“You work with people who have HIV? Why?”  That was the question asked to Dr. Gregory Boyce by the young intern that stood before him. He had come to the hospital ward to visit a client who was known to be living with HIV. He approached the intern at the desk and gave his name and designation. The intern looked at him, confused and somewhat amused and asked the question that he has neither forgotten, nor understood to this day.  However, this young intern’s question comes from a mindset that Dr. Boyce is working fervently to change. As Deputy Director of the Medical Research Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago (MRF), Dr. Boyce provides clinical as well as administrative support to a team of doctors and nurses whose daily vocation is to persons living with HIV. Due to MRF’s long-standing work in HIV research and healthcare, the Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago (FPATT), has navigated many of its clients to Dr. Boyce and his team, especially clients from the LGBTQI community.  “Persons coming to us from key populations, have very layered needs. They are facing unique challenges in addition to living with the virus. There is still that myth that being HIV positive means that you will positively die. Added to that, there’s the discrimination that the community faces in every aspect of their lives on a daily basis. As a staff, we’ve had to seek special training to guide the way we interact with these clients so that we can meet all their needs appropriately and sensitively,” explains Dr. Boyce.  He continued “Apart from medical interventions which are needed to ensure that our clients continue to live healthy lives, we focus heavily on their psychosocial needs. It’s easy to think that because a client is physically healthy that they are also emotionally healthy. We have clients that won’t leave abusive relationships because they think no one else would accept them. We have other clients that are dealing with long-term medication fatigue because they have been taking pills for over 10 years. With that sometimes comes depression and other drug addictions, which is why it’s necessary for us to maintain open and honest relationships to address those accompanying issues.” Making HIV a non-issue Having worked with persons living with HIV for over 20 years, Dr. Boyce remembers the early days that led him to this specialization. He had worked at the Port of Spain General Hospital after graduating, during which time, medicine for persons living with HIV was expensive and out of reach for many. A few years later, through government programmes, medicine became more affordable, and treatment centers were opening up across the island. However, Dr. Boyce realized that the mortality rate had not changed by much. He wondered why people were still dying from a virus when medicine was easily accessible. That was when he decided to follow his heart and commit to helping persons with HIV understand that there is hope.  “That first conversation – giving a client the news that they’ve tested positive – is very important. We get to show them that HIV is not an impediment. Most times, with the wrong information, they start to draw up a list of things that they can no longer do, like go after a promotion or start a family. Then they go through life shrunken and unrecognizable, not the person they once were. So to answer that intern’s question about why I work with persons living with HIV: I want to make HIV a non-issue,” he states.   Dr. Boyce hopes to see HIV disclosure become as acceptable as other chronic illnesses such as cancer or diabetes, where an entire family would work towards caring for the affected person, instead of alienating them. He also hopes to see more inclusion and tolerance towards persons living with HIV, especially those within the LGBTQI community.  “Until a gay or transgender person can walk the streets freely and not be jeered at by passers-by, we still have a long way to go. Until they can access treatment at any public facility without fear or judgment, we have a lot of work to do. It would take a lot of education to change the stigma and discrimination but there is absolutely no reason why another person’s life should be miserable because their expression is different to ours,” he commented.  He commends the work of FPATT in upholding the sexual and reproductive health rights of the LGBTQI community, through ensuring that they have a safe and non-judgmental environment for HIV and other STI tests. He says that the Medical Research Foundation values the great relationship that the two organizations have had for years, even as FPATT works towards becoming its own full-service antiretroviral treatment site for persons living with HIV.  

