Ipas introduced the concept of Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC) in India in the year 2000. Based on successful pilot interventions in three states,  concentrated efforts to transform abortion services from purely clinical procedures to a comprehensive women-centered service have gained impetus.  One of the major successes of these efforts has been in moving the terminology from MTP to CAC, thus recognizing the centrality of the woman. A very important component of this approach is the development of a trained workforce – both for further training of eligible doctors and for delivering high-quality CAC services in the most rural settings.

Ipas Development Foundation’s (IDF) woman-centered CAC approach takes into account the various factors that influence a woman’s individual health needs – both physical and mental – as well as her personal circumstances and her ability to access services.

 

 

 

IDF’s CAC Program strives to:

• Provide safe, high-quality services, including abortion, post abortion care and family planning;
• Decentralize services so they are closer to women;
• Be affordable and acceptable to women;
• Understand each woman’s particular social circumstances and individual needs and tailor her care accordingly;
• Address the needs of young women;
• Reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions;
• Identify and serve women with other sexual or reproductive health needs;
• Be sustainable to health systems

IDF works in partnership with 10 state governments to train obstetrician-gynecologists, and train and certify MBBS doctors (general practitioners) to offer high-quality CAC services to women; around 600 providers are added to this workforce each year.