Sweden to invest an additional US$42 million to improve sexual and reproductive health for all in East and Southern Africa

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – The Government of Sweden announced an investment of $42 million for sexual and reproductive health and rights in an effort to transform the lives of millions of people in East and Southern Africa.

The funding is being made available through Sweden’s Strategy for sexual and reproductive health and rights in Africa 2022-2026. The initiative is aimed at bolstering existing efforts by four United Nations agencies – UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO – to support countries and regional entities in East and Southern Africa in reducing maternal mortality, including from unsafe abortion, HIV and sexually transmitted infections, unmet need for contraceptives, and gender-based violence.

“We are proud that, as four UN agencies working together, we have created a regional movement of government, civil society and development partners committed to improving the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all people in East and Southern Africa, using an integrated approach,” said UNAIDS Regional Director Anne Githuku-Shongwe, UNFPA Regional Director Lydia Zigomo, UNICEF Regional Director Mohamed Fall and WHO Regional Director Dr. Matshidiso Moeti in a joint statement.

Despite progress made to date, sexual and reproductive health and rights in the region continue to be challenged by structural, social and health system barriers. Across the region, one in five women who need to use modern contraceptives are not doing so, resulting in high levels of early and unintended pregnancies, while one in six adolescents and young women will have experienced gender-based violence by the age of 19. HIV remains the single biggest threat to people’s sexual and reproductive health, with close to 670,000 new HIV infections occurring in the region in 2021, of which one quarter were among adolescents and young women.

“Sweden is committed to working together with our partners to ensure no person is left behind. The realization of sexual and reproductive health and rights is a priority for us and for the greater Team Europe group. This project is proof that, through collaboration, we have the ability to change our future for the better,” said Sweden’s Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa Håkan Juholt.

The “2gether 4 sexual and reproductive health and rights” programme works by harnessing the effectiveness of community-based approaches, such as mentor mothers and community health-care workers, to minimize disruption to essential services. Over the past four years, 12 countries in the region have been supported to provide quality integrated services, with results thus far showing an increased uptake across all these countries.

If fully implemented, these investments will enable more than 630 million people in the region – the majority of whom are young people – to exercise their rights to bodily autonomy, to decide freely when and whether to have children, to realize their full potential, and to contribute towards the socio-economic development of the region.