Strengthening Leadership to Advance Reproductive Rights in Burundi

by Fabrice | Oct 12, 2026 | Activities

In Burundi, social norms, stigma, and limited awareness of the legal framework continue to restrict women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health information and services. To help address these barriers, Ipas Burundi supported 27 stakeholders, primarily from civil society organizations, to strengthen their capacity to advocate for reproductive rights.

The initiative began with VCAT sessions. These participatory workshops created space for participants to reflect on their beliefs about abortion and reproductive rights, recognize personal biases, and gain a deeper understanding of the realities faced by women and girls.

As one participant shared :

“Before taking part in the workshops, I also had doubts and preconceived notions about abortion. […] Today, we feel better equipped to advocate from a human rights perspective, including for reproductive rights, even in an environment that can sometimes be hostile.”

VCAT session participant

This shift in attitudes was reinforced through a participatory review of Burundi’s legal framework on therapeutic abortion. By examining existing laws and the challenges associated with their implementation, participants strengthened their understanding of the legal landscape and improved their ability to build evidence-based, rights-centered advocacy arguments.

Early results demonstrate the value of this approach. Fifteen participants increased their understanding of legal indications for abortion, twelve reported less stigmatizing attitudes, and eight became actively involved in advocacy initiatives.

These individual transformations helped inform a national dialogue that brought together representatives from civil society, the health and justice sectors, human rights and gender institutions, national and international non-governmental organizations, and international agencies. Better informed and more confident in their roles, participants are now equipped with the knowledge and leadership needed to contribute to the development of a roadmap aimed at strengthening the long-term sustainability of sexual and reproductive health and rights in Burundi.

The success of this gradual, capacity-strengthening approach is reflected not only in the number of people reached, but also in participants’ increased ability to challenge stigmatizing narratives, engage in decision-making spaces, and apply their knowledge to advance change. In doing so, they help transform individual awareness into collective action in support of reproductive rights.

By investing in the knowledge, attitudes, and leadership of civil society actors, Ipas Burundi is helping create a more enabling environment for the health and rights of women and girls. The 27 participants supported through this initiative are now better positioned to serve as champions of change within their organizations, sectors, and communities. The results underscore the importance of expanding similar approaches in a context where social and institutional barriers continue to limit progress on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

When Dialogue Opens the Door to Informed Choices

by Fabrice | Oct 5, 2026 | Events, Stories of change

In Goma, community learning laboratories are helping couples move beyond myths about contraception, talk openly about birth spacing, and make informed decisions about their families’ futures.

Names have been changed to protect the couple’s identity.

Married for several years and raising several children, Sifa and Amisi face many of the same challenges experienced by families throughout their community. Like many couples, they wanted to better plan their family’s future and avoid closely spaced pregnancies, but they did not always have access to reliable information that would allow them to make informed decisions.

Sifa had already tried to find a solution on her own.

“Before, I did not space my pregnancies. Some of my friends told me about medicines that could be used for family planning. Because these methods were not available free of charge at the health facility, I went to a pharmacy to buy a method that I took every day. I wanted to avoid closely spaced pregnancies, but I did not know enough about the different contraceptive methods.”

Like many others in their community, the couple was exposed to rumors and conflicting information about family planning. Conversations about birth spacing were rarely held openly, even though closely spaced pregnancies can affect women’s health, children’s well-being, and a household’s ability to meet essential needs.

Everything began to change when they heard about a community learning laboratory organized in their neighborhood by YARH-DRC (Youth Alliance for Reproductive Health), a youth-led organization and member of the YouthSprint Coalition that works to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights. Implemented with technical and financial support from Ipas DRC as part of a project funded by Global Affairs Canada, the laboratory offered community members a space to identify challenges affecting their daily lives, share experiences, and work together to develop solutions grounded in their realities.

Unlike a traditional awareness-raising session, the laboratory placed participants at the center of the process. Together, community members identified challenges facing families, analyzed their root causes, and explored practical solutions that could be tested within their own communities. In Kiziba, discussions highlighted concerns about closely spaced pregnancies, limited access to reliable contraceptive information, and persistent myths about family planning methods.

For Sifa, those conversations marked a turning point.

“When I learned that there was a space where people could openly discuss sexual and reproductive health issues, I became interested and joined the discussions. What I learned helped me better understand the different contraceptive methods, why they matter, and how they are used.”

Throughout the sessions, couples had the opportunity to ask questions, explore available options, and reflect together on what would work best for their families. The decisions remained entirely voluntary: some couples chose a fertility awareness method using a cycle bead necklace, while others opted for a modern contraceptive method.

