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ASTRA Network

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The only regional network uniting NGOs & activists across Central and Eastern Europe & Central Asia advancing sexual & reproductive health & rights

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The latest edition of the ASTRA Network Bulletin – SRHR News from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia is out now.

This issue’s Burning Issue, “Reproductive Rights in a Changing Climate,” explores how the climate crisis is already affecting sexual and reproductive health and rights across our region — from extreme heat and displacement to pressure on healthcare systems and deepening inequalities.

With insights from Chiara Cosentino, Sevara Khamidova from @c2030europe and Sally Dijkerman from @ipasorg, we look at why SRHR must be part of climate adaptation, policy and financing.

The bulletin also brings updates from across the ASTRA region, including:

🌍 Hungary – opportunities for reform on abortion care and emergency contraception
🌍 North Macedonia – a new public medical abortion counselling centre outside Skopje
🌍 Kyrgyzstan – training on medical abortion, comprehensive abortion care and telemedicine
🌍 Albania – responses to growing anti-gender and anti-choice pressure
🌍 Tajikistan – gaps between SRHR commitments and access in practice, alongside progress on HPV vaccination

Plus contributions from Armenia, Georgia, Latvia and Romania on abortion care, youth participation, sexuality education, gender-based violence, human trafficking and feminist advocacy.

Read the latest edition and stay connected with SRHR developments across the region. Link in our bio!

#ASTRANetwork by @astranetworkorg

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13 days ago

When funding for sexual and reproductive health and rights is cut, lives are cut short.

From unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions to rising maternal and HIV-related deaths, every cut to sexual and reproductive health and rights funding carries a human cost. It cuts off access to vital healthcare for underserved groups of women, LGBTQAI+ and gender non-binary people, and leaves survivors of gender-based violence without protection.

Across Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central and North Asia (CEECCNA), feminist movements are doing the essential work: bringing contraception and maternal care to rural villages, running hotlines for abortion access, building survivor communities, and pushing back against disinformation and regressive policies. They are holding the line, with rapidly disappearing resources, growing demands, political pressures, and restrictions.

Dalan Fund and ASTRA Network are launching a joint campaign, “A Choice That Matters,” to spotlight the voices of grassroots activists who transform rights on paper into rights in practice, as well as to inspire and influence funders—both current and new—to support SRHR movements in this critical moment.

Over the coming weeks, join us for a powerful conversation on the strategies, resilience, and collective action needed to continue protecting human rights in hostile environments, and on why increased, strategic funding is more urgent than ever.

🔗 Take action now: astra.org.pl/achoicethatmatters

#AChoiceThatMatters #ASTRANetwork #dalanfund by @astranetworkorg

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a year ago

Dive into the realities of sexual and reproductive health and rights across Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia through a powerful series of interviews with activists, advocates, and changemakers.

This film sheds light on the complex and often difficult situations facing SRHR defenders in their countries: shrinking civic space, stigma, political backlash, barriers to abortion and contraception, gender-based violence, discrimination, and attacks on bodily autonomy. Through personal testimony and frontline experience, activists and organizations share how these challenges affect people’s lives, and how local movements continue to resist, organize, and push for dignity, justice, and rights.

Link in our bio by @astranetworkorg

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6 months ago

From 8–10 October, ASTRA Network joined activists, experts, policymakers and feminist organisations in Sibiu, Romania, for the annual Gender Equality Festival organised by our member organisation A.L.E.G.

Representing ASTRA Network and FEDERA, Ewa Szymera took part in conversations about some of the most urgent SRHR challenges facing Europe today — from attacks on abortion and contraception access to growing inequalities in healthcare, anti-rights mobilisation and disinformation.

Bringing in the Polish perspective, Ewa spoke about the ongoing struggle for abortion law reform and the crucial difference between having rights on paper and being able to access reproductive healthcare in practice.

During the festival’s Living Library and discussions on resisting disinformation, we shared experiences, strategies and ideas for building stronger feminist responses across borders.

