IPAS
Partners for reproductive justice
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Ipas works to advance reproductive justice by expanding access to abortion and contraception, using a comprehensive approach that addresses health, legal and social systems. We believe every person should have the right to bodily autonomy and be able to determine their own future. Across Africa, Asia and the Americas, we work with partners to ensure that reproductive health services, including abortion and contraception, are available and accessible to all.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Abortion Care
Ipas works globally to advance reproductive justice by expanding access to abortion and contraception, using a comprehensive approach that addresses health, legal and social systems. We believe every person should have the right to bodily autonomy and be able to determine their own future. Across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, we work with partners to ensure that reproductive health services, including abortion and contraception, are available and accessible to all.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsTotal number of Access Points
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Total Access Points includes total intervention sites and Abortion Self-Care (ASC) access points
Number of contraceptive services
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Total number of contraceptive services includes postabortion family planning services and services provided through stand-alone contraceptive interventions.
Number of health workers who received clinical training or orientation
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Abortion Care
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of health workers trained or oriented by Ipas to provide CAC/PAC/FP
Number of people who received safe abortion care or postabortion care at Ipas-intervention sites
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Recognizing that many factors influence an individual’s ability to access abortion, we work with partners across systems, institutions and communities to design, implement and assess sustainable abortion care. In a sustainable abortion ecosystem, local stakeholders are accountable and committed to abortion rights and responsive to everyone’s abortion needs. People have the information they need to make decisions about abortion and reproduction, there is community and political support for human rights and abortion access, there are strong health systems and a trained workforce, and there are laws and policies that support comprehensive abortion care, sexual and reproductive health, and bodily autonomy.
Our approach to building these ecosystems is rooted in the understanding that there are four main “drivers” integral to achieving sustainability: human rights and equity, partnerships and collaboration, local expertise, and ownership and accountability.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
To advance our mission, Ipas uses a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach, incorporating work in the health, social, and legal sectors. We work in areas of the world with the most need, in health systems and with governments, with partners and communities, to ensure people who can become pregnant get what they need. And we know that access to abortion care can only be a reality if society supports their needs and desires through laws that uphold their rights, systems that meet their needs, and families and communities that value their wishes and respect their decisions. To that end, Ipas partners with advocacy groups, donors, and health organizations to help bring about a world where every person who can become pregnant has the right and ability to determine their own sexuality and reproductive health.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
For nearly five decades, Ipas has put abortion front and center in all we do. Ipas is the only international organization solely focused on expanding access to abortion and contraception. Ipas has offices in 18 .countries, and we support programs in more than 20 additional countries. Ipas country offices are staffed with multi-disciplinary teams of local experts, and our US office supports the work of our country programs and leads global advocacy efforts.
We know the right to an abortion is not a standalone right. It depends upon people also having other human rights: to health, to equality, to live free from violence and discrimination. That’s why Ipas works with diverse local, regional and international partners toward the goal of reproductive justice: a world where all human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled. We strive to integrate abortion rights into the broader movements for health-care access, gender equality and social justice.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since our founding in 1973, Ipas's comprehensive efforts have improved women's health, increased access to safe abortion, and protected women's rights to make their own reproductive health decisions. In the last decade, Ipas and our partners have made tremendous progress.
In addition to many other accomplishments, Ipas has:
- Designed, manufactured and distributed the Ipas manual vacuum aspirator (MVA) instrument in 1974 for early safe abortion and treatment of complications from unsafe abortion. The MVA is
reusable, non-electric, and portable, making it ideal for use worldwide—from U.S. emergency
rooms and Planned Parenthood clinics to remote villages in developing countries.
- Working with the governments and partners, Ipas advocated for legalization of abortion in
Nepal in 2004. Supported expansion of reproductive health-care training in Nepal starting in
2004, resulting in access to skilled providers in every district in the country. Then, in 2015, we
partnered with the Ministry of Health and Population to successfully advocate for free abortion
services for all public health clinic patients in Nepal.
- Advocated with policymakers and motivated public support for the successfully liberalized
abortion law in Ethiopia (2006). Similar advocacy efforts are ongoing in other countries around
the world.
- Drafted the original World Health Organization (WHO) Clinical and Technical Guidance on
Treatment of Abortion Complications and Clinical and Technical Guidance on Safe Abortion in
partnership with the WHO.
Ipas will continue to train abortion providers, support health systems, and work with partners to ensure high-quality safe abortion services are available, accessible and meet women's needs. We will also work to find innovative ways to connect women and girls with the health information they need, and advocate around the world for safe, legal abortion.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
IPAS
Board of directorsas of 07/06/2023
Ishita Chaudhry
Lilian Abracinskas
Mujer Y Salud
Yirgu Gebrehiwot
Addis Ababa University
Piper Orton
Wellesley College
Sandeep Prasad
Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights
Manju Badlani
Laurie G. Campbell
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Linda DeNicola
ASIS International
Ishita Chaudhry
Trish Karlin
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Hans Linde
RFSU
Hayford Mensah
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
Monica Oguttu
Kisumu Medical and Education Trust (KMET)
Mario Pecheny
National Council of Scientific and Technical Research, Argentina
Carlos Plazas
Planned Parenthood of Maryland
John Stanback
FHI360
Louise Winstanly
The University of North Carolina
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 04/07/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.