Never did she think that a job as Clinic Administrator would lead to a career that would change so many lives, but in 2007, Angelie Chotalal embarked on a path that would also change her life for good. Working at the Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago (FPATT) in her late thirties, Angelie found joy in handling the administrative needs of the clinic, ensuring that the doctors and staff had all the resources to function at full capacity. She held that position for 3 years until she transferred into the vocation of Sessional Nurse, caring for the clients and clinic in a more hands-on role.  For the next 8 years, Angelie would devote her energy into education, becoming a Health and Family Life Education Master Trainer, as well as a Master Trainer in HIV Testing.  It was during this time that she also improved her bilingual skills; a decision that would prepare her for great success in the coming years.  “Hola! Como estás? Te ves bien,” she says as she greets a Venezuelan woman in the waiting area of the clinic. Her compassion is soothing and her smile is contagious. In her current role as Clinic Co-ordinator, Angelie has found herself having to be creative, innovative and still down-to-earth in the planning and execution of programmes for FPATT’s 4 static clinics across the country. The young migrant mothers of the clinic have come to know her as a matriarch, as she frequents the clinic floor always ready to attend to a new concern. “What makes them less than human?” Fleeing political oppression, lack of food and medicine and the downfall of the Venezuelan economy, over 40,000 Venezuelans have migrated to Trinidad to seek safer livelihoods. Many of them work to send most of their income home for the families they had to leave behind. “This here is my heartbeat. The work we do with the migrant community is dear to me because when I hear their stories, I know that there is so much more to be done. They are part of a population that has not received equal treatment. They’ve been put into a situation that they couldn’t expect and their only hope was to flee to this country where basic human rights are being withheld from them. What makes them less than human?” she asks, her visage pained with concern. Despite the influx of Venezuelans, Trinidad and Tobago’s migration policy has offered refugees very little access to healthcare and social services. However, FPATT’s mandate is to ensure that every person living within the borders of Trinidad and Tobago receive equal access to Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (SRH) and Angelie’s personal mission is to ensure that they receive the best treatment when they come to her clinic.  “In 2018, we started offering healthcare specifically for the migrants. We had to ensure that our staff were compatible with our vision, and it was more than being bilingual; we each had to be genuinely empathetic toward the community we were seeking to serve. We worked to remove bias, xenophobia and other ill perceptions from even our own lives,” she noted. “The community is so close knit, that word of our services spread quickly and very soon our clinic for migrants was up and running. They would come in and see that it was a safe space to share their experiences and we took the time to listen, because they wouldn’t get this safety anywhere else.”  Before the FPATT clinic, migrants who needed SRH healthcare have had to book appointments with private doctors who often charge more than the migrants can afford.  “They work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, get enough income to take care of their families here and those they’ve left behind. We’ve visited homes that house up to 10 migrant families, but it’s merely a shack with no running water or space to sleep. And then COVID hit,” she pauses pensively. “Incomes disappeared and so did options for housing; many of them were left homeless, so women who were already vulnerable were now being exploited. Imagine, your landlord asks you to pay for your rent with sex and a month later, brings his friends to cash in on the same favour, all because he knows you have nowhere else to live.”  Taking SRH Services online FPATT has offered all their regular healthcare services including gender-based violence counselling, birth control and emergency contraception to the migrant community. When Trinidad and Tobago entered a lockdown due to COVID protocols in 2020, FPATT approached the United Nations Population Fund for sponsorship to launch TeleHealth, an online medical consultation programme specifically for the migrant community. Through TeleHealth, clients are able to book 30-minute consultations with a clinical doctor and have their concerns addressed, ailments diagnosed and medicine prescribed, over WhatsApp video call.   In January 2021, FPATT also hosted a webinar series patterned after IPPF’s One Curriculum but tailored to the needs of the migrant community. The series featured FPATT’s team of clinical staff as well as experts in the fields of nutrition, self-defence and gender-based violence. “The response to both programmes is tremendous. The online access works well for our clients and we have developed such close relationships with them that we would love to expand our healthcare, but funding is often our major issue. We need sponsors to come on board, see how the programmes impact the people and help us continue to serve,” she states.  Ms. Chotalal looks forward to working with the Family Planning Association and helping communities that need their services the most.