Because spaces like this matter. They allow us to connect, learn from one another and strengthen a movement that refuses to accept the rollback of our rights.

Thank you, @aleg_romania, for bringing us together in Sibiu!

#astranetwork #aleg #SRHR by @astranetworkorg

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12 hours ago

🌍 Vyšlo nové vydanie ASTRA Bulletinu, ktorého súčasťou je aj Možnosť voľby.

🌡️ Hlavnou témou je vzťah medzi klimatickou krízou a reprodukčnými právami – a tiež to, prečo musí byť reprodukčná spravodlivosť súčasťou odpovede na klimatickú krízu.

📖 Celé vydanie, vrátane nášho príspevku aj aktualít z deviatich ďalších krajín regiónu, nájdete na odkaze na našom webe a na webe siete Astra. by @astranetworkorg

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10 days ago

Am discutat despre starea drepturilor sănătății reproducerii în trei state europene, ne-am pus creativitatea și activismul la treabă în atelierul de creație mesaje pentru Ziarul Orizontal și am provocat stereotipurile, miturile și prejudecățile în spectacolul Monoloagele Vaginului.

După discuția cu Ewa Szymera – @astranetworkorg, Emilia Esini – Maghweb, Adriana Radu – @sexulvsbarza.ig, @ruxandracibudeaconu – senatoare în Parlamentul României, am rămas cu mesajul că, deși drepturile cu greu câștigate sunt acum atacate, există organizații puternice ale societății civile care luptă pentru aceste drepturi și care compensează prin servicii și informare lipsurile lăsate de instituțiile statului.

Acțiunea la Ziarul Orizontal, cu @perjovschidan și Adriana Radu, ne-a reamintit că activismul ia diverse forme, că vocile tuturor merită să fie ascultate și că e important să luptăm pentru drepturile câștigate, dar și pentru extinderea lor.
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Festivalul Egalităţii de Gen® este o campanie de conștientizare organizată de Asociația A.L.E.G., adresată în primul rând tinerilor, pentru a-i ajuta să se împrietenească cu concepte precum drepturile omului, drepturile femeilor și drepturile sexuale și reproductive. Ne dorim să-i invităm să vadă dincolo de stereotipuri și prejudecăți.

Anul acesta, Festivalul Egalității de Gen este finanțat de Uniunea Europeană. Părerile și opiniile exprimate aparțin însă exclusiv autorului/autorilor și nu reflectă neapărat opiniile Uniunii Europene sau ale Agenției Executive Europene pentru Educație și Cultură (EACEA). Nici Uniunea Europeană, nici EACEA nu pot fi trase la răspundere pentru acestea. by @astranetworkorg

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10 days ago

What would you do if you were pregnant and couldn’t reach healthcare?

For many people in Romania, access already depends on where they live.

People in rural areas report almost 1.5 times higher unmet medical needs than people living in cities. More than 90% of hospitals and independent specialist clinics are located in urban areas, and around 90% of physicians and nurses work in urban healthcare settings.

Pregnancy care cannot always wait. Regular antenatal care helps identify complications and protect the health of both the pregnant person and the pregnancy. Yet UNICEF has documented persistent barriers to antenatal care in Romania, particularly among disadvantaged and rural populations, including limited access to health services and health education.

Now add climate change.

Romania is considered highly vulnerable to climate impacts including floods and droughts, with consequences for infrastructure and health. More than 15% of Romania’s healthcare facilities are located in areas potentially exposed to river flooding, one of the highest proportions reported in Europe.

Floods can disrupt medical treatment, supplies and essential infrastructure. For someone already travelling a long distance for care, that disruption can turn an existing barrier into an emergency.

Access to reproductive healthcare is part of climate resilience. Because when healthcare becomes harder to reach, not everyone can simply wait.

Sources: OECD, Reviews of Health Systems: Romania 2025, UNICEF Romania, Improving the quality of antenatal care, and the European Climate and Health Observatory on healthcare facilities and flooding. by @astranetworkorg

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20 days ago

On International Safe Abortion Day, we say it clearly: Abortion care is essential healthcare.

