender-sensitive services. We work with governments, the African Union, Regional Economic Commissions, the Pan-African Parliament, United Nations bodies among others to expand political and financial commitments to sexual and reproductive health and rights in Africa. Learn more about us on our website. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube.   [1] The CYP is calculated by multiplying the quantity of each method distributed to clients by a conversion factor, to yield an estimate of the duration of contraceptive protection provided per unit of that method. The CYP for each method is then summed for all methods to obtain a total CYP figure. CYP conversion factors are based on how a method is used, failure rates, wastage, and how many units of the method are typically needed to provide one year of contraceptive protection for a couple. The calculation takes into account that some methods, like condoms and oral contraceptives, for example, maybe used incorrectly and then discarded, or that IUDs and implants may be removed before their life span is realized. The term "CYP" reflects distribution and is a way to estimate coverage and not actual use or impact. The CYP calculation provides an immediate indication of the volume of program activity.  

The first Social Enterprise Webinar exclusively for Member Associations (MAs) from the Africa Region was organized by IPPF Africa Regional Office (IPPF ARO) on 2 June 2021. It was supported by the Social Enterprise (SE) Hub. Approximately 44 participants, representing 19 MAs from the region attended the 1.5 hour educative and interactive session. Sam Ntelamo, Acting Regional Director, IPPF ARO, in his welcome remarks, mentioned the importance of securing uninterrupted funding/financing to ensure universal access to Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH). He emphasized on the need to address the funding gaps within the region's MA programmes that target the poor and vulnerable, women and girls.   The webinar provided an introduction to the SE Hub and their capability and availability to assist MAs in their journey towards sustainability. The SE Hub provided an overview on the ideal steps needed to embark on establishing or expanding a business to be a viable social enterprise as well as a quick ‘walk-through’ of the e-commerce platform, online resources and business tools available on the SE website. It also provided an opportunity for the participants to hear first-hand from the Executive Director of FPA Sri Lanka, Thushara Agus and Boyd Sitwala, Director Finance and Administration, PPAZ (Zambia). They provided valuable insight on their learnings and experience on having successful social enterprises which provide diversified income sources. At the session, conducted via Zoom, simultaneous interpretations were offered in Portuguese and French and all session content (in English, French and Portuguese) was circulated among the participants, post-session. The individual presentations and the intermittent Q&A sessions and polls carried out were well received with a steady flow of engaging and thought-provoking questions and comments from the participants. For more information about the work of IPPF Africa Region, connect with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. 

Young people are at the very heart of Africa’s development agenda. With over 75% of Africa’s 1.2 billion people being under the age of 35, and 453 million Africans aged 15 - 35 years (African Union), it is evident that Africa’s future significantly lies in its youth. Africa’s youth face however various power dynamics that influence their meaningful participation in decision making and because of this, it is essential to help them build their capacity to meaningfully contribute to policy-making processes at the national, regional, and global levels. The African Youth Charter’s Article 11 (1) outlines African States’ commitments to ensuring youth participation in all aspects of society, including at the Parliamentary level, and to developing and supporting mechanisms for youth participation at all levels of decision-making and participation in matters that affect them.  To this end, the IPPF Africa Regional Office (ARO), in collaboration with the Youth Division of the AU Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST) established the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) for Sexual and Reproductive Health in 2017. The YAB is a model of youth leadership that facilitates youth participation in continental policy interventions and links them to national advocacy for domestication and implementation. It is comprised of 10 members competitively selected from youth networks across the five regions of Africa (East, West, Central, South, and North).   Based on the success of the above model, in April 2021, the IPPF sub-office at the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) facilitated an advocacy skills training and experience sharing sessions on Advocacy, Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) between the YAB and youth networks in IPPF Member Associations (MAs) in Togo, Ghana, Ethiopia, Morocco, Zambia, and Burundi. Training sessions were held virtually from the IPPF side and on-site with facilitation and presentations in the six African countries. The objective of these sessions was to strengthen youth networks' capacities and knowledge to advocate for Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and adolescent SRHR using the existing regional legal and policy frameworks. The sessions also included sharing experiences and highlighting the YAB members' advocacy experiences at the national level, regional and global levels, and the use of digital platforms to advocate for SRHR. This activity attracted more than 40 youth representatives from different countries, recording over 200 participants in all six sessions. The training enabled participants to learn about the domestication of CSE and SRHR related continental policies and initiatives, including the roadmap on harnessing the demographic dividend, identify gaps, and provide recommendations for the effective domestication of these policies. The training also provided an opportunity to highlight youth initiatives in Africa