International Women’s Day 2025
Conflicts are fueling a surge in violence against women, as seen in Ukraine, Sudan, and Myanmar. At the same time, Afghan women are barred from studying medicine, despite a severe shortage of healthcare professionals and a critical maternal mortality rate in the country. Meanwhile, Meta (Facebook, Instagram) censors content on abortion pills, even as access to them faces increasing restrictions in the United States. Adding to these crises, health misinformation is spreading: unqualified influencers take advantage of women’s medical distress for personal gain.
These examples are just a glimpse of the obstacles to women’s rights, including access to healthcare. Yet, ensuring equal access to medical care and treatment is crucial for advancing global health efforts and strengthening the fight against pandemics. L’Initiative places human rights and health equity at the core of its strategy and is deeply committed to integrating gender perspectives into the projects it supports, enhancing the response to women’s specific healthcare needs, improving their access to medical services, and ultimately fostering their autonomy worldwide.
L’Initiative at the core of feminist diplomacy
Adeline Battier, Project Manager at L’Accélérateur and gender integration focal point, reviews L’Initiative’s strategy for tackling inequalities. She highlights its alignment with the Global Fund’s priorities, its consistency with France’s feminist diplomacy, and its integration into the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) strategy.
Read her interview.
Empowering and assisting the most vulnerable women
Women living in rural areas, drug users, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are among those most at risk from disease. Due to marginalization, they face significant barriers to accessing healthcare. L’Initiative works alongside projects dedicated to promoting equitable access to healthcare for all.
PluriElles: improving access to healthcare for women in rural Madagascar
The PluriElles project aims to strengthen community-based sexual and reproductive health services and combat pandemics in two rural regions of Madagascar. Rina Rakotonaivo, PluriElles Project Manager at Santé Sud, discusses the project’s implementation and impact in these highly vulnerable areas.
SIDC, committed to healthcare accessibility in Lebanon
Since 1987, the Society for Inclusion and Development in Communities (SIDC) has been dedicated to ensuring quality healthcare and treatment for vulnerable populations, especially those living with HIV. With the support of L’Initiative, the Gateway to Better Health project also aims to reinforce the right to healthcare for those facing the greatest discrimination.
Improving maternal and infant health for vulnerable women in Ghana
In Ghana, access to mental health care and treatment remains out of reach for most people in need. The lack of mental health support, coupled with barriers to healthcare, prevents women and girls from receiving essential maternal and child health services. Implemented by BasicNeeds, the project focuses on strengthening community health systems to ensure better integration of person-centered services for HIV, tuberculosis, and sexual and reproductive health. It prioritizes the most vulnerable women and adolescent girls. Peter Badimak Yaro, Executive Director of BasicNeeds, discusses the project’s goals, its approach, and implementation, which aims to reach 14,000 women.
CoMPSS: supporting Ukrainian women who use drugs in wartime
The war in Ukraine has heightened the risks faced by vulnerable populations, especially women who use drugs. Spearheaded by the Alliance for Public Health (APH) and VONA, the CoMPSS project provides them with comprehensive psychological, social, and medical support, including access to opioid substitution therapy (OST). Yevheniia Zakrevska, Senior Manager at APH, and Olga Dolechek, CoMPSS Project Manager, shed light on the challenges faced by women who use drugs in Ukraine and the impact of the CoMPSS project during the war. They are joined by Tetyana Lebed, Director of VONA, and Kateryna Hrytsaenko, Head of the National Helpline for Addiction and OST Services.
Fighting HPV and cervical cancer: a major challenge
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer affecting women worldwide. L’Initiative supports the Scale Up Cervical Cancer Elimination with Secondary Prevention Strategy (SUCCESS) program dedicated to eliminating the disease. The project focuses on human papillomavirus (HPV) screening and early treatment of precancerous lesions, with a particular focus on women living with HIV, who face a six times higher risk of developing cervical cancer. During its first phase, the project was rolled out in four countries, screening nearly 185,000 women between 2021 and 2024. Now in its second phase, SUCCESS is scaling up its efforts and expanding to six additional countries.
Committing to fight gender-based, sexist, and sexual violence
Across 40 eligible countries, L’Initiative backs innovative projects that empower women and communities by improving access to SRHR.
La Ruta: a series dedicated to sexual and reproductive health in the Dominican Republic
The episodes of the La Ruta miniseries explore gender-based violence, the prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, and healthcare access for people with disabilities. Through the journeys of Carlitos, Alondra, and Zelba, the series raises awareness and encourages social and behavioral change in sexual and reproductive health. This innovative awareness tool aims to empower its target audience: young people and women with disabilities. It is carried out as part of the LISS project, with the support of L’Initiative.
Enhancing SRHR for Ivorian sex workers
The POUVOIR project addresses gender-based violence and the high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS among sex workers in Côte d’Ivoire. Implemented by Solthis, the initiative empowers organizations and peer educators to promote SRHR, focusing on self-care approaches such as self-administered contraception and self-testing for STIs. Through POUVOIR, two dedicated support centers assist sex workers affected by violence, providing healthcare services, temporary shelter, psychological support, and legal advice, as highlighted in reports aired on Arte’s news program and RFI’s Journal Afrique.
APCASO: ensuring healthcare access for the most vulnerable in Asia-Pacific
In the Asia-Pacific region, the three pandemics disproportionately affect the most marginalized populations. As a network of community-based and non-governmental organizations, APCASO advocates for the integration of the diseases into national health policies while strengthening community health and social justice systems. With L’Initiative’s support, APCASO is leading the REGENERATE project across Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. This initiative aims to make pandemic response efforts more inclusive and better suited to the needs of vulnerable communities. Within the project, marginalized communities themselves will take a key role in advancing gender equality and expanding access to SRHR services.
SOFIA support fund: a key support for community organizations
As part of L’Accélérateur, L’Initiative’s Structuring Civil Society Organizations: Financing, Impact, and Support (SOFIA) fund provides tailored assistance to organizations working closely with communities and beneficiaries. Though these organizations operate on a smaller scale than those funded through standard project grants, their impact remains crucial in tackling pandemics. In Djibouti, L’Initiative supports Solidarité Féminine (SF), which assists women affected by HIV, either directly or indirectly, through skills training and microcredit programs. In Benin, the SOFIA mechanism funds Association Solidarité, which supports sex workers by offering disease prevention services, medical care, psychological counseling, and legal aid for survivors of sexual violence. With its strong community engagement, the organization also advocates for policy change, working with institutions such as the Ministry of Health.
