September is World Sexual and Reproductive Health month, which aims at breaking taboos and highlight the importance of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines sexual and reproductive health as the foundation of health and well-being, adding it influences how people grow, form relationships, make decisions about their bodies and futures.
In essence, the WHO states that sexual and reproductive health shapes people’s experiences, opportunities and quality of life.
“Whether we are choosing if and when to have children, navigating relationships and consent, supporting a loved one through pregnancy and childbirth, seeking fertility care, protecting ourselves from sexuality transmitted infections or accessing essential health services, sexual and reproductive health is part of everyday life,” says WHO.
“These experiences affect not only individuals, but also families, communities and societies.”
The international health body says SRHR are, therefore, fundamental to health, dignity and well-being throughout life, and this includes access to information and services related to sexuality, relationships, contraception, abortion, fertility care, pregnancy, childbirth, sexually transmitted infections and protection from violence.
This year, Malawi joins the globe in celebrating World Sexual and Reproductive Health nearly a year after a landmark High Court of Malawi ruling, which clarified that survivors of sexual assault have a right to seek safe abortion services from public and private health facilities in respect of Section 19 of the Gender Equality Act.
Subsequently, the court directed the review and implementation of post-abortion care guidelines within 180 days from October 28 2025 when the ruling was delivered, to provide clarity to healthcare workers in providing the service. But as of end August 2025, implementation of the guidelines was yet to take effect.
While expressing disappointment over delayed implementation of the court’s directive, SRHR advocates say the sexual and reproductive health month plays an important role in advancing bodily autonomy for women and girls.
Sharing her thoughts on the sexual and reproductive health month, SRHR champion Thandeka Banda, said it should act as a platform to openly discuss topics often treated as taboo, citing safe abortion, menstruation and contraception, among others.
“It would be important that public awareness campaigns be done to ensure that seeking reproductive healthcare is viewed as a standard, necessary medical care rather than a source of shame,” she said.
“It should also emphasise the need for age-appropriate, evidence-based education that equips young girls with knowledge about their bodies, consent, and healthy relationships.”
Thandeka said when women and girls understand their rights and choices, they are better equipped to make informed decisions about their reproductive futures.
She added that the sexual and reproductive health month should also serve as a designated period to hold institutions accountable for legal barriers, healthcare underfunding, and unequal access to care.
WHO says most of the life-threatening sexual and reproductive health challenges are preventable.
“Scientific evidence helps health workers, policymakers and communities identify what works, improve services and ensure that resources are directed toward interventions that save lives and protect health,” states WHO.
Weighing her thoughts on the subject, Emily Chirwa, another SRHR advocate, said the sexual and reproductive health month serves as a reminder to women and girls to safeguard their rights and access to healthcare, including safe abortion.
She said: “This month is important to women and girls, in particular, because it serves as a reminder that they should fight for their health rights. This time around, the sexual and reproductive health month is really important considering how we, as advocates, are pushing for implementation of the post-abortion care guidelines.”
She said if the post-abortion care guidelines were implemented, this month could have been a lot more meaningful as it could have portrayed that the country is making progress in ensuring sexual and reproductive health rights are being respected.
The SRHR advocate, therefore, said the country needs to do more in respecting ensuring girls and women easily access sexual and reproductive health services, even those deemed a taboo, for instance, safe abortion.
Sexual and reproductive health is integrated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It is embedded under SDG Three, which simply states that by the year 2030, countries should ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs.
The SDG also advocates for universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development.
According to the United Nations Population Fund, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development is a 1994 landmark agreement adopted by 179 governments in Cairo, Egypt, that shifted global population policy from a focus on demographic numbers to human rights and individual well-being.
