Policy Plan for Stichting Ipas Europe

Access to safe, legal abortion advances women’s health and is a fundamental human right. Having the autonomy to decide whether and when to become pregnant is a hallmark of reproductive justice. Lack of choice leads to unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion. The costs of treating abortion complications burden impoverished health-care systems and struggling economies. Women who are disabled, poor, young, lack literacy skills, or are otherwise marginalized face the most extreme barriers to realizing their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Recognizing all these factors, the Ipas Impact Network has been unwavering in our commitment to expanding women’s and girls’ access to safe, high-quality abortion and contraception for almost 50 years.

We work on five continents with a comprehensive approach that centers the needs of those who seek abortion care. We aim to build sustainable abortion ecosystems that address all factors impacting a person’s ability to access abortion—from individual health knowledge, to social and community support, to a trained health workforce, to political leadership and supportive laws. To that end, we work with national governments to strengthen health systems and train providers to ensure accessible, high-quality abortion services—including the right and ability to self-manage an abortion with pills. We conduct research with the goal of turning policy into practice. We also partner with local organizations to educate communities on reproductive health and rights, to advocate for legal abortion, and to support local champions for reproductive justice.

As part of our dedication to advancing equity and justice, the Ipas Impact Network is engaged in a years-long journey to shift power within our organization. We are transforming into a global network with dispersed authority, power, and leadership—sharing resources, knowledge, and expertise across the many countries where Ipas works—yet we will remain bound by our common vision and mission. As we are moving to a networked structure that will ensure more decision-making power and accountability in the countries where we work, this also includes a presence in Europe for partnership and fundraising work that will support the rest of the network. Stichting Ipas Europe became incorporated on July 1, 2022, intends to join the Ipas Impact Network, and seeks ANBI status.

The mission of Stichting Ipas Europe can be described as follows: to ensure that all people have the right and ability to determine their own sexuality and reproductive health.

From this mission, we derive the following objectives:

1. to promote and ensure reproductive justice, including but not limited to abortion rights and access, using a comprehensive approach focused on health, legal, and social systems;
2. to promote and ensure sexual and reproductive health and full bodily autonomy;
3. to promote and ensure gender equity and women’s rights;
4. Build resilient abortion and contraceptive ecosystems using a comprehensive approach across sectors, institutions, and communities;
5. to promote and ensure access to comprehensive information related to reproductive justice, sexual and reproductive health and rights, bodily autonomy, and gender equity.

The realization of this mission and the pursuit of these objectives shall be done on a non-profit basis and with a primary focus to the public benefit.

All our activities aim to increase access to abortion care and reproductive justice for women and girls in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to address the issues described above. Attached to this policy plan are two cases that describe in-depth the work we do in these countries. Stichting Ipas Europe is committed to diversify funding and resources and advocate for wide-ranging support as needed through the following approaches and activities:

A. Resource mobilization and external relations

Stichting Ipas Europe will have an unapologetic, targeted focus on raising funds for Ipas Impact Network members in multiple European countries to support global access to abortion by women and girls as a human right. The Ipas Impact Network’s unique value add is that it is a global leader on safe abortion programming and a valued partner and resource for new donors.

B. Advocate for governments and other partners to include support for safe abortion and contraception in their development and funding strategies.

Many government donors see (public) health system support as key to deliver services and for sustainability. Though bilateral funding for health systems strengthening can increase access to essential health care, it often does not include abortion care and availability of safe abortion care is limited. Abortion care needs special attention and investment to achieve SRHR goals for women and girls in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and to complement advocacy work donors are funding. Some European governments are reluctant to work explicitly on abortion. With these governments we will explore integrative approaches to abortion, such as linking abortion to contraceptive care, to access various support, align it with feminist foreign policy goals, or to get a foot in the door of new prospects. Few European NGOs work on abortion in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Stichting Ipas Europe is an excellent partner for many of them as the members of the Ipas Impact Network are in the same countries, supporting governments to deliver services using the Ipas Network’s deep knowledge and experience of abortion and contraception programming. Additionally, an estimated 35 million women and girls of reproductive age are living in humanitarian settings around the world and the numbers are increasing with recent displacements in Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Sahel, and Pakistan, to name a few. Women and girls in humanitarian settings often have little or no access to contraception and abortion care. The Ipas Network members are working with international humanitarian organizations to fill that gap and ensure women and girls affected by crises have reproductive health options that include abortion and contraception. The Network members’ experience delivering abortion care in humanitarian settings provides important opportunities for our European partners. Stichting Ipas Europe will work to secure funding for Ipas Network members to support governments and partners to provide safe abortion and contraception in humanitarian settings.

The Stichting shall have no intention to make a profit. Occasional profits, if any, shall be used to realise the Foundation’s mission and objectives. Stichting Ipas Europe will receive an annual grant from the Ipas Impact Network to support its activities mentioned above. Its activities and budget are expected to increase moving forward. In the future, Stichting Ipas Europe could be eligible for specific grants of European donors and foundations that other members of the network do not have access to due to not being registered in Europe. In that case, it will receive, manage and monitor these grants for SRHR projects implemented by the Ipas Impact Network. Note that all sub-awards are for the benefit of improving and supporting SHRH of women and girls in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Equity

The Foundation will hold no more equity than necessary to safeguard its future activities. In that respect, the Foundation’s capital shall amount to a maximum of 12 months of annual operating costs.  Moreover, it could hold earmarked reserves for special purposes. The policy of Stichting Ipas Europe is to limit equity and only hold funds necessary to carry out its work. Ipas Europe will hold funds (reserves) as required to ensure its continuity, and deal with fluctuation in income. The Foundation’s equity is mainly reflected in the Foundation’s cash and money accounts, less any liabilities.