IPPF Director Challenged On Harmful Contraceptives For African Women

A High Level event at the United Nations this week abruptly ended when a women's rights attorney, Kwame Fosu, directed a question to International Planned Parenthood Federation's Director General, Tewodros Melesse, about why harmful contraceptives were targeted to poor women in Africa.

Statement Made by Kwame Fosu:
“We all believe that women should have access to safe contraception. However, in Melinda Gates' 2020 Family Planning Initiative, she is using Sayana Press or Depo Proveraas one of the central contraceptives being targeted to African women. Depo Provera has serious side effects. Bill Gates' own researcher Dr. Renee Heffron came up with research in October of 2011, which stated that Depo Provera and injectables significantly increased risk of transmitting and acquiring HIV/AIDS [as 11 additional HIV/AIDS research experimentshave also concluded].

Not only that, but Depo Provera also doubles the risk of breast cancerand causes [excessive] bleeding. So my question is this: in countries where HIV is a significant problem, where we don't have access to good healthcare, why would we be using the most dangerous contraceptives for African women, when in countries like Holland, they all use very safe low-dose contraceptives?”

Fosu's statement was made in a meeting co-sponsored by IPPF, Denmark and Liberia which was meant to attract high level ministers in New York for the General Assembly.

Fosu referred to Holland because, as public health policy, long-term progesterone contraceptives such as Depo Provera and Norplant are rarely used in European countries.

Last year, Fosu released a definitive report charging that organizations like Planned Parenthood (PPFA), are not informing women of the dangerous side effects before administering the implant or injectable. The report details how reproductive rights stakeholders — Gates, USAID, [Hewitt and Packard Foundations], western countries' development assistance programs – largely the U.S., UK, and PPFA/IPPF are complicit in the scale-up of these harmful drugs.

IPPF's Director General, Tewodros Melesse, avoided answering Fosu's question. Instead, Melesse made a general statement supporting Depo Provera, which did not give a reasonable explanation why African women were targeted with dangerous contraceptives rarely used by Caucasian women.

Despite some 30 minutes remaining and an earlier announcement of a second round of questions by the moderator — IPPF President Naomi Seboni abruptly ended the session. According to Fosu, IPPF wanted to avoid follow up questions from African delegates who immediately approached him for information.

Read Full Article by Lisa Correnti:
http://www.turtlebayandbeyond.org/2014/population/ippf-director-challenged-on-harmful-contraceptives-for-african-women/

Kwame Fosu
Director of International Affairs
& Policy Director
Rebecca Project for Justice
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