Continuing the historic legacy of the International Women ...

Continuing the historic legacy of theInternational Women’s Health Coalition

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A new tomorrow for IWHC

Since 1984, the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) has taken courageous

stands and ignited unprecedented progress for women and girls globally and in local

communities. Our work is steeped in the knowledge and conviction that societies where

women are equal are more just societies.

For nearly four decades, IWHC has been key in advancing the agenda and discourse

surrounding women’s health and human rights. We were there to mobilize against the

Global Gag Rule in 1984 and once again in 2017. We were there in 1995 when Hillary

Clinton professed that “Women’s rights are human rights,” and we were there in 2012

with Archbishop Desmond Tutu to mark the first International Day of the Girl. With our

trust-based grantmaking approach, we have mobilized over $35 million toward

women’s movements, from grassroots coalitions in India, to feminist organizations in

Argentina, to community-based projects in Pakistan. Throughout our history we have

been met with resistance, but we always continued this fight.

We know our victories are not enough. We continue to see women’s rights at risk under

new or re-emerging threats. There is still much more to do, especially among the most

marginalized communities around the globe.

Today IWHC has reached a critical moment in its history and a

critical decision for its future. After careful consideration, the

Board of IWHC has agreed to consolidate its work under the

umbrella of International Planned Parenthood Federation Western

Hemisphere Region (IPPFWHR). From this agreement, a powerful

new intersectional feminist alliance will stand at the forefront of

women’s, girls’, and gender-diverse people’s rights.

We will be stronger together.

As we thank you for your generosity and support for IWHC, we invite you to join us to

celebrate our legacy, learn more about our future, and continue our shared fight.

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1984 | Our Founding andFirst Grantee Partners

JOAN DUNLOP takes over a small

organization created by abortion rights

pioneer Merle Goldberg to fund abortion

training in a few select countries. As

President, Joan successfully convinces the

founding board that IWHC should articulate

a broader vision and sets IWHC on a path

toward becoming a leading voice for

women’s health and rights around the

world. IWHC forms grassroots partnerships

with women’s groups in Bangladesh,

Colombia, Indonesia, the Philippines and

Venezuela.

JOAN DUNLOP

1986 | BRAZIL 1988 | NIGERIA 1989 | PERU 1990 | CAMEROON 1991 | CHILE

“The desire to control fertility is not aboutcontrolling your body, it is about controllingyour life. Choice is a life force, and this isabout choice.”

JOAN DUNLOP,IWHC PRESIDENT (1984-1998)

GRANTEE PARTNERSEXPANSION

OURHISTORICLEGACY

$35 million to the global women’s movement

220 LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS FUNDED

630 FEMINIST ACTIVISTS SUPPORTED

92 COUNTRIES REACHED

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1997 | TURKEY, PAKISTAN

1999 | URUGUAY 2002 | MOZAMBIQUE 2003 | ARGENTINA 2005 | INDIA 2008 | SOUTH AFRICA

2021 | The Work of our Grantee Partners Continues

Our trust-based grantmaking will live on

within this new feminist alliance, as will

the work of our current forty grantee

partners. With the strength of IPPFWHR

stewarding our grantmaking program,

our partners will be well-positioned to

evolve and respond to the needs of the

women’s movement in their countries

and in their local communities.

1980s We mobilized against the first “Global Gag Rule”

1990s

At major UN conferences, we pushed for governments worldwide to recognize that reproductive rights are human rights, fundamentally reshaping the global landscape

2000s

We persuaded the US State Department to begin reporting on the prevalence of child marriage as a part of its annual Human Rights Report

2010s

We successfully led more than 600 women’s groups to advocate for the inclusion of women’s rights in the UN Sustainable Development, including a standalone goal for gender equality

Decades of fearless advocacy for girls and women

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OUR EMBOLDENED FUTUREIn 2020, IWHC faced two significant societal forces that led us to reexamine our organization,

both internally and externally. The global pandemic impacted both individual and institutional

charitable giving worldwide and required us to rethink our model. In addition, the renewed, long

overdue focus on racial justice and equality in the U.S. and around the globe compelled IWHC to

reevaluate our history and our work, on where we have led the women’s movement forward

and where we could do more. Many discussions took place to understand how IWHC should

evolve to better respond to the needs of the women’s movement today and into the future.

