By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
IPAS Nigeria, has transformed from an international NGO to an indigenous organisation with a new brand name of Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation.
The Country Director of the organisation, Mr Lucky Palmer who made the announcement at the unveiling of the Ipas Nigeria new brand in Abuja on Friday night, said the Foundation was committed to accelerating reproductive justice for women and girls.
The event which also featured a panel of discussants on “Sexual Violence and the Intersection with Unsafe Abortion and Maternal Mortality in Nigeria”, attracted medical experts from within and out the country.
The Country Director explained that the transformation reinforces the commitment of the organisation to work within the Nigerian ecosystem to build local structures that will give women and girls access to reproductive health and rights.
He pointed out that Ipas recognized that having the right to sexual and reproductive health services including contraceptives and safe abortion, adding that in Nigeria, women and girls face economic, cultural, religious and systemic barriers that prevent them from accessing their rights.
Palmer said, “in Nigeria, Ipas has worked for more than 20 years to strengthen the rights of women and girls to their sexual reproductive health. In recognition that other Intersectional areas exist that limit women and girls from realising bodily anatomy, we have morphed our approach to advancing reproductive justice.
“This takes cognisance of multiple factors that influence an individual’s ability to access sexual reproductive health rights and needs. Additionally, we will continue to work with resilient local stakeholders and systems to build sustainable sexual and reproductive ecosystems”.
He further explained that in cognition of key Intersection areas, including youth movements, disability rights, equality and diversity, feminine movements, among others, Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation “is leading the way to advance reproductive justice for women, girls and marginalised persons in Nigeria”.
According to him, for almost 50 years, Ipas’ singular focus has been on expanding access to abortion care around the world. As the global movement for abortion rights has evolved to focus on abortion as a human rights and justice issue, not only a public health issue, so has Ipas.
“We believe in justice, equity, and shifting power. We recognize that having the right to contraceptive choices and safe abortion when needed isn’t enough—because people around the world face economic, cultural, religious, and systemic barriers that prevent them from accessing their rights. We work every day to break down those barriers. As we evolve to become an indigenous organization, our brand update reflects our ongoing effort to put power in the hands of the people closest to our work”, he added.
The panel of discussants included, Dr Morian Jagun, Chairperson, Ipas Board of Trustees, and Public Health Specialist; Dr DanTalmoh Wycliffe, Consultant (O&G), Federal Medical Centre, Keffi and Prof Adesegun Fatugi, Vice Chancellor, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo.
The Panelists were of the view that what compounds unsafe abortion in Nigeria are cases of sexual and gender violence because the tendency for any victim of rape is to seek to terminate such unwanted pregnancy because of the stigma.
