Twenty-five years after the adoption of the the landmark ICPD Programme of Action, teenage girls in Africa still face myriad reproductive health challenges, despite policies and programmes already in place to advance SRHR. This session aims to give African teenage girls an international platform to share their stories and urge the global community to act. Through poetry, skits, the spoken word and a panel discussion, the session will showcase the progress these girls have seen and made, the constraints they still face in their daily lives and the solutions they have identified for themselves and their communities. The event is convened by FEMNET and member organizations.
Six presentations from six regions sharing their stories and experiences on Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights services for all including adolescent and youth and people living with disabilities. At the same time in the Pamoja Zone, join a Community Conversation on the Importance of Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Adolescent Responsive Services (09:00) and a Conversation on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) and inclusion (9:45) in the Community Corner.
Whose rights and choices have been fulfilled, and which groups and individuals have been left behind? Twenty-five years after the landmark agreement in Cairo, equality is still a goal rather than a reality. This is especially true for girls and women and people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, who often face barriers to their sexual and reproductive health and rights and heightened vulnerability to gender-based violence. This conversation will highlight the experiences of human rights defenders and their insights on what it takes to ensure radical and transformative change in the lives of those facing discrimination and exclusion. Expect provocative questions and proposed solutions to finally and fully realizing an inclusive ICPD Programme of Action.
Of the 143 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, more than one in four are women and adolescent girls of reproductive age whose rights, safety and dignity are often violated and must be protected. This special session will highlight a feminist approach to humanitarian action as a means of addressing challenges and accelerating progress to achieve the ICPD and 2030 agendas.
Numerous events and reports on sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender-based violence programming, alongside accountability tracking, raised awareness and stressed theimportance of policy coherence and adequate action to tackle these development challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. However, they often do not result in sustained implementation and resource commitments. The interconnectedness of economic policy and related SDG targets of maternal mortality, GBV and harmful practices such as early marriage and FGM necessitate engagement acrossectors for transparent costing, budgeting, women and youth empowerment, and framework building. This session will bring together a rural women leader, a Minister of higher education, two Francophone young women leaders, a parliamentarian, a judge and several other key African leaders. It will provide a platform for policy dialogue between key multi-sector stakeholders to discuss critical challenges and opportunities to advancing the implementation, financing and monitoring of ICPD Plus 25 normative commitments related to the identified issues. Participants will share broader country-level experiences, provide follow up coordinated actions and highlight the key role of capacity development for young African leaders to empower sustained action and act as a steward for policy coherence, financing needs and universal health coverage, ensuring "no one is left behind.”
The recent release of the World Health Organization’s consolidated guidelines on self-care interventions for health on sexual and reproductive health and rights was a pivotal moment for the SRHR community. This interactive session will address why self-care interventions for SRHR matter to individuals and countries, and what we can do together to empower people, cultivate strong political and financial will, and build an effective and accountable health system for self-care. Participants will also discuss the challenges and opportunities for self-care to take hold as an integral component of health systems and as a critical pathway to achieving universal health coverage, which can move the needle on lifting the next generation out of poverty. This session will be convened by Population Services International, the International Youth Alliance for FP (IYAFP) and the White Ribbon Alliance.
