Nairobi, Kenya — Sexual and reproductive health is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of development, shaping the dignity, choices, and futures of women and girls everywhere. International and regional human rights frameworks, echoed in national laws, affirm this right and call for bold action and innovation to ensure women and girls can access quality, affordable care throughout their lives. At a moment when gains are fragile and progress is uneven, safeguarding SRHR is both urgent and indispensable.
That urgency was unmistakable as African feminists, youth advocates, gender diverse persons and disability-rights leaders concluded the Africa Regional Convening in Nairobi. Their message was firm: Women Deliver 2026 in Melbourne cannot repeat the cycle of speeches, symbolism, and staged commitments.
“Africa’s message at Women Deliver 2026 must be plain and firm: budgets, not promises; civic space, not symbolism; and implementation, not headlines,” said Jude Thaddeus Njikem, the Regional SRHR Specialist at Sonke Gender Justice and convener of this African convening of this African Regional Convening. He called for the need for visible, time-bound financing for SRHR, ensuring clinics have commodities, classrooms deliver comprehensive sexuality education, and survivors can access functional support services.
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“We need hard protections for those defending rights, youth, women’s rights groups, disability leaders, LGBTQIA+ advocates, so no one pays a price for speaking up,” he said. He urged the AU to address critical gaps in technology-facilitated violence, femicide, marital rape, and disability inclusion, calling for these efforts to be supported by funded minimum service standards for the AU Convention on Ending Violence against Women and Girls. Additionally, he emphasized that this convention must be backed by rapid ratification and domestication by member states.
“At Women Deliver, I want to see an Africa SRHR/GBV Scorecard, a Minister–CSO Town Hall with recorded, time-bound pledges, and youth and feminist leaders co-presenting outcomes, not just giving remarks,” said Njikem.
“Inclusion won’t be a side note; it will shape what success looks like.”
“For women and girls with disabilities, ‘nothing about us without us’ must finally mean decision rights and resources,” he said.
He said that disability-led organisations must co-chair planning spaces and participate fully in decision-making, backed by proper resources for accessibility, from sign language interpretation and captioning to Braille materials, mobility support and accessible transport. Njikem called for a guaranteed quota of delegates with disabilities, ideally 15–20%, whose participation is fully funded to remove financial and logistical barriers such as visas, carers, per diems, and safe travel.
He said that safeguarding mechanisms must explicitly address disability-related risks and protect individuals from retaliation when reporting concerns. “If we co-design from the start, inclusion won’t be a side note; it will shape what success looks like.”
In light of the SDG deadline looming, dwindling funding streams, and threats to civic space, Africa is headed to Melbourne with a clear and uncompromising agenda.
“With funding tightening, the focus must shift from short-term projects to long-term, sustainable support,” said Njikem. He called for flexible, multi-year core funding for African women-led, youth-led, gender diverse and disability-led groups that sustain systems between funding cycles. “Donor grants should be matched with domestic budget lines, the match published, and citizens empowered to track who delivers on their commitments,” he added.
Njikem stressed the importance of investing in systems that work, including hotlines, one-stop centers, supply chains, teacher training for comprehensive sexuality education, and district-level survivor services, rather than focusing solely on branded pilot programs.
“Fund accountability tools like public commitment trackers and the Africa SRHR Scorecard, and invest in protection infrastructure for human rights defenders,” he said. He urged that grants and financing must ensure that momentum translates into policy and budgets back home.
“We go to WD2026 not for a moment on stage, but with a timeline, a ledger, and follow-through.”
As progress on SRHR stalls globally, movements across the continent, from feminists to youth organisers to disability-led groups, are united in demanding accountability, sustainable financing, and inclusive leadership. Africa’s path to Women Deliver 2026 is defined by alignment and resolve.
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“The Africa convening taught us several key lessons that must guide our advocacy ahead of Women Deliver 2026,” said Njikem.
He said that youth and grassroots actors must be moved from presence to power, co-signing letters, co-owning budgets, and co-presenting results. Make accountability public, he said, tracking who promised what, by when, and reviewing it not only at WD2026 but again at our SRHR symposium in Mombasa 2026.
Njikem said civic space should be treated as a service line, including retaliation hotlines, legal agreements, safe rooms, and media hygiene measures. He also highlighted the role of regional cooperation through the East and Southern Africa (ESA) and West and Central Africa (WCA) caucuses to align messages and divide advocacy labor. “All plans must be practical, costed, in plain language, and tied to named implementers,” he said.
“Change calls us to Melbourne, change for our communities, change for our continent, and change for our world, and we must never let this change pass the African continent, so we must listen and answer to the change,” said Njikem.