IPPF is pleased to announce the appointment of Eugenia Lopez Uribe as Regional Director and Dona Da Costa Martinez as Deputy Regional Director of the Americas and Caribbean. They will be based in the Americas and the Caribbean Regional office (ACRO), based in Bogota, Colombia and Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, respectively.  IPPF would like to thank partner organizations for their continuous support during the transition phase, as well as to the IPPF transition team led by Anamaria Bejar who will return to her position as IPPF Global Director of Advocacy. Eugenia López Uribe – IPPF ACRO Regional Director Eugenia is an experienced advocate for gender equality and sexual and reproductive rights, promoting innovation in the delivery of health services from a human rights perspective. She began her professional career as a volunteer with the Gente Joven (Young people) Programme of MEXFAM, IPPF's Mexican member association.  She has worked with rural and indigenous people, adolescents, youth, LGBTQI+ populations, sex workers and women with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean. For more than a decade she was the executive director of Balance, a sexual and reproductive rights NGO working on regional advocacy in favour of sexual rights. Internationally, Eugenia has engaged on the follow-up of the commitments of International Conference of Population and Development (ICPD), the Beijing Conference on Women’s Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women - CEDAW and UN General Assembly on AIDS.  She co-founded the Abortion Fund for Social Justice: MARIA, the first initiative of its kind in Latin America. Her experience includes ten years as part of the management team of the Integrated Model of Health Care for Rural Adolescents of the Mexican Social Security Institute - IMMS Oportunidades. Eugenia will be based in Bogotá - Colombia.  Dona Da Costa Martinez – IPPF ACRO Deputy Regional Director Dona began her work in sexual and reproductive health, thirty-five years ago, when she joined the Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago – FPATT in 1985.   In her formative years in the Association, she was responsible for research, planning and evaluation and the development of programmes to ensure the achievement of the Association’s mission.  From 1990 she served as the Deputy Executive Director of the Association before taking on the mantle of Executive Director in 1999.   Under her stewardship, the Association expanded its work in many other areas with a focus on integrating sexual rights in all of its programmes.  This included expansion of its advocacy work in abortion and LGBTQI rights, comprehensive sexuality education, gender-based violence, HIV prevention and ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health services to most at risk populations including sex workers and adolescents.   She serves as Co-Chair of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC), is the Chairperson of the Trinidad and Tobago Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance and serves on several other committees at the national, regional and international levels.   Dona is the holder of an Executive Master’s in Business Administration from the Institute of Business, University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago. Dona will be based in Port of Spain.  Under new leadership, IPPF ACRO will continue to provide support and strengthen our Member Associations in the Americas and the Caribbean to ensure they can deliver quality sexual and reproductive healthcare to those in need - no matter what.

The Trinidad and Tobago Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold the criminalization of consensual same-sex activity is an alarming assault on human rights. This ruling, which reinstates the criminality of private, consensual intimacy, is a direct violation of the fundamental rights of LGBTQI+ people and a stark reminder of the colonial-era laws that continue to inflict harm across the Caribbean. IPPF Americas and the Caribbean Regional Office (ACRO) together with local member Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago (FPATT) stand unequivocally with LGBTQI+ communities in Trinidad and Tobago and across the region. We reject this ruling and any legislation that denies people their right to love freely and live with dignity. This decision reflects a justice system with oppressive statutes that have no place in a just and democratic society. According to Eugenia López Uribe, Regional Director of IPPF ACRO, this ruling is not just a setback for LGBTQI+ rights, it is an attack on human dignity: “It is a deliberate attempt to silence, criminalize, and exclude a part of citizens and people living in the country. But let this be clear: IPPF regional office in the Americas and the Caribbean will continue fighting for and with the LGBTQI+ movement so they won’t be silenced. IPPF will not back down. LGBTQI+ people’s rights are non-negotiable. " Criminalizing LGBTQI+ lives perpetuate violence, discrimination, and stigma. It emboldens hate, undermines access to justice, and creates a climate of fear where LGBTQI+ individuals are forced to live in further vulnerability. Research published by CAISO: Sex and Gender Justice’s  Wholeness and Justice programme in 2023 indicate that 1 in 3 LGBTQI+ individuals in Trinidad and Tobago experience discrimination and harassment, 1 in 4 face family violence, and 1 in 4 experience physical assault. “FPATT [Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago] notes the recent Court of Appeal decision that affirms an old law before independence that criminalizes persons of a different orientation, due to a technicality- the saving law clause,” says Professor Rose Marie Antoine, FPATT’s Board of Trustees President. “Interestingly, the British colonial masters that drafted that law have long abolished it. We note too that this was not a unanimous court decision. FPATT looks forward to the day when our legal system and laws can reflect true equity and non-discrimination, serving all our nation’s peoples in their access to fundamental rights and protecting vulnerable groups from harm and violence. FPATT will continue to welcome and serve all people regardless of their sexual orientation.” We call for urgent action: The immediate repeal of Sections 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offences Act. A commitment from Caribbean governments to decriminalize same-sex relations and protect LGBTQI+ individuals from discrimination and violence. An end to the use of colonial-era "savings law" clauses to justify human rights violations. Now is the time for every human rights defender, policymaker, and ally to take a stand. LGBTQI+ people in Trinidad and Tobago—and across the Caribbean, our region and the world—deserve justice, equality, and the freedom to live without fear. IPPF will not stop until that is a reality. For more information, please contact [email protected] - +44 7918 845944    About the International Planned Parenthood Federation   IPPF is a global healthcare provider and a leading advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for all. Led by a courageous and determined group of women, IPPF was founded in 1952 at the Third International Planned Parenthood Conference. Today, we are a movement of 158 Member Associations and Collaborative Partners with a presence in over 153 countries.   Our work is wide-ranging, including comprehensive sex education, provision of contraceptive, safe abortion, and maternal care and responding to humanitarian crises. We pride ourselves on being local through our members and global through our network. At the heart of our mission is the provision of – and advocacy in support of – integrated healthcare to anyone who needs it regardless of race, gender, sex, income, and crucially no matter how remote. 