In considering several paths forward, one opportunity became the clearest to pursue for its

dramatic potential. The Board of IWHC was excited by the opportunity to join forces with

IPPFWHR and consolidate IWHC’s impactful programs and advocacy with IPPFWHR’s

organizational heft and scale. Importantly, IWHC was drawn to IPPFWHR for its exemplary work

in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and its commitment to anti-racism and anti-colonialism across

its work and working culture.

As part of this process, IPPFWHR and IWHC will also join forces with the Center for Health and

Gender Equity (CHANGE), a mission-aligned organization focused on advocating for sexual and

reproductive health and rights.

The newly consolidated entity will be equipped and emboldened to continue the fight for girls,

women, and gender-diverse people worldwide with an intersectional feminist lens and an

approach built upon the three organizations’ greatest strengths: trust-based grantmaking,

services and care, and leadership in U.S. and global advocacy.

IPPFWHR is an intersectional feminist ecosystem

centered around the sexual and reproductive

health needs and rights of women, girls, and

gender-diverse people.

Ecosystem

Our approach of working through coordinated action of diverse

coalitions, organizations, and movements, with the understanding

that no single organization can effectively deal with the scope and

scale of challenges facing these communities. Working as an

ecosystem allows for solutions to emerge from the communities

themselves.

Intersectionality

Our focus on inequalities, particularly how and where they intersect

with Indigenous women, Black and Brown women.

ABOUT IPPFWHR

IPPFWHR has no legal affiliation with International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) or Planned

Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA).

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O U R E M B O L D E N E D F U T U R E

IntroducingIPPFWHRAs a leader in the fight for women’s health and human rights, we are proud of the

progress we have helped to drive, but we know that our successes are not ours

alone. Our collective action is the key to change and progress. This value is

embedded within our grantmaking and advocacy programs, as well as in our

philosophy of movement-building itself. The potential for progress is greater when

we work toward our shared goals and priorities.

It is with this humble and strategic intention that IWHC agreed to consolidate

under the umbrella of IPPFWHR, a renowned intersectional feminist organization

that will be able to incorporate IWHC’s grantees into its ecosystem of partners so

they can continue to grow and evolve. IPPFWHR’s embrace of the ecosystem

approach accelerates a shift in power to the South, as local partner organizations

operate as catalysts of feminist change and coalition-builders with emerging

groups, movements, and organizations.

“This consolidation will have a very positive impact on the women’s

movement by creating a more efficient, nimble organization where

more resources can go directly towards the mission. This new

innovative model is also strongly committed to two vital initiatives—

broadening and expanding its leadership to reflect the diversity of

the feminist movement, especially in the Global South, and to

engaging and empowering younger voices.”

K A T H L E E N R E G A N ,

B O A R D P R E S I D E N T , I W H C

O U R E M B O L D E N E D F U T U R E

A stronger movementAn intersectional feminist stance. Our focus on the sexual and reproductive rights

and needs of women, girls, and gender-diverse people is rooted in the value that

feminism is about inclusion and diversity. We embrace diversity and inclusion

using the lens of intersectionality to understand and address multiple

inequalities—including those based on age, class, color, disability, gender

expression or identity, sexual orientation, and race—that compound to violate

people’s rights.

IPPFWHR is firmly grounded in this understanding, and together we will continue

to support person-centered, community-led, innovative solutions that respond to

the intersectional needs of women, girls, and gender-diverse people. We will

continue to advocate for their rights and needs to be protected and respected in

every dimension of their lives, with an explicit commitment to anti-racism and anti-

ableism.

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“The hope of this moment comes from every woman across

the globe who elevates her voice for sexual and reproductive

health and rights. We are joining forces to amplify the

resilience and creativity of those leaders and activists who

envision a feminist future for all, free of gender, sexual, and

racial discrimination. We are stronger together.”

G I S E L L E C A R I N OC E O , I P P F W H R

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Global reach. IWHC and IPPFWHR’s programmatic strengths provide an opportunity to

expand the reach and impact of their work. IWHC’s diverse network of partners is built

upon enduring, overwhelmingly positive relationships centered on the values of trust-

based grantmaking. These partners report that IWHC has helped them to grow over time

through ongoing conversation about what their organization has needed, from capacity-

building support to resources for work that was notoriously difficult or sensitive to fund,

such as legalizing abortion. Currently, IWHC supports 35 partner organizations with

diverse missions and budgets. CHANGE also works with partners in global advocacy.