More importantly, the discussions helped open dialogue within households.

Couples began talking more openly about their needs, family goals, and decisions related to birth spacing. Home visits and individualized support provided by YARH-DRC reinforced these conversations, allowing partners to continue reflecting together long after the community sessions had ended.

For Sifa, the impact extended beyond her own household.

“Today, I better understand the different methods. I also realized that I can share this information with other people around me. Recently, I have been sharing what I learned.”

Sifa and Amisi’s story is not unique. Two community learning laboratories supported four couples facing challenges related to closely spaced pregnancies and economic violence within households. While the issues differed, a common lesson emerged: when families have safe spaces to discuss their concerns, they are better equipped to identify solutions, make informed choices, and act together.

The experience also demonstrated the power of community-led change. By creating spaces for dialogue, learning, and collective problem-solving, the laboratories enabled participants to challenge misconceptions and develop solutions that reflected their own priorities and realities.

As one member of YARH-DRC explained :

“The community learning laboratories created a space where community members could speak freely, share experiences, and work together to find solutions to the challenges affecting them.”

Sifa and Amisi’s story is ultimately about more than gaining knowledge about family planning. It is about creating opportunities for couples to ask questions, explore their options, and make informed decisions together. It is also a reminder that when communities are empowered to lead their own conversations and identify their own solutions, meaningful and lasting change can begin from within.

Transforming Attitudes to Build Safer and More Inclusive Schools in the DRC

by Fabrice | May 15, 2026 | Activities

This blog was written by Habygaelle Muzie Kimbal Lombo, Patience Lisasi Lisika, and Nadia Lobo Jive (Ipas DRC).

This blog documents the process of developing a Values Clarification and Attitude Transformation (VCAT) training toolkit, highlights key lessons learned, and reflects on its relevance for initiatives supported by GPE KIX and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Inspired by Ipas’ Values Clarification and Attitude Transformation (VCAT) model—originally developed in 2000 to address stigma, attitudes, and beliefs related to abortion—this gender- and inclusion-responsive training toolkit is the result of a collaborative effort between Ipas DRC, Ipas Francophone Africa, and Ipas Global, in partnership with the Kinshasa School of Public Health and Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny.

Designed to support durable shifts in attitudes and practices among education system actors, the toolkit was developed as part of a research project funded by the Global Partnership for Education – Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX), in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).. It seeks to address gender-based violence (GBV) and discrimination in schools , while also making it possible to assess uptake and early effects.

Implemented in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Côte d’Ivoire, and Mali, the project is embedded within a multi-country consortium that leverages youth-led solutions and digital technologies to promote safety and inclusion in schools. Particular attention is given to pregnant adolescents, adolescent mothers, and gender non-conforming students, informed by research evidence documenting the violence and discrimination they face.

Why focus on attitudes to prevent violence in schools?

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, gender-based violence (GBV) and discrimination in school settings remain widely normalized. Research conducted under the project—including surveys with 4,915 secondary school students—shows that the vast majority of students are exposed to multiple forms of violence. Specifically, 84% report experiencing bullying, 76% report being subjected to corporal punishment, and 67% indicate having been exposed to sexual violence in school settings. These practices disproportionately affect specific groups, including pregnant girls and adolescent mothers, students with disabilities, and gender non-conforming youth.

Beyond their immediate impact on students’ safety and wellbeing, such forms of violence undermine school retention and learning outcomes, while reinforcing pre-existing social and gender inequalities.

The limits of current institutional responses

Institutional responses to school-related GBV continue to rely primarily on regulatory frameworks, policies, and disciplinary sanctions. While these measures are essential, they remain insufficient when they fail to address the social norms, beliefs, and attitudes that shape everyday behaviors among teachers, school administrators, parents, and education authorities.

Yet these less tangible dimensions play a central role in the reproduction—or, conversely, the prevention—of violence and discrimination in schools.

In response to this gap, identified through research, Ipas and its partners developed a training toolkit grounded in the VCAT approach. By intentionally linking evidence, attitude transformation, and concrete practices for promoting safer and more inclusive schools, the toolkit creates structured spaces for individual and collective reflection. It enables participants to critically examine the values underlying educational practices, make their impacts visible, and initiate sustainable changes in attitudes.

Grounding adaptation in the realities of Congolese schools

Building on research conducted in secondary schools, the project undertook a deep methodological adaptation process. Findings highlighted several persistent trends: the continued use of corporal punishment, the normalization of psychological violence, stigma toward pregnant girls, the invisibility of students with disabilities, and targeted violence against gender non-conforming youth.