that have used technological and innovative solutions to promote SRHR and Sexuality Education, for example, the Info AdoJeunes App developed by the Association Togolaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial (ATBEF), IPPF MA in Togo. The sessions provided useful insights from specific countries for enhancing active and meaningful participation in SRHR policymaking and future opportunities for replicating these models at the national level. The huge youthful population in Africa means that they hold significant power to influence and to create a positive impact in the ‘’Africa we Want’’. Youth advocates’ call at the end of the training sessions included the provision of more opportunities, learning programs to build and contribute to the development of the youth advocates on SRHR, the widening of partnerships with international organizations, the private sector, and other stakeholders to adopt a common Advocacy approach on SRHR, and the creation of a sustainable platform of exchange to reinforce the youth advocacy work at the national and regional levels.   {1} African Union Commission. African youth charter. Addis Ababa: African Union Commission; 2006. For more information about the work of IPPF Africa Region, connect with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. 

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and its network of Member Organizations/partners constitute the world’s largest provider of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and share a long history of being at the forefront of promoting and defending sexual and reproductive health and rights. Working toward a vision in which “all people are free to make choices about their sexuality and well-being, in a world free of discrimination,” IPPF emphasizes the intersectionality of good health and well-being with poverty, gender, race, ethnicity, addressing these through the provision of integrated, rights- based, and gender-inclusive health services for all.  From 2018 to 2020, funding from Global Affairs Canada (GAC), through the She Decides project, supported IPPF and its local partners in five priority countries – Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Malawi, and Mali – to expand their reach and impact in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), particularly for those who are most marginalized. During the project period, partners provided close to 17 million SRH services at their service delivery points, such as STI screenings, HIV testing, safe abortion, and counseling and access to modern contraceptives such as long-term injectables, surpassing the initial target by 770,000. The vast majority of clients receiving these services (76.5%) are those living below the poverty line, frequently at great distances from existing health services/facilities, who may be internally displaced as a result of humanitarian crises, and are often further marginalized on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.  Funding through GAC/She Decides enabled partners to develop and implement innovative strategies for reaching these populations and the most hard-to-reach regions that had some of the worst SRHR indicators. For example, In Malawi, our Member Association - Family Planning Association of Malawi (FPAM) - expanded its service delivery to rural, under-served communities in four districts (Dedza, Dowa, Mzuzu and Lilongwe) through outreach services, and strengthened provision of a comprehensive package of integrated SRH services through static clinics in 12 districts. Over the course of implementation, FPAM reached approximately 555,186 (over 25 years) women and 659,382 (<25 years) girls with integrated SHR services. A particular focus of the project has been to increase the access of hard-to-reach youth to SRHR information and services, through Youth Life Centers, youth outreach clinics, and intensive involvement of youth in outreach activities and awareness-raising campaigns. In Mali, IPPF Member Association - Association Malienne pour la Promotion et la Protection de la Famille (AMPPF) - used multiple service delivery strategies to expand access to SRH services in some of the most under-served regions of the country, some of them affected by ongoing security risks. It includes the regions of Kayes, Koulikoro, Sikasso, Ségou, Mopti, Gao, and Bamako District. Over the course of the project, AMPPF provided 1,524,825 integrated SRH services to over 556,228 women and girls. AMPPF organized 857 community engagement activities, including outreach at highly attended community festivals, reaching an estimated 41,423 people with positive messages about SRHR. In addition to directly supporting services and community mobilization to reach specific vulnerable populations in each country, She Decides has helped boost partners’ advocacy efforts to champion sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in particular for a more enabling environment in which governments and other key decision-makers are committed to upholding and fulfilling SRHR. Through this project, partners completed 2,005 specific advocacy engagements. Partners contributed to 31 advocacy wins that engender greater respect and protection of SRHR and have long-term implications for the health and wellbeing of women and girls in project countries.  Key high-level advocacy initiatives included: incorporation of SRHR in municipal development plans in project regions (Colombia); approval of the National Plan to Reduce Teen Pregnancy (Dominican Republic); increasing contraceptive security and transparency around SRH financing (Guatemala); advancing abortion law reform (Malawi); and advocating for the integration of SRH into the COVID-19 response (Mali). Underpinning these interventions was a deliberate effort to build partners’ overall sustainability through data and financial systems strengthening and sustainability efforts to improve their resilience to future shocks, whether from a sudden loss of donor funding or a crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic, which erupted in the last quarter of the project, tested this capacity as partners pivoted quickly to provide continuity of services and to advocate for the inclusion of SRHR as part of the emergency response.