IPPFWHR's ecosystem of 30 partner organizations and 75+ project partners complements

IWHC's grantmaking with a unique combination of advocacy and care, prioritizing meeting

girls, women and gender-diverse people where they are with innovative strategies, including

mobile health, digital health, and support for self-care.

Strengthened advocacy presence. IWHC and IPPFWHR have worked in partnership for many

years in their advocacy efforts. Together, IWHC’s history of leadership training and

involvement with the United Nations will be augmented by IPPFWHR's advocacy and

leadership in accountability in national, regional, and international processes. In addition,

with its focus on U.S. policymaking, CHANGE will serve as a stronghold in Washington, D.C.

that will allow for a new, assertive voice in shaping U.S. global health and foreign policy.

Operational synergy. IPPFWHR will integrate the programs and assets of IWHC and CHANGE

into its scope of work and operations. With liquidity and net assets over $100 million,

IPPFWHR will be a safe harbor for its two counterparts.

A due diligence audit found limited risk in this consolidation due to its integration approach,

which avoids the duplication of costs and infrastructure implied by retaining two separate

entities. Integration creates numerous opportunities for operational synergy, such as for

staffing and occupancy.

Importantly, centralizing fundraising under one organization also benefits the women’s

movement. When funders can maximize their impact by focusing support on one

organization, they avoid splintering limited resources among several similar organizations

working toward the same goals.

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IWHC’s sustained support for CommonHealth in India has helped them grow in size and

strength, despite a restrictive political environment and shrinking space for civil society. Today,

CommonHealth is a diverse and growing grassroots coalition, committed to securing

reproductive health and access to safe abortion for India’s most marginalized communities. In

addition to pushing for the full decriminalization of abortion, CommonHealth has worked

tirelessly to position safe abortion access firmly on the national agenda as a rights-based and

inclusive priority by engaging diverse movements with which it shares common ground.

Most recently, as the Indian government considered an amendment to the Medical Termination

of Pregnancy Act, CommonHealth campaigned for the amendment to forefront the autonomy of

the pregnant person rather than retain its current approach which CommonHealth stated was

heteronormative and patriarchal in nature. As part of this process CommonHealth collaborated

with “the wider ecosystem of activists,” including those from movements focused on disability

rights, sex workers rights, and LGBTQ rights, to ensure that the amendment allowed for

abortion access for single women, sex workers, and trans women. CommonHealth reported that

the final amendment has some welcome adjustments, but there is still much more work to do.

Supporting Diverse Movements:CommonHealth

PARTNERSPOTLIGHT

O U R E M B O L D E N E D F U T U R E

Trust-based grantmaking enduresTrust-based grantmaking provides flexible funding to women who understand their

communities best. In addition to providing general operating support, the trust-based approach

values strong, long-term relationships that allow for “support beyond the check”—customized

assistance designed in consultation with partners to address specific needs, such as strategic

planning or leadership development. During this time of transition, each partner will be invited

to make an autonomous decision to join the newly expanded ecosystem and participate in a

process of co-creation.

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PARTNERSPOTLIGHT IPPFWHR and Argentina’s Green Wave

After 18 years of activism by local feminists in Argentina, on December 30, 2020, Argentina’s

congress decriminalized abortion up to 14 weeks. Before the recent legal reform, the country’s

1921 Penal Code allowed abortion only if there was a risk to the health or life of the woman, or

when the pregnancy was the result of sexual violence. However, even in those cases, women’s

rights were left to the whims of doctors and local policymakers. IPPFWHR supported the

provision of abortion under those legal exceptions and worked in partnership with other

organizations to enhance access to sexual and reproductive health care.

IPPFWHR has been providing support to civil society organizations in Argentina for more than 15

years. In 2016, IPPFWHR shifted its approach from working with a single partner in Argentina to

Photo credit: Anita Pouchard Serra

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nurturing an ecosystem of feminist organizations and activists to coordinate a multi-dimensional

strategy for advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). IPPFWHR’s three key

partners in this alliance are detailed below.

FUSA is one of the primary nongovernmental providers of legal abortions in Argentina and is a key

trainer of Ministry of Health service providers in SRH, including contraception and abortion. FUSA

participates in a national network of pro-choice health care providers who provide legal abortions

in this complex context and have vast experience training health care providers. FUSA contributes a

unique perspective to advocacy and communications initiatives—the perspective of the service

providers who see the harmful consequences of unsafe abortion and the need for legal abortion to

ensure public health.

