MenEngage is a global alliance of organisations who engage men and boys to achieve gender equality, promote health, reduce violence and to question and address the structural barriers to achieving gender equality.
The global alliance consists of six (6) regions co-ordinated by a regional Secretariat and governed by a regional steering committee, which elects one representative per region to the global board. Sonke is the Secretariat of MenEngage Africa (MEA), which consists of 22 country networks spread across East, West, Central and Southern Africa, which form the AGM – the highest decision making body of MEA consisting of over 350 non-governmental organisations at grass-root, national and regional levels.
MEA members work collectively toward advancing gender justice, human rights and social justice in key thematic areas including Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), gender-based violence (GBV) & HIV prevention, Child Rights and Positive Parenting and in promoting peace on the continent.
The members implement joint advocacy programmes at national level with their governments, regional level with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and at international levels at various platforms on the MEA thematic areas.
The alliance falls within the scope of Sonke’s Regional Programmes Unit, where staff within the unit work to support partner organisations across the 22 countries to implement work in the MEA campaign and thematic areas, build capacity for organisations to implement gender transformative work through community mobilisation and education, media and communications, policy advocacy and research.
Sonke’s role is to provide technical support to the networks on communications, advocacy, movement building, research and knowledge management.
