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Our audacious vision

Home 9 About Us 9 Our audacious vision

We’re accelerating our work globally.
We need you by our side.

For over 50 years, Ipas has been laser-focused on building a world where all women and girls can control their own bodies and futures. We’re proud to share that with significant new support from donors to The Audacious Project, we’re accelerating our work globally in ways that will transform millions of lives.

Our audacious vision

By 2032, we’ll prevent:

16.3 million
unsafe abortions

22.6 million
unintended pregnancies

39,000
maternal deaths

We’ll reduce unsafe abortion by 30% in 10 high-need countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America by 2040.

A group of women wearing colorful headscarves and dresses sit in a circle on mats in an outdoor, narrow, clay-walled alley, engaged in conversation or discussion. Sandals are scattered on the ground nearby.

Photo by Ipas Nigeria

A healthcare worker explains the use of contraceptive pills to a woman in a clinic, using visual aids and informational materials on the desk.

Photo by Fabeha Monir

Our proven approach makes lasting, systemic change

Our approach is locally led but makes systems-level change. And it requires partnership; we aren’t doing this alone. We strengthen and coordinate with existing public health systems and community organizations so that safe abortion and contraception become integrated, sustainable parts of health care.

In each country where we work, we pull at three levers to make abortion accessible:

1. Build pathways to care

We strengthen the pathways a person can take to access safe, high-quality abortion and contraception, including in health centers and self-managed abortion with pills.

2. Advance legal and political support

We advance laws, policies and political will that protect and expand reproductive rights with lasting support from local leaders.

3. Engage communities to shift social norms

We support local groups and community leaders to challenge stigma, expand support for reproductive rights, and build movements for lasting change.

Our approach in action

Our work centers on the women and girls we serve. Here’s how we’re pulling all three levers to make real change in the lives of three individuals.

A young woman sits outside on a chair, smiling at the camera while holding a baby in her arms. A red motorcycle is parked nearby, and a green brick building is in the background. The scene appears calm and relaxed.

Bolivia

Yotse

A woman in a green outfit with a red scarf sits cross-legged on the ground outdoors, smiling and looking to the side. There are plants and a wooden structure in the background. The scene is bright and sunny.

Nepal

Chandra

Munira Saleh, wearing a pink hijab and dress walks with the aid of a cane along a corridor with beige walls. She appears to be smiling near a closed door. A motorcycle is visible in the background.

Nigeria

Munira

A woman sits on a bed reading a book, with a baby lying beside her. Next to her, a wooden dresser holds a bouquet, a thermos, a can of infant formula, and a few small items against a white wall.

Photo by Manuel Seoane

Yotse

Yotse is 15 years old and lives in a rural part of Bolivia. She became pregnant while in high school but is determined to pursue a career. Now she’s back in school while also caring for her infant son.

Her case is not unique. Over 32,000 teenagers in Bolivia became pregnant in 2023 alone. Many end up dropping out of school and forced into early marriages that trap them in poverty and abuse.

“I want to study. I want to be someone in life.”

Yotse and girls like her need:

1. Pathways to respectful care

Ipas is supporting the Departmental Health Service in Pando, Bolivia, where Yotse lives to expand youth-friendly health services and reduce early pregnancy. Ipas trains and equips health workers to provide contraception and abortion to girls who need it. In this photo, Yotse receives a donation from Dr. Mario Espada with the local health service. 

A man in a purple shirt hands a clear bag of groceries to a young woman outside a house, with a motorcycle and greenery visible in the background.

2. Laws and policies that protect their rights

We celebrated a historic legal victory in Bolivia in Sept. 2025 when the government voted to ban child marriage. This success resulted from years of advocacy by Ipas and local partners to address Bolivia’s child marriage crisis. In this photo, Ipas staff and partners stand in support of law change during a session of Bolivia’s parliament.

A group of people stand in an auditorium holding signs with messages supporting girls’ rights. Some are seated, others stand or raise signs. The atmosphere is serious and attentive.

3. Supportive schools and communities

Girls can’t stay in school if they don’t know how to prevent pregnancy or deal with sexual violence, so Ipas partners with schools across Bolivia to provide age-appropriate education. In this photo, children participate in Ipas’s curriculum to prevent gender-based violence that rolled out nationwide in partnership with the Ministry of Education.

