Best practice Programmes and Tools

IPPF EN has launched a broad initiative with the aim to enhance the capacity of Member Associations to implement proven good practice programmes and tools to address difficult to reach, or as yet unreached groups.

In 2008, the Regional Office began by mapping out which Member Associations offered best practice programmes and matched these with the needs of other Member Associations willing to improve their work on certain topics. Several participants at IPPF EN’s Regional Management Meeting were invited to showcase the work of their organizations during a ‘best practices market’. The Member Association of the UK, fpa, received support for its project on improving access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for people with learning disabilities, to be replicated in two other countries.

Commitment to SRHR and gender equality

In 2008, the Regional Office undertook a consultation among its Member Associations to identify the work they have been doing for young men in the framework of an international research and policy project. The output was a report presenting the general findings and in-depth snapshot reports of 10 Member Associations looking at ways on how men and boys are engaged in promoting women’s sexual and reproductive health, women’s rights and achieving gender equality.

The results of the final mapping report showed that levels of experience and interest in male involvement vary highly across the European Network countries; and that the work in male involvement is generally guided by country needs and Member Association strategic priorities.

As part of the same project, IPPF Member Associations of Albania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Georgia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sweden also participated in the MenEngage Europe meeting in Stockholm. IPPF is a member of MenEngage, a global alliance of NGOs and UN Agencies that seek to engage boys and men to achieve gender equality.

The SRH of refugees and asylum seekers

IPPF EN has joined The European Network for the promotion of the sexual and reproductive health of refugees and asylum seekers in Europe and beyond (EN-HERA!).

The Regional Office was invited to speak at the launch of this network and provided input to a self-assessment tool designed to assist organizations in identifying and/or developing good practices in SRH policy, and service delivery for refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants.

Through this network, we are now able to consult a wide range of stakeholders including refugee and asylum communities, policymakers, intermediary organizations, advocacy groups, service providers, researchers and civil society throughout Europe that work on these issues.