Our leadership

Makoki Ya Mwasi

Program Manager, Ipas DRC

Dr. Mike Mpoyi is an experienced medical doctor and public health professional skilled in health system strengthening, project management, and implementation with a focus on reproductive health and infectious diseases. With over 13 years’s experience in strengthening access to healthcare in Africa, notably the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Uganda, and Burundi, Dr. Mike Mpoyi has focused his work on improving access to equitable sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), with focus on establishing youth-friendly pathways to services in stable and conflict zones for vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries.

Dr. Mike Mpoyi is the current Senior Program Manager for Ipas in the DRC. He started his career as the Coordinator of Peer Educators in Reproductive Health for a youth health-centered national programme. In 2013, he became Area Physician Manager at Premium Health Limited before becoming Country Manager in 2014.

During three years, he provided clinical and managerial oversight, ensured accurate management of pharmaceuticals stock, managed the DRC country office and national network of 75 Premium Health clinics across the DRC. From 2016 he chaired the IPPF-DRC Provincial Board of Directors ; for two years, he led the strategic thinking on positioning the organization at the regional level. In that same year, he founded Access Care, a national non-profit health maintenance organization becoming the first Chief Executive Officer. Since 2020 he has been working as the Global Technical Advisor, at Ipas US.

Makoki Ya Mwasi

Empowering women for gender equity

Ipas, in collaboration with civil society and professional organizations, set up a feminist, intersectional and grassroots movement for reproductive justice called “Makoki ya Mwasi,” which means “women’s ability” in Lingala. This movement is essential to Ipas’ community engagement, advocacy and opposition
monitoring strategy.

As an intersectional movement, Makoki ya Mwasi brings together youth-led and women-led organizations, male engagement networks, champions (Makoki ya Mwasi ambassadors), and professional organizations such as women lawyers, magistrates, journalist’ networks, societies of midwives and gynecologists, making them partners in the fight for women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, including access to legal, safe and free-of-stigma-abortion care.

The movement on the ground

Quotes

“Habari carries out activities to break the taboo, and social codes, and thus fight against toxic masculinity and promote the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and girls.”

Laetitia Lihau
Assistant de projet Habari RDC

Quotes

“Sustainable solutions on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights can only be implemented with the involvement of all stakeholders.”

Albert-Fabrice Mpuelaa
DRC Minister of Human Rights

Quotes

“We want young people to understand that their assets, talents, and expertise must be used to benefit the whole community, which means producing works of art that raise awareness, especially with regard to the fight against rape and violence against women through the Makoki Ya Mwasi Movement, or others that can be developed along similar lines.”

Emmanuel Mikalababa
Provincial Coordinator of CREEIJ asbl

Quotes

“Gender-Based Violence, family planning, and youth networks are essential sources of referrals for safe abortion care. We believe that connecting young people to local efforts will benefit women and girls who have been raped or found with a positive pregnancy test from the family planning center.”

Benjamin Sabue
Program Manager at Youth Sprint

Quotes

“As Masujaa, we’re not just there to inform about sexual and reproductive health rights. We’re here to listen to these women and girls who were silenced and had no one who could understand them.”

Lyn Kakira
Mashujaa

Quotes

“Youthfim is a member of the coalition Youthsprint. We used to do grassroots activities, but the coalition taught us a lot. This complementarity has enabled Youthfim to move forward in its various activities. The capacity-building workshops given by Ipas have enabled us as Youthfim to make even greater progress in the fight for women’s rights.”

Melchie Ibula
Youthfim National Coordinator

Quotes

“Our collaborative work with IPAS is an important asset in improving access to reliable information and safe abortion services in North Kivu. Thanks to this partnership we have set up a referral network of young people involved in advocacy, community involvement and the referral of young girls and women to sexual and reproductive health services. Today, with the “positive masculinity” approach, the Mashujaa are gradually redefining gender norms in the Bulengo IDP camp, through exchanges in the community.”

Dr Simon Bine Mambo
Executive Director YARH-DRC

Quotes

“As a member of Youthsprint, the financial support from Ipas has enabled us to do more activities. Thanks to the support from Ipas, our scope of action has widened, and we now have enough resources to supply all our provinces (Kinshasa, Kongo Central, Kasaï Oriental and South Kivu).”

Oracle Itoko
ASRJ member of YouthSprint

Quotes

“I’m proud to be a Makoki Ya Mwasi champion. I help women in my constituency to get reliable information on sexual and reproductive health rights.”

Christelle Vuanga
Member of Parliament and President of the Permanent Commission on Gender

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