Revolutionizing CSE: Latin American and Caribbean Youth Leading the Charge!

Empowering Futures: Transforming Societies through Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Latin America and the Caribbean By Feminitt Caribbean and IPPF ACRO Co-authored by Valeria Marin (she/her), IPPF ACRO & Nyala Thompson Grunwald (she/her), Feminitt Caribbean Growing bodies of research and evidence commissioned by UN agencies and international non-governmental organizations have outlined the positive impacts of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in promoting healthy behaviors in interpersonal relationships, bodily autonomy, and respect for human life. Through CSE programming, adolescents and young people are provided with a safe and brave space to support their development and understanding of the world around them. The tools provided through CSE empower individuals’ decisions about their bodies, expression, and sexual health.  This is done through the exploration of concepts like ‘bodily autonomy’ which is the right to be informed and equipped with skills where you choose what you do with your body, how and with whom, among many other aspects without external force or influence. Developing the embodied cognitive skills to understand your body, and understand what feels good –– in every sense of pleasure –– is a lifelong exercise. It is an exercise that CSE is fundamental in providing a safe space for. CSE is best effective when it is age-appropriate and tailored to the needs of each age group. The earlier CSE learning starts, the more effective it can be. A Ministerial Declaration Preventing Through Education”, accessed through the UNESCO Comprehensive Sex Education Implementation Toolkit resource, states that, “comprehensive sexuality education starting in early childhood favors the gradual acquisition of information and knowledge necessary to develop the skills and attitudes needed for a full and healthy life as well as to reduce sexual and reproductive health risks.'' Although this is a necessary commitment made at the level of legislative and executive spheres of power,  the implementation of CSE learning cannot be on the terms and conditions of whatever political party is in power, nor to their terms and conditions, neither to the predominant discourse regarding sexuality and gender relationships, and identities in any given environment, and something about ‘preventing through education’ rankles of an incredibly harmful coding. Instead, implementing the CSE curriculum should be to fulfill the obligation to uphold the right to education, security, and good health and well-being as demonstrated throughout international standards of human rights. CSE is a central part of achieving Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” and its thematic indicator 4.7.2 which measures the progress of the goal by the “ Percentage of schools that provided life skills-based HIV and sexuality education within the previous academic year.”  Comprehensive Sexuality Education programs can be structured according to a helix shape –– imagine starting to make loops with your hand, except each time you are about to finish one loop, you move your hand slightly lower and start the next loop –– whereby the same key points of information are returned to during each year of schooling, only in a slightly different way: “CSE must start with foundational knowledge and skills at the primary level, and building scaffolded ways through secondary schools and beyond.” This is the recommendation made in a report conducted by Spotlight Initiative [this EU-UN organization launches informed campaigns with localized partners, working towards an end of gender-based violence, particularly against women and girls] – and in many other reports from experts around the world in the past decades. The point is valid, however it must account for cultural and spatial specificities, even logistical particularities in any given environment.With all that CSE encompasses, the CSE curriculum will be most effective when it is context specific.  This, the fluid potential for directing CSE through a certain bias, is why CSE is so incredibly important. CSE taught through a risk-based approach can reinforce gender stereotypes and harmful practices that can lead to the discrimination of queer communities perpetuating the cycle of gender-based violence. Unfortunately, forms of GBV are rampant from a scale of everyday micro-aggression to fatalities. CSE must be a part of an individual's education, simply because it can and will provide skills that could and will save lives. In recent years, Latin America and the Caribbean have witnessed a concerning surge in the influence of fundamentalist and right-wing movements, posing a formidable challenge to the promotion and implementation of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in the region. Opponents of CSE have strategically employed a range of tactics to undermine its progress, relying on fallacious arguments devoid of scientific support related to human sexuality. False accusations regarding the use of sexually explicit materials have been wielded as a means to discredit and delegitimize CSE programs. However, in response to the escalating challenges posed by fundamentalist and right-wing movements in Latin America and the Caribbean, feminist and activist networks and communities around the world are mobilizing to counter regressive arguments and ensure the destigmatization of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). By recognizing the importance of CSE as a fundamental human right activists are working tirelessly to debunk fallacious claims and provide evidence-based information about the positive impact of inclusive sexual education and actively challenge the false accusations and fear tactics employed by opponents.  