Based on this evidence, Ipas DRC and its partners carried out a critical review of existing VCAT tools to identify exercises most relevant to school settings. Four exercises were selected and contextualized—Comfort Zone Continuum, Four Corners, Why Did They Leave School?, and Crossing the Line—with content reformulated to reflect lived realities in the Congolese context.

A multidisciplinary and collaborative co-creation process

The development of the toolkit relied on a co-creation process involving Ipas DRC, Ipas Francophone Africa, and Ipas Global technical teams, alongside academic partners including the Kinshasa School of Public Health and Université Houphouët-Boigny.

The adaptation drew on Ipas methodological frameworks, national and international legal instruments on children’s rights, and resources produced by UNESCO and UNICEF. The process also underscored the limited availability of operational literature on school-related GBV, reinforcing the added value of the toolkit as a bridge between research and practice.

Measuring attitude change beyond activities

From the outset, the toolkit integrated an evaluation component through paired pre- and post-training tests designed to measure changes in knowledge, attitudes, and levels of engagement with issues related to gender, inclusion, and GBV.

This strengthens the toolkit’s credibility as a learning and knowledge capitalization tool, beyond its function as a training resource.

Building change agents within the education system

To foster long-term ownership and prepare for scale-up, the project adopted a training-of-trainers approach. Participants included representatives from the Ministries of Education and New Citizenship (life skills education division), Gender, Family and Children, and Health, Hygiene and Prevention (National Adolescent Health Program), as well as teachers, school leaders, and civil society actors, including organizations representing women, youth, and persons with disabilities.

For many participants, this was their first experience of a training approach centered on critically examining their own values, emotions, and professional practices.

Early effects and persistent resistance

Initial implementation revealed notable shifts: increased awareness of the violent nature of practices long perceived as normal, greater clarity around the roles of teachers and parent committees in violence prevention, and the emergence of school-based prevention and reporting mechanisms.

👤 School Principal – Institut Scientifique de Kalamu

👨_🏫 Teacher – Institut Technique de Matonge

👨_👩_👧 Parent (COPA) – Institut de la Gombe (2)

However, resistance persists—particularly regarding the abandonment of corporal punishment and the acceptance of gender non-conforming students—confirming that changing social norms is a gradual and non-linear process.

Key lessons for the GPE KIX community

This experience highlights several transferable lessons for the GPE KIX community :

the value of tools that explicitly link research evidence, attitudes, and institutional practices;
the effectiveness of participatory approaches for addressing sensitive issues;
the importance of embedding mechanisms to measure attitude change from the outset.

Next steps will focus on scaling up the toolkit, strengthening direct engagement with students, and anchoring safe and inclusive school approaches more sustainably within education policies.

A strategic lever for more inclusive education systems

For Ipas Global, Ipas Francophone Africa, Ipas DRC, and their academic partners, this toolkit represents a strategic lever for transforming education systems—placing dignity, inclusion, and the safety of every learner at the heart of action.

Advancing Justice for Women in the DRC: Innovation, Accountability, and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

by Fabrice | Apr 10, 2026 | Activities

For several years, Ipas DRC has engaged in regional and global advocacy spaces to help shape the legal, policy, and institutional environments that determine women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) remains a critical global forum for advancing gender equality, social justice, and human rights.

For Ipas DRC, participation in these international spaces is a strategic opportunity to influence global norms, support the effective implementation of the Maputo Protocol in the DRC, and reinforce the legitimacy of national reforms on sexual and reproductive rights.

As part of this broader advocacy effort, Ipas DRC took part in the 70th session of the CSW, held in New York from March 9 to 19, 2026, alongside a high‑level national delegation bringing together leaders from the justice sector, the health system, and civil society, under the patronage of the Minister of Gender, Family, and Children. The discussions reaffirmed the Congolese government’s commitment to advancing and protecting the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls.

Conversations at CSW70 highlighted tangible progress in legal reform and institutional accountability, including the training of more than 5,000 magistrates, the establishment of judicial focal points, and the issuance of a directive by the High Council of the Judiciary. These measures are helping to improve how abortion‑related cases are addressed within the justice system and to strengthen protections for women’s rights, including in fragile and humanitarian contexts.

At the same time, participants emphasized that legal progress alone is not enough. Limited community awareness, persistent stigma, and uneven enforcement of the law continue to disrupt women’s access to care. In response, Ipas DRC shared its approach to building a sustainable abortion ecosystem—one that strengthens the capacity of health and justice actors, expands access to accurate information, and improves service quality and institutional accountability.

