MenEngage Africa Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Strategic Plan 2023–2027

MenEngage Africa (MEA) transforms gender inequality and its negative effects on sexual and reproductive health outcomes by involving men and boys as agents of change. MEA is part of the Global MenEngage Alliance and consists of a network of women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) activists; and people with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) activists and networks; and civil society organisations that promote social justice and human rights.

The vision of the MEA SRHR Strategic Plan is for women, girls, men, boys, and people with diverse