The IPAS Indonesia Foundation lost its founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Prof. Irwanto, Ph.D. He passed away on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Jakarta.
It feels like only yesterday we asked Prof. Ir to become part of the IPAS Indonesia Foundation family. However, that moment was already eight years ago. At that time, the Executive Director of the IPAS Indonesia Foundation, Dr. Marcia Soumokil, MPH, met with him along with Human Resources and Office Manager Ferny Hapsari.
“We approached him to explain many things, why this organization [IPAS Indonesia Foundation] is needed, with the main goal of ensuring access to reproductive health and the rights of women and adolescent girls in Indonesia,” recalled Dr. Marcia.
He did not need long to consider. He immediately agreed. “For almost seven years, Prof. Irwanto actively supported the work carried out by the IPAS Indonesia Foundation. Every meeting he attended always generated many new
In Dr. Marcia’s memory, since last year, Prof. Ir strongly supported the studies conducted by the IPAS Indonesia Foundation. These included studies on Child Marriage, Adolescent Pregnancy, and School Dropout.
“We had prepared the research plan with him through several Zoom meetings. Until finally, we heard news about his declining condition in the last two months,” she recalled.
Then, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, we received this sad news. “Many friends and I at the IPAS Indonesia Foundation were speechless. We know Prof. Irwanto concluded this journey well, but we feel a profound loss at his passing,” she said.
In Dr. Marcia’s memory, her introduction to Prof. Ir was very special. She discovered Prof. Ir’s name from a journal titled “Measuring Women’s Psychological Well-being in Indonesia,” published in Women & Health in 2001. At that time, she was preparing research for her master’s degree on the topic of male involvement in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).
She was later able to meet Prof. Ir directly after working at an institution focused on HIV and public health issues. “Extremely resourceful” was how she described him during their discussions. Their relationship grew closer after they both served as supervisory board members in an HIV community organization for several years.
“His knowledge and passion for supporting marginalized groups and/or those stigmatized by the system, very admirable. I learned a great deal. Rest in love, Pak Ir. We now will continue your legacy. We will hold IPAS Foundation’s vision and mission to support women and girls’ bodily autonomy rights, as we will hold dearly the memories that we have with you. Thank you Pak – you had fought the good fight,” said Dr. Marcia.