The International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN) is one of six regions of IPPF. IPPF EN includes 40 Member Associations and collaborating partners in as many countries throughout Europe and Central Asia. The Region reaches from Iceland to Kyrgyzstan and from Russia to Israel, from some of the richest countries in the world to some of the poorest, from donor countries to recipient countries, from long-standing democracies to countries still struggling to find their way. 

We focus our work on 5 thematic areas:

Advocacy - Access - Adolescents - Abortion - HIV/AIDS

In Europe and Central Asia the focus of the Member Association’s work is more on advocacy and creating an enabling environment than directly providing clinical services. In particular, in the countries of the Former Soviet Union there still exists a public health sector. Here the priority is to modernise the facilities, upgrade the equipment and train the health providers in new technologies and a rights-based approach.

We are a volunteer-driven organization

What makes IPPF unique is that we are an international federation representing independent grass roots civil society organizations around which women and men voluntarily organize themselves to respond to local needs for sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Volunteers are essential to our organization as they represent civil society and are well placed to formulate the needs of an ever-evolving society.  In the European region, particularly in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the concept of volunteerism is not well developed, as is also the case for the concept of non-governmental organisations.  The Regional Office therefore also provides technical assistance in developing civil society organisations based on democratic values. 

We promote youth participation and empowerment

Young people are encouraged to participate fully in IPPF’s programmes and governance. Their voice is equal to those of adults. Our network of young people (YSAFE) is very vibrant and the guarantee that sexual and reproductive health and rights issues will stay on the agenda for the coming generations. On a regular basis young volunteers are trained as advocates and are IPPF EN representatives in international meetings, voicing for themselves the world they want.

For more information on YSAFE, please visit www.ysafe.net

We are rights-based

IPPF was formed in 1952. It was the result of campaigning by a handful of brave and angry women, including Margaret Sanger,  Elise Ottesen-Jensen from Sweden and Dhanvanthi Rama Rau from India, who were all imprisoned for their assertion that women had the right to control their own fertility. Since then the Federation has evolved and grown to become a global service provider and a leading advocate on sexual and reproductive health and rights in the world. The work we do is embedded in  International Human Rights Covenants and is directed to empower people and to provide them with the means to make the decisions of their choice. 

Transparency and Accountability

Through an extensive five year cycle of accreditation, we look how well Member Associations keep to the IPPF Membership Standards. This exercise assists the Member Associations to develop into strong, transparent, well governed and trustworthy civil society organizations, leaders in their countries and excellent partners for the donors.

To know more, visit http://www.ippfen.org/