A young girl with long dark hair, dressed in a blue and white dress, colors in a drawing in a coloring book while seated at a table with other children. Various art supplies, including colored pencils and sharpeners, are spread out on the table.
A woman in a green outfit with a red scarf sits cross-legged on the ground outdoors, smiling and looking to the side. There are plants and a wooden structure in the background. The scene is bright and sunny.

Photo by Onion films

Chandra

Chandra Kala Pun is a youth leader and educator in her rural village in Nepal.

She lives in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, where disasters like floods and mudslides are pushing health care farther away. And in rural Nepal, discussing sexuality is taboo. Women and girls rarely have the power to make their own reproductive health decisions.

“Participants say they are happy and often ask ‘when will you come for the next session?’”

Chandra and young women like her need:

1. Pathways to respectful care

Ipas created a program called “Natural Leaders” that supports Nepali women like Chandra to become a force for change. These leaders work with local health officials to ensure women can still access reproductive health care if a disaster strikes. In this photo, Natural Leader Sunita Saha Puri (in red) discusses plans to improve abortion care with local health coordinator Prem Rokaya.

Three people stand indoors, with one woman in a patterned saree pointing at a large chart on the wall while the other two observe. The room has blue walls, a window, and a bench.

2. Laws and policies that protect their rights

To ensure a climate-resilient future that meets women’s reproductive health needs, we must start planning now. In this photo, Ipas’s Khusbu Poudel (at center) participates in a community planning session for what the government calls a “local adaptation plan of action,” helping ensure it includes access to services like abortion and contraception. So far Ipas has supported 10 local governments to develop such plans.

A group of people sit and stand around a table with large sheets of paper, discussing and writing notes in a brightly lit room. Some participants are actively engaged, while others observe.

3. Supportive schools and communities

Through Ipas’s Natural Leaders program, Chandra transformed into a respected community leader and health educator. Now she and other Natural Leaders provide education that arms women with the information they need to take control of their reproductive health. In this photo, Chandra conducts a training session with women and girls of all ages. She says taboos around reproductive health are changing.

A woman stands outdoors holding up a paper with printed text, smiling at a small group of seated people. The group is on grassy ground near a hillside, with trees in the background.
Munira Saleh, wearing a pink hijab and dress walks with the aid of a cane along a corridor with beige walls. She appears to be smiling near a closed door. A motorcycle is visible in the background.

Photo by Nelson Apochi Owoicho

Munira

Munira Ibrahim Saleh is a woman living with a disability in Nigeria. She’s experienced firsthand the lifechanging impact of disability-inclusive reproductive health care.

Munira works as a program officer for the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities—an organization in Gombe State trained on inclusive care by Ipas and our local partner SAIF Advocacy Foundation.

“When hospitals know what to do for us, it eases our pain.”

Munira and women like her need:

1. Pathways to respectful care

People with disabilities often encounter health systems that ignore their needs. In Nigeria, we’re training providers and supporting health centers to become more accessible. In this photo, health worker Hannatu Tila provides Munira with specialized care, taking time to understand how her disability affects her health.

A smiling healthcare worker in blue scrubs chats with a seated woman in a cream hijab and patterned dress, gently resting a hand on her shoulder, against a green and beige wall.

2. Laws and policies that protect their rights

Sexual violence is widespread in Nigeria, and women with disabilities face an even higher risk. That’s why Ipas advocates at the local and national levels for laws that protect survivors’ reproductive rights. In this photo, leaders of the Jigawa State Assembly meet with an Ipas-led coalition to discuss state-level protections for violence survivors.

Several people sit around a large conference table in a meeting room, with notebooks, water bottles, and bags on the table. Most attendees wear traditional clothing and hats, and sunlight enters through a window.

3. Supportive schools and communities

Nigeria’s abortion restrictions drive many women to unsafe methods. So Ipas trains community groups to help women access lifesaving “postabortion care” that treats complications of unsafe abortion. In this photo, Kabiru Muhammed talks to people with disabilities served by his community organization, which received training from Ipas.

Kabiru Muhammed stands and speaks to a small group of people seated in a room. One person is in a wheelchair. The room has yellow walls, a green floor, and a narrow door with light coming in. Some attendees wear hats and colorful headscarves.

We need you by our side.

As we step into this new era, your partnership means more than ever. Join us as we create sustainable abortion access that drives gender equality worldwide.

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