Feminists and activists aim to create an environment where CSE is perceived as a crucial tool for empowerment, self-determination, and the promotion of healthy relationships. Through their efforts, they seek to break down societal barriers, destigmatize the discourse around sexual education, and advocate for the universal right to access quality CSE, emphasizing its role in fostering a society that respects and upholds human rights for all. IPPF ACRO and Feminitt Caribbean share this values and that is why we recommend governments to: Guarantee access to girls and children to schools, education is one of the main intervention for girls to make their own decisions. Every child must have access to education. Invest in adequate resourcing for schools to deliver teacher training to ensure that teachers are well-resourced and skilled to deliver rights-based CSE curriculum in an unbiased and non-judgmental way. Invest in adequate resourcing schools to deliver effective CSE. CSE should be fun, interactive, and age- appropriate. Some schools are not equipped with adequate classrooms and instructional material to deliver CSE programmes. When there is dedicated financing allotted to CSE programming, learners are able to participate in comfort. Invest in menstrual equity by way of subsidizing the cost of period products and implementing a Menstrual Equity Act to serve those who are in need of support. Period poverty including a lack of access to comprehensive menstrual health education act as barriers for learners to attend school. When menstruators have access to period products and menstrual health education, they are able to enjoy their right to education, safely. Amend education policies and other supporting legal frameworks to enable the delivery of CSE programming in schools 

Through the 'Ready, SEt, Go!' series, the Social Enterprise Hub showcases organizations that received IPPF funding in the 2021/2022 financial year and shares insight and visuals into each Association’s Social Enterprise (SE) journey, from ideation to establishment, learnings and plans for the future.  This year there were three Members Association chosen to be featured from the IPPF Americas and Caribbean Region - Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mexico, as well as other organisations.   Download the features in .pdf HERE  

Tell us a bit about yourself? What inspires you to do this job? From the beautiful Caribbean twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago, I am a registered Nurse of over 30 years and hold a bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration. I have always been concerned with the welfare of others, perhaps influenced by my mother’s profession as a nurse and my father as a medical representative. FPATT allows me the opportunities to fulfil that desire in ensuring that our organization provides care that is friendly and professional to all, inclusive of marginalized and vulnerable persons. My inspiration comes from knowing that positive impacts are being made to enhance peoples’ lives. In brief, what is your organization’s Social Enterprise (SE) project and what are the social issues you are trying to address? Local health care has two options, that is, free medical care provided by government run health facilities, however patients often wait months or years to receive the necessary lifesaving investigative procedures and/or care. The second is accessing expensive private care. To address this social predicament, FPATT’s Diagnostic Clinic, in its first phase, will provide important Ultrasound, Electrocardiograms and other procedures that help in health management. This clinic will offer services at a competitive market cost and provide highly subsidized prices for others, as well as partnering with the government health facilities to provide services thereby reducing their patient waiting list. During 2021, what has been the most significant achievement with regards to your SE activities? The start of the Diagnostic clinic in November 2021, and the provision of much needed lifesaving diagnostic services to the public, marginalised and the highly vulnerable population consisting of migrants, refugees and asylees. Although plagued with COVID-19 and human resource challenges, determination and persistence paved the way to starting this SE business initiative Establishing a viable SE takes research and planning. Explain to us, in brief, the process you/your team followed. Any other/new SE projects lined up for 2022? FPATT’s journey with Social Enterprising began in 2015. The initial project ‘Health Link’ was aimed at corporations exercising their corporate responsibility to employees’ well-being. In 2018, the global economic downturn resulted in rethinking strategies and the social enterprise initiative. Keeping with provision of