Ipas has worked in Zambia since 2006, focusing on the broad goal of reducing abortion-related deaths and injuries. After an initial strategic assessment on abortion care and a multi-year study to introduce medical abortion (abortion with pills) in to Zambia’s public health facilities, Ipas has worked in partnership with government agencies to extend safe abortion services across the country. Ipas works with the Ministry of Health and other partners to improve women’s and girls’ access to safe abortion and contraceptive services, to train providers and pharmacists, to equip health-care facilities, and to mobilize youth and community partners to raise awareness about reproductive health and rights.
Impact in 2023
people received abortion at Ipas-supported facilities in Zambia
people received contraceptive services at Ipas-supported facilities in Zambia
abortion access points supported in Zambia
As climate change strikes again in Southern Africa, Ipas prepares to respond to reproductive health needs
In the wake of tropical cyclone Ana, which has killed more than 80 people in Southern Africa, Ipas teams in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia are preparing a coordinated response to ensure that reproductive health care, including access to postabortion care and contraception, remains available to women and girls affected by the storm.
Donate now to ensure that women in southern Africa have reproductive health care in the wake of recent cyclones.
What We Do
‘You have to get through the shell and the crown’
As part of a “photovoice” project, Kuza Kamanga, of Ipas Zambia, was asked to take a photo portraying the barriers and challenges that women face in accessing safe abortion care. He decided that a pineapple was the perfect symbol: to get to the fruit, you have to get through the shell and the crown—which represent such obstacles as abortion stigma and restrictive laws. He explains his thinking in this video.
The Youth-Friendly Corner
“I’m seeing change. Those young people who never used to have time are now coming to the clinic, have information and are using the services.”
– Martha Liswaniso, age 25, long-time youth-friendly corner volunteer
In the News
In the wake of tropical cyclone Ana, which has killed more than 80 people in Southern Africa, Ipas teams in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia are preparing a coordinated response to ensure that reproductive health care, including access to postabortion care and contraception, remains available to women and girls affected by the storm.
This two-page research brief looks at the results of client exit interviews conducted in 2014 with 616 Zambian women who sought a safe and legal pregnancy termination. The interviews explored issues of quality, service delivery and information dissemination as perceived by the women themselves—a perspective often neglected in reproductive health.
Abortion is legal in Zambia, but as the authors of a new study note, “the reality is far more complicated.” Very few women know they have the right to have an abortion or know where to seek this care. Unsafe abortions have caused unnecessary deaths in Zambia, even among women who have the right to a safe and legal abortion.
The Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom has announced it will fund a three-year research partnership to explore ways to improve adolescent access to contraception and safe abortion in Malawi, Zambia and Ethiopia.
Where We Are Located
Ipas Zambia
Plot 93 Kudu Road
Kabulonga
Lusaka, 10101
Zambia
Ipas Zambia
Plot 93 Kudu Road
Kabulonga
Lusaka, 10101
Zambia