HEALTH ministry representatives from Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe are meeting in Harare this week as part of the regional engagement on adolescents sexual reproductive health rights (SRHR) access programme.
Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) access program hosted by Hivos and other various stakeholders at the Rainbow Towers Hotel. The programme, hosted by Hivos, is running under the theme “Collaborating for equitable SRHR in East and Southern Africa”, and seeks to promote learning, share legal perspectives and policies that align with international standards.
It also seeks to prioritize adolescents’ health and well being in Africa.
Speaking during a panel discussion on Thursday, Uganda’s Health ministry representative Roseline Achola stated that “religious opposition, immorality scares, patriarchal societies and stigmatization are the main challenges being faced by most African countries when it comes to implementing SRHR access”.
Some of the key goals of the programme include developing a regional action plan and reviewing key messages for improving SRHR service delivery and to develop strategies to overcome age- related barriers preventing young people from accessing SRHR services.
Asked what could be done to facilitate SRHR access to the adolescents in their respective countries, Zimbabwe’s health ministry representative Lucia Gondongwe said “let’s consider adolescents when developing policies for them and let them have a voice which represents them.”
Christine Wambugu from Kenya urged stakeholders to take advantage of the digital age and engage with adolescents through technology as they are more tech savvy and responsive to technology.
Zambia’s health ministry representative Haswell Malombo said the legal framework on adolescents sexual rights should be very clear and unambiguous.
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“Laws need to be very clear and understood by the public. For example, in Zambia the law regarding the age for sexual consent and the proper age for marriage are often mistaken for each other,” he said.
The regional SRHR fund which was founded by Hivos is advocating for policy reforms and formulating recommendations for harmonizing age of consent laws and promote access to SRHR services for adolescents across Africa.