Fundación Huésped brings sophisticated communications capacity, social media savvy, and

advocacy experience to IPPFWHR’s approach in Argentina. Fundación Huésped has access to the

highest level of decision-makers and played a key role in advising government and providing

arguments to legislators to support the Abortion Bill due to its position as a long-standing and well-

respected Argentinian NGO. They contributed to a communications strategy, leading the efforts to

reach out to journalists and local media.

Catholics for the Right to Decide Argentina (CDD, by its acronym in Spanish) is considered a critical

founder and leader of the National Campaign for Legal, Safe and Free Abortion and is a recognized

voice within the feminist movement in Argentina. As they are closer to the provinces, they offer

training and support to local providers to comply with current abortion regulations, in addition to

mobilizing women at the local level to monitor the implementation of legal abortion services.

Additionally, they carry out litigation, leading a network of lawyers in the northeast of the country

that focuses on strategic litigation and service denial.

In addition to collaborating with these three key partners, IPPFWHR has expanded the ecosystem

by supporting other organizations to carry out specific actions that reinforce this multi-dimensional

approach, and by supporting the three key partners to strengthen grassroots feminist

organizations to increase and monitor access to legal abortion services. The success of the Green

Wave shows us what is possible when an ecosystem of feminist movements, organizations, and

activists are supported over time to fight reproductive coercion.

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JOIN US FOR THE NEXT CHAPTERThe women’s movement is bigger than IWHC, bigger than any one organization. It

is the tireless work of courageous girls, women, and gender-diverse people around

the globe who continue to fight for progress year after year, no matter the

challenge they face. At this time, it is our honor and our responsibility to provide

resilience to this movement by ensuring this work persists, specifically the work of

our grantee partners who play a critical role on the ground in their local

community and in the wider global effort. Indeed, our grantees are more than just

our partners in this movement: they are the movement.

Today we are inviting our closest friends and allies to support our grantee partners

during this time of transition. We invite you to consider a gift that will ensure

continuity for our partners at this critical moment.

Thank you for your historic support of the International Women’s Health Coalition.

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APPENDIX: IWHC Current Grantee Partners

PARTNER NAME COUNTRY MOST RECENT GRANTAahung Pakistan $87,000

The A Project Lebanon $80,000

Association to Combat Violence Against Women (ALVF/EN) Cameroon $48,000Association pour la Promotion de l’Autonomie et des Droits de la Jeune Fille/Femme (APAD) Cameroon $32,000

Asia Safe Abortion Partnership (ASAP) India $106,666

Balance: Promoicion para el Desarollo y Juventud Mexico $75,000

Asociacion civil por el Derecho a Decidir (CDD) Argentina Argentina $100,000

CEDES Argentina $145,000

Centro Feminista de Estudos e Assessoria (CFEMEA) Brazil $100,000Conservación, Investigación y Aprovechamiento de los Recursos Naturales A.C. (CIARENA) Mexico $35,000

CommonHealth India $40,000

Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA) India $70,000

DDSER Mexico $10,000

Diverse Voices for Action and Equality (DIVA) Fiji $75,000

Education as a Vaccine (EVA) Nigeria $130,000

Federation for Women and Family Planning Poland $80,000

Generation Initiative for Women and Youth Network (GIWYN) Nigeria $30,000

Grupo Curumim Brazil $70,000Instituto de Cooperacion para el Desarollo con Igualidad A.C. (INCONDESI) Mexico $25,000

Kisumu Medical Education Trust (KMET) Kenya $200,000

Las Amigas $24,000

Linea Feminista – Chiapas Mexico $20,000

Masimanyane Women’s Rights International South Africa $26,000

Mujer Y Salud en Uruguay (MYSU) Uruguay $110,000

Odara Instituto de Mulher Negra Brazil $50,000

Sama India $30,000

Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition (SRJC) South Africa $70,000

Talking about Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues (TARSHI) India $35,000

Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (TICAH) Kenya $70,000

Women for a Change (WFAC) Cameroon Cameroon $30,000

Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR) Turkey $58,000

Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights Canada $60,000

The YP Foundation India $40,000

IWHC provides additional grants to partners in the Middle East and North Africa region, some of which are not listed here.