The IPAS Indonesia has lost its founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Prof. Irwanto, Ph.D. He passed away on Tuesday, 27 May 2025, in Jakarta.
It feels like only yesterday that we asked Prof. Ir to become part of the IPAS Indonesia family. But that moment turned out to be eight years ago. At that time, the Executive Director of IPAS Indonesia Foundation, Dr. Marcia Soumokil, MPH met him along with Human Resources and Office Manager Ferny Hapsari.
“We came to him to explain many things, why this organization [Yayasan IPAS Indonesia] is needed with the main goal of ensuring access to reproductive health and rights for women and girls in Indonesia,” recalls Dr. Marcia.
He didn’t take long to consider. He immediately agreed. “For almost seven years, Prof. Irwanto has been actively supporting the work of IPAS Indonesia . Every meeting he attends always produces many new insights for IPAS Indonesia. In these meetings, he is always solution-oriented, and not problem-oriented,” he added.
In Dr. Marcia’s memory, since last year, Prof. Ir has been very supportive of the studies conducted by IPAS Indonesia. Among them are the studies on Child Marriage, Teenage Pregnancy, and School Dropout.
“We had prepared the study plan with him through several meetings via Zoom. Until finally, we heard the news about his declining condition in the last two months,” she recalls.
Then, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 we heard the bad news. “I and many friends at the IPAS Indonesia were unable to say much. We know Prof. Irwanto has ended this journey well, but we feel very lost for his passing,” he said.
In Dr. Marcia’s memory, the introduction to Prof. Ir was so special. She discovered Prof. Ir’s name from a journal entitled “Measuring Women’s Psychological Well-being in Indonesia” published in Women & Health, in 2001. At that time, she was compiling research for her master’s degree on the topic of male involvement in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).
He was able to meet Prof. Ir in person after working in an organization with HIV and public health issues. “Very resourceful” is how she described her discussions with him. The relationship became even closer after they both sat on the supervisory board of an HIV community organization for several years.
“His knowledge and passion to support groups that are marginalized and/or stigmatized by the system is very admirable. I learned a lot. Rest in love, Mr. Ir. We will now continue your legacy. We will hold IPAS’s vision and mission to support women and girls’ bodily autonomy rights, as we will hold dearly the memories that we have with you. Thank you Sir – you have fought the good fight,” said Dr. Marcia.
