Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe [email protected]
THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) will convene a high-level regional meeting in Harare next week to accelerate implementation, monitoring and reporting of its Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Strategy 2019-2030.
The meeting, scheduled for August 31 to September 4, will bring together senior SRHR programme managers, monitoring and evaluation specialists, human rights experts and strategic partners from across the SADC region.
According to SADC, the meeting will be held under the theme, “Accelerating Implementation, Monitoring and Reporting of the SADC SRHR Strategy 2019/2030.”
The regional gathering is expected to provide a platform for stakeholders to take stock of progress made in implementing the strategy, strengthen accountability mechanisms and address emerging implementation challenges.
It will also seek to reinforce collective action towards improving sexual and reproductive health and rights outcomes across Southern Africa.
The meeting will be convened in collaboration with United Nations agencies under the Together4SRHR initiative, namely the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO).
The initiative is supported by Sweden and the European Union, reflecting what SADC described as a strong commitment by regional and international partners to advancing the SRHR agenda in Southern Africa.
SADC said the meeting comes at a critical stage in the implementation of the 2019-2030 strategy, providing an opportunity to translate regional commitments into stronger implementation, measurable results and greater accountability.
“This meeting will serve as a strategic platform for SRHR programme managers and partners to undertake a comprehensive assessment of progress in implementing the SADC SRHR Strategy, with a particular focus on accelerating delivery, strengthening governance, enhancing accountability, and addressing persistent implementation gaps,” the regional bloc said.
According to the statement, deliberations will focus on strengthening regional coordination and harmonisation of SRHR interventions, supported by evidence-based approaches, robust monitoring systems and effective reporting, learning and accountability mechanisms.
Particular attention will also be given to strengthening the generation, management and utilisation of data and evidence to inform programme planning, monitoring, evaluation and decision-making.
The meeting is expected to advance the operationalisation of the SADC Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning Framework to ensure regional monitoring and reporting systems remain responsive to priorities and capable of demonstrating measurable results and impact.
SADC said the gathering would ultimately underscore the collective commitment of member states and partners to ensuring regional SRHR priorities are effectively implemented and translated into tangible improvements in the health, rights and well-being of populations across Southern Africa.