Criminalising abortion violates human rights and perpetuates gender-based violence.

Europe has made progress. Now it is time to go further.

Abortion care must be legal, accessible, affordable and available to everyone who needs it - regardless of who they are, where they live or what they can afford.

Abortion is healthcare. Access is a right.

#EuropeForAbortionRights by @astranetworkorg

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22 days ago

On World Contraception Day, we are reminded that misinformation about contraception continues to create real barriers to reproductive choice.

Contraception does not cause abortion or infertility, and modern contraceptive methods are safe and effective for most people. Yet myths, stigma and a lack of reliable information can prevent people from making informed decisions about their reproductive health.

Globally, 259 million women who want to avoid pregnancy are still not using safe and effective family planning methods.

Across Europe, access remains deeply unequal. A persistent East-West divide is visible in contraceptive policies and public support, with many countries in Central and Eastern Europe offering more limited access, information and financial support than countries in Western Europe.

Access to contraception means more than simply having contraceptive methods available. It means access to accurate, evidence-based information, a meaningful choice of methods, affordable services and care free from stigma, discrimination and coercion.

Ensuring access to contraception is essential to reproductive autonomy and the ability to make informed decisions about one’s own body, health and future. by @astranetworkorg

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24 days ago

In Hungary, this is no longer a hypothetical question.

The summer of 2026 was the second hottest recorded in Hungary since 1901, with an average temperature 2.6°C above the 1991-2020 norm. Temperatures exceeded 40°C on several days, and a new national record of 42°C was measured. Budapest experienced one of its longest and most intense extreme-heat periods on record.

But heat does not affect everyone equally.

Pregnancy changes the way the body responds to heat. WHO has specifically highlighted this risk through the experiences of pregnant women in Budapest, where temperatures approached 40°C during the summer of 2024. Research increasingly links extreme heat during pregnancy with higher risks of adverse outcomes, including preterm birth.

And climate pressure does not arrive in a vacuum.

In Hungary, women already face significant barriers to sexual and reproductive healthcare. Medical abortion is unavailable. Access to abortion involves mandatory counselling, a waiting period and a requirement concerning fetal vital signs. The UN has also raised concerns about access to affordable modern contraception.

Maternity care has also been criticised for being highly medicalised and for practices described by women’s rights organisations as obstetric violence and institutional racism. For marginalised women, including Roma women, access to prenatal and other reproductive healthcare can be particularly limited, with care sometimes delayed or denied.

Extreme heat can make these existing barriers even harder to navigate. Many hospitals and rural transport options lack adequate air conditioning, making access to healthcare particularly difficult during heatwaves. Giving birth in temperatures approaching 40°C is not simply a question of discomfort. It can also affect patient safety, working conditions for healthcare professionals and the dignity of people giving birth.

For people already facing barriers to healthcare, extreme heat can make access even harder. Climate change does not create inequality. It deepens existing inequalities.

Sources: HungaroMet, WHO Europe, UN CEDAW Committee, UNFPA.

@fineacts @shahnaztahmed @_bkyle taken in Budapest, Hangary by @astranetworkorg

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a month ago

Ahead of International Safe Abortion Day on 28 September, ASTRA Network is joining the Europe for Abortion Rights campaign.

#EuropeForAbortionRights by @astranetworkorg

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a month ago

A big ASTRA welcome to inTYMYta, our newest Network member! 💙 We’re excited to have you join our community.

For more than three decades, inTYMYta has been doing the kind of work that makes SRHR real in people’s everyday lives: talking with young people about consent, relationships, boundaries and sexual health, supporting teachers and parents, and pushing period poverty onto the public agenda in Slovakia and beyond.

We’re especially glad to welcome a team that combines hands-on education with advocacy and evidence-building — from menstrual cabinets to work at the European Parliament.

Very happy to have you with us, inTYMYta. We’re looking forward to what we can build together! by @astranetworkorg

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a month ago