As we’ve shared with you before, our team in the Democratic Republic of Congo is truly heroic in their efforts to bring reproductive health care to people who desperately need it amid the ongoing violent conflict.  

Last summer, Ipas DRC’s Dr. Celestine Buyibuyi shared personal video accounts of what her typical day looks like working in the camps for displaced people in the eastern part of the country. But the conflict has raged on since then.  

This September, Ipas DRC’s communications advisor Habygaelle Muzie has shared an update on how this resilient team continues to show up for women and girls. Despite horrific violence causing severe disruption to health systems and medical supply chains, our team has doubled their efforts to ensure urgently needed care like contraception and abortion is still available.  

Thanks to Ipas supporters like you, they have trained providers, stocked clinics with hard-to-find essentials like contraceptives, and set up a new community health center when a military hospital withdrew. Because reproductive health care cannot wait.

“The humanitarian situation remains unpredictable, but our determination is unwavering,” says Dr. Justin Mumbere, an Ipas DRC health system officer working on the frontlines of the conflict. He and his colleagues continue Ipas’s vital work every day, despite the emotional toll and personal safety risks that come with working in an active conflict zone.

This is what resilience looks like. And this is what it means to work for abortion access for all—no matter who, no matter where.

With you and other Ipas supporters by our side, our brave staff in the DRC and other crisis settings around the world will continue to show up for people who urgently need reproductive health care. As always, we’re so grateful you’re with us in this fight. 

In solidarity, 

Your friends at Ipas