Strong advocacy also called for the integration of comprehensive abortion care into Universal Health Coverage as a critical pathway to sustainably reducing maternal mortality. While data presented point to a decline in deaths linked to unsafe abortion, adolescent girls and young women aged 15–19 remain disproportionately affected. The importance of holistic care for survivors of sexual violence—including medical, legal, and psychosocial support—was also underscored, alongside the need for continued vigilance in the face of persistent global opposition to sexual and reproductive rights.

Through its participation in CSW70, Ipas DRC reaffirms its conviction that realizing women’s sexual and reproductive rights requires coordinated action across the justice and health systems, anchored in strong institutional accountability, to ensure rights‑based, accessible, and sustainable care pathways for all women and girls.

Where Care Meets Courage: A Midwife’s Role in Humanitarian Contexts

by Fabrice | Mar 31, 2026 | Activities

In conflict‑affected settings, where insecurity threatens lives every day, midwives are often the first—and sometimes the only—line of protection between women and the life‑threatening risks associated with pregnancy and reproductive health. In the Beni region of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Kavira Alphonsine, a 34‑year‑old midwife at the Kanzulinzuli Health Center, stands at the heart of this frontline response.

Each day, Kavira supports women and girls facing unintended pregnancies, the consequences of sexual violence, and persistent barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services. Her work takes place in an environment shaped by armed conflict, displacement, and chronic insecurity—where access to care can mean the difference between life and death.

Through her daily practice, Kavira embodies the critical role midwives play in delivering Comprehensive Abortion Care centered on the woman (CAC) and family planning services, in line with national standards derived from the domestication of the Maputo Protocol. This legal framework recognizes women’s and girls’ right to access safe abortion care under clearly defined conditions in the DRC.

Kavira’s skills have been strengthened through continuous training, supervision, and peer‑learning spaces supported by Ipas DRC under the Makoki ya Mwasi project, with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). These capacity‑strengthening efforts have deepened her understanding of safe abortion—not as a moral issue, but as a fundamental matter of public health and human rights, particularly in conflict‑affected settings where sexual violence is widespread.

During consultations, Kavira accompanies women and adolescents through pathways often marked by fear, misinformation, and stigma. Her role goes far beyond clinical care. She listens, informs, and explains—creating the conditions for each person to make a free and informed decision, whether related to contraception or access to safe abortion care, always with respect for confidentiality, dignity, and medical standards.

“Every woman who walks through the door of this health facility has the right to be heard and respected in her decision,” she explains. “Many come with fear or uncertainty. My role is to help them understand that they have legal and safe options, and that the health system is here to support them—without judgment.”

Thanks to this person‑centered approach, women who once feared contraceptive methods are now choosing options that align with their needs and life plans. Adolescents—often silenced by taboos surrounding sexuality—find in Kavira a safe space to ask questions and access age-appropriate services. Each decision made freely and with access to accurate information strengthens the bodily autonomy of women and adolescents, while facilitating access to quality sexual and reproductive health services—an essential foundation for reducing the risks associated with unintended pregnancies and unsafe care.

Through the commitment of providers like Kavira, Ipas DRC contributes to strengthening the national health system, in alignment with the priorities of the Ministry of Health and the National Reproductive Health Program (PNSR). By supporting continuous professional development for midwives, integrating comprehensive abortion care services, and promoting the dissemination of Maputo Protocol standards, Ipas works to ensure sexual and reproductive health services that are accessible, acceptable, high‑quality, and rights‑respecting.

For Kavira Alphonsine, being a midwife in this context is more than a profession—it is a daily commitment to saving lives, restoring dignity, and strengthening the decision‑making power of women and girls, even in the most fragile environments. Her journey illustrates how, with structured institutional support and a protective legal framework, health care providers become key agents of reproductive justice and sustainable change.

The support provided by Ipas DRC to strengthen midwives’ capacities has generated a lasting impact on the quality, accessibility, and humanization of sexual and reproductive health services. By sustainably consolidating providers’ competencies, this intervention has enabled health facilities to deliver woman-centered comprehensive abortion care (WCAC) and family planning services aligned with the national legal framework and the Maputo Protocol.

Through continuous training, supportive supervision, and close, on-the-job mentoring, midwives now adopt a human rights–based approach, characterized by reduced stigma and judgment, as well as a significant improvement in provider–client relationships. This dynamic strengthens women’s and adolescents’ trust in health services and ensures continuity of quality care, including in humanitarian settings.

Ultimately, this approach contributes to reducing the risks associated with unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions, while strengthening the resilience of the local health system.

Ipas DRC

Strengthening Leadership to Advance Reproductive Rights in Burundi

Strengthening Leadership to Advance Reproductive Rights in Burundi