Wednesday, 7 April 2021. Today, IPPF Africa Region joins the rest of the world in celebrating the World Health Day, under the theme: ‘Building a fairer, healthier world’. IPPF Africa Region is cognizant of the various inequalities that exist in society that affect our general well-being, especially those pertaining to sexual and reproductive health (SRH). These inequalities include people’s ability to access health facilities, the cost of these services and the quality of healthcare they receive, among others. These inequalities become more pronounced during crisis times, such as those we are experiencing since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Populations that have been and continue to be hardest hit by the pandemic are those from low income, vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds. On a regular basis, these populations face great challenges earning a decent income, which in turn affects their access to affordable, quality healthcare. Their struggles become exacerbated during crisis times. Women and girls, who already face a myriad of pre-existing gender inequalities have been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. These are the populations that IPPF Africa Region, through its 37 Member Associations strives to reach with affordable and quality sexual reproductive health services. This, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5 which pertain to health and well-being, and gender equality, respectively. We are also driven by the tenets of Universal Health Care (UHC) that seek to ensure that individuals receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. Our work is centered around investing in functional health systems and practices in the countries where we work. To achieve our goals, we work with various partners, key among them Ministries of Health, Education, Youth, Gender and Culture, Parliamentarians, the African Union (AU), religious and traditional leaders, Civil Society Organizations and other entities in the formulation of respective policies and guidelines that address inequalities in sexual and reproductive health. Through their static clinics and mobile outreach services, our Member Associations (MAs) offer affordable and quality SRH services, ensuring they reach the most vulnerable populations. Despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19, our MAs have made every effort to ensure the continued provision of essential SRH services to the populations they serve. In doing so, our MAs have had to be innovative, adapting to new strategies that accommodated the restrictions imposed by governments in a bid to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Some of the new strategies they adapted included conducting online trainings and offering Digital Health Interventions. In Benin for example, our MA completed 4,930 online Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) sessions with young people. In Zambia, the MA undertook a self-managed care model of contraceptive provision, where they trained women on both oral and injectable contraceptives. As a result of this, 1,535 women began using the DMPA-SC (Sayana Press) injectable, and were given two doses of the contraceptives, which they would self-inject at home. A further 1,138 women chose the oral contraceptives and were given six-month supplies of the same. Our MAs also worked with government bodies to lobby for changes in policy, guidelines and protocol development to create an enabling environment for the delivery of SRH services during the pandemic. Six MAs (Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Niger and Chad) reported the inclusion of SRH in the list of essential services provided during the pandemic. On this World Health Day, we reiterate our commitment to ensuring that all people in sub-Saharan Africa are reached with affordable, quality SRH information and services. We endeavor to reduce and eliminate all inequalities in sexual reproductive health. For more information about the work of IPPF Africa Region, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.