Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, committee members and fellow panellists. The International Planned Parenthood Federation, IPPF for short, is a global service provider and a leading advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.
Today, IPPF is a worldwide federation of 119 national member associations and 29 collaborative partners working with and for communities in 149 countries. These local member associations are nationally owned and governed civil society organizations, and leading sexual and reproductive health service providers in their respective countries. This gives IPPF a global presence unparalleled among other sexual and reproductive health and rights civil society organizations.
We defend the right of all people to enjoy their sexual lives free from ill health, unintended pregnancy, violence and discrimination. We deliver comprehensive sexuality education to young people, in and out of school, to help them both understand and claim their sexual rights, and we support a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy legally and safely.
As an international federation, IPPF provides a platform for member associations and stakeholder groups from around the world to come together. Our global presence makes IPPF a powerful advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights at all levels. We are, in a way, a living expression of the universality of sexual and reproductive health and rights and an expression of global solidarity.
I want to endorse everything that my colleague Elizabeth Sully from the Guttmacher Institute has said, and maybe just spend a couple of minutes looking at what she has called the “backlash”. From where I sit, [Technical difficulty—Editor].