Hivos commits to promoting SRH in Africa

Hivos, an international development organization guided by humanist values, has committed to working with the media in promoting adolescent  Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Speaking in Lusaka Zambia during a two-day Values Clarification and Attitude Transformation (VCAT) regional training for journalists, Hivos regional SRHR programmes manager Limpo Chinika said the media has a critical role to play in providing accurate information and pushing the SRHR agenda. 

After the training, journalists from Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda are expected to help increase awareness and understanding of adolescent and youths SRHR in their respective countries, make a commitment to evidence-based media coverage and reporting on SRHR and establish a regional SRHR media personnel working group.

“We want to work collectively with the media so that we are able to spread across all the countries that we are operating and also across Eastern and Southern Africa. Our approach is evolution-driven, and also building a wider movement for change and also amplifying affirmative voices,” said Chinika.

She said the Vcat training also aims to engage the media personnel in a transformative process that challenges biases, promotes safe- reflection and enhances their understanding of ethical reporting and responsible journalism. 

“While promoting and advancing adolescent SRHR, we are also looking at its intersection with HIV, gender inequality at regional level, with the key focus on adolescent girls and boys, young women and men who are highly vulnerable,” she said.

One of the facilitators during the training Lester Phiri who is also an expert in SRHR hailed Ministries of Health and Education in the region for signing the ESA Ministerial Commitments which aims at improving the reproductive health outcomes of young people.

“To us that is progress, because it sets the tone for us to domesticate some of these commitments into our policies, laws and guidelines on how we can help young people make decisions and avoid pregnancies. Multisectoral approach among ministries and strengthening linkages that connect the young people to getting the required information and services will help us achieve better outcomes collectively,” said Phiri.

The Regional Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Fund was established in 2010 in recognition of the critical need for a strategic regional response to collectively address the myriad of SRHR issues in Southern Africa with particular attention to young people and adolescents as well as to provide an opportunity for donors to coordinate their support to SRHR in the region. 

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