services, current social issues and needs were re-examined for alignment with SRH care and current market opportunities. Frequent analysis (internal and external), consultations with stakeholders, IPPF and the SE Hub resulted in a redirection of the initiative and the development of the Diagnostic Clinic that has the capacity for sustainability, growth, and provision of services to all. What were your key learnings from the 2021 SE Internship and has it benefitted your work? Learning is never ceasing, no matter how much you may think you know, there is always more or a new way to perceive. Key learnings; Businesses can provide services and/or products to benefit persons in need. The need for and the importance of strategic planning activities. Marketing done right, is key is having a successful business. A successful and reputable business considers ALL its stakeholders, internal and external. The steps required to have an organization that is selfsustainable. On a personal note, having workshops/internships can still be LOADS of fun. Sri Lanka is on my bucket list of countries to visit. If you could give a prospectively interested Member Association, two pieces of advice of Social Enterprise, what would those be? Social Enterprise enables deep and critical thinking about your organization, where you are, where you want to be, how to get there and achieve self-sustainability. It is also the perfect solution to creating a balance between business survival and being able to perform humanitarian work. Any recent event that inspired you or has contributed to your success? I was a participant in the recent WHO Global School on Refugee and Migrant Health 2021, and this was a source of inspiration, acknowledgement and comfort, that we do make the difference.

The IPPF Americas and Caribbean Team (ACRO), together with representatives of Member Associations from Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, and Ecuador met in Bogota in March 2022 for a training on implementation of the Minimum Initial Service Package on Sexual and Reproductive Health in humanitarian settings and on addressing gender-based violence led by the IPPF Humanitarian Team. Nearly 40 participants had the opportunity to update their knowledge and learn about new approaches to implementing humanitarian responses in Sexual and Reproductive Health, as well as share their experiences with the implementation of humanitarian responses in the diverse regional context of the Americas and the Caribbean, with particular emphasis on the Venezuelan migration crisis. During the training week, special relevance was given to the issue of coordinating efforts in humanitarian response with other allied actors as well as among the different IPPF Member Associations in the region because the Venezuelan migration crisis is a regional phenomenon. People from Venezuela, especially women, adolescents, and girls, are forced to leave their country due to the precarious economic situation, political instability, insecurity, lack of basic health care, and in other cases due to threats to their lives. They seek refuge in other countries in the region, with Colombia and Peru being the main destinations.  Migrants, who travel through entire countries to reach their final destination, face enormous difficulties and barriers in accessing health services in general and sexual and reproductive health services in particular, as well as discrimination and stigma. That through the humanitarian response they access programs and services provided by IPPF Member Associations, including STI and HIV diagnosis and treatment services, family planning, safe abortion care, and survivors of gender-based violence. IPPF Global and ACRO humanitarian team visit to key health care points for migrants from Venezuela. The humanitarian team had the opportunity to visit the points where services are being provided as part of the humanitarian response to Venezuelan migration in the cities of Cúcuta and Santander, which allowed them to learn more about the ongoing response in Colombia, a country that as of January 2021 has received more than 1,700,000 migrants from the neighboring country, according to data from Migration Colombia. IPPF's Humanitarian Program contributes to the consolidation of an innovative model for sexual and reproductive health and rights in crisis situations, connecting key elements of humanitarian action with long-term development. We are one of the world's largest providers of sexual and reproductive health services in emergencies. Sexual and reproductive health and rights in crisis The need for women's reproductive health care is not suspended in crises. A quarter of those affected by crises worldwide are women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49. One in five women is likely to be pregnant and one and five of all births will experience complications. In crisis settings, there is also an increased risk of child, early and forced marriages and unions, sexual violence, unsafe abortions, and unassisted childbirth. Transmission rates of STIs, including HIV, also increase in emergencies.   During crises, we work closely with our clinics on the ground to provide life-saving care to people in need. Our mobile health clinics bring comprehensive services to where they are needed by people affected by the crisis.  

