The IPAS Indonesia Foundation held a mid-term review from February 10-14, 2025, in Bogor Regency, West Java. The purpose of this activity was to reflect on the extent of IPAS Indonesia’s achievements in realizing Reproductive Justice. Additionally, this moment was used to gather insights and plan activities for the next semester.
During the July-December 2024 period, the IPAS Indonesia Foundation achieved the following seven milestones:
- Launch of the ARUNIKA project (Empowered Women for a Violence-Free Indonesia) in Semarang City, Central Java, and the CERAH project (Climate Emergency, Reproductive Health and Rights) in Palu, Central Sulawesi, in November 2024.
- Three clinical and 22 non-clinical activities were conducted. One significant activity was the Mini Festival of Reproductive Justice held in Jakarta in September 2024. This event was attended by 121 individuals from various backgrounds, including healthcare professionals, gender advocates, and university students.
- Through dialogue and discussion activities, a total of 491 individuals (384 women and 107 men) received information related to reproductive health, particularly on the topics of gender, family planning, and Post-Abortion Care (PAC).
- Through the TAKENUSA project (Joint Determination for Women of Nusa Tenggara), a total of 7,868 women and adolescent girls in East Nusa Tenggara accessed family planning services.
- A total of 25 healthcare professionals (16 general practitioners and 9 obstetrician-gynecologists) participated in PAC training through the TAKENUSA project.
- A total of 47 national trainers have been trained to provide PAC training to healthcare professionals. This activity was conducted in Yogyakarta.
- A new project, ARUMBAE (Capable and Empowered Women to be Free from Violence), commenced in December 2024 to expand healthcare access in Maluku.
“These achievements could not have been realized without support, especially from the government, civil society organizations, and the spirit of women and adolescent girls who are key partners for Reproductive Justice,” stated the Executive Director of the IPAS Indonesia Foundation, Dr. Marcia Soumokil, MPH.
She added that these achievements serve as motivation to continue expanding the impact for women in Indonesia. Nevertheless, she emphasized that much has been learned from the activities conducted over the past semester.
“One of them is the project related to climate crisis, reproductive health, and gender justice, which was carried out in Central Sulawesi, as this is indeed a new project for the IPAS Indonesia Foundation. Therefore, we are always open to learning and collaborating on these three interconnected topics,” she added.
“We need partners with expertise in this field who can collaborate with us. This is important because climate issues significantly impact access to reproductive health, especially in Indonesian coastal areas like Central Sulawesi,” she asserted.
She added that with new issues emerging and many goals to achieve for Reproductive Justice in Indonesia, the mental health of staff needs to be considered. Based on research, workers in social issues are more susceptible to stress.
“Therefore, during this semester review, we organized a psychological first aid workshop to equip staff to be more aware of their mental well-being and to know where to access help if needed,” she concluded.