Three million Venezuelans, fleeing a national crisis of economic depression and political oppression have found themselves seeking refuge in Latin America and the neighbouring islands of the Caribbean. About 40,000 of those have come to Trinidad and Tobago’s shores, with the hopes of finding a better life. Anything would be different from what they have left behind.  Neighbourhoods that once echoed the voices of playing children, were now riddled with the sounds of gunshots. Business places with broken store fronts, empty grocery and pharmacy shelves, elderly persons homeless and impoverished. Those with well-paying jobs could no longer make enough money to feed their families so walking the streets in your own neighbourhood put you at risk of kidnapping for menial ransoms.  This was the situation in Cumana Sucre that caused Marina Lopez to flee with her husband and two daughters in 2018. She was a preschool teacher and a good one at that. She loved the interaction she had with her students, seeing them grow in both knowledge and stature in their formative years, but it wasn’t enough to allay her fears of her own family’s survival.  As persons living with HIV, Marina and her teenaged daughter depended on constant access to medicine and healthcare, neither of which was still accessible. With daughters in tow, Marina and her husband braved the waters in search of new life in Trinidad.  About the same time, Ana Camacho, a young mother with dreams of migrating to Canada, said goodbye to her teary-eyed mother, sisters and 12-year-old daughter. She once held a good job as an administrator in Anaco, Venezuela, but when the company closed, she could no longer make the money needed to provide. A life in Canada seemed very promising and she and a friend decided that they would work for 3 months in Trinidad to gather the funds for the move up North. However, when she gained employment in Trinidad, her mother became ill and she was forced to postpone her plans and settle on the island in order to continue working.   “Everyone was so friendly and treated us like people” Both Marina and Ana can vividly recount the experiences that brought them to Trinidad 3 years ago. Today, they are both clients of the Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago (FPATT) receiving care to meet their varying sexual and reproductive health needs.  “I was told about the Clinic from the UNHCR. They suggested that my daughter and I come here for treatment. When we got here everyone was so friendly and treated us like people. They understand us and that is so hard to find. They also referred us to the hospital in San Fernando for further treatment and it has been great since. We feel very comfortable here,” Marina disclosed. For 34-year-old Ana, her experience at FPATT is an interesting one. “When I first heard about the Clinic, I thought I would come in for a pap smear. I was in a new country, working and sending what I made back home for my family. I didn’t want to risk getting sick so I booked an appointment to get the test. When I came in, the nurses asked me if I was pregnant, and I said no, only to find out that I was. I was shocked, but I knew that the doctors and nurses at the clinic are good people and would take care of me during pregnancy. My son is now 14 months and now I come in for my contraceptive shot. I bring my son with me and everyone treats him like their own,” she says.  Ana was also a participant in the webinar series hosted by FPATT in January 2021. The 8-module Zoom series was based on IPPF’s One Curriculum, but designed to meet the specific needs of the migrant community. Although the series covered many topics including Nutrition, Gender-Based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, the one module that stood out for Ana was Self Defense.  “One day I was on my way to work in a taxi and I realized that the driver was not taking the route that other drivers do. I asked him where he was going and he wouldn’t answer me. I got very scared because I was in the taxi by myself. I started to shout at him and he still wouldn’t answer me until finally he stopped and I ran out of the taxi. I went to a police station and the officer asked me what I was doing alone in the taxi. I told him that I was trying to get to work. After that, I never worked again. It’s too risky. I wish I had seen that self-defense class before that evening,” she said.  Many migrants have had similar experiences to that of Ana’s. Incidences of sexual exploitation, gender-based violence, and xenophobia are rampant among the women in the community and so they are grateful for the refuge they find at FPATT. “In here, they genuinely look out for us,” Ana says, “and that’s different from how we are treated when we walk the street. They live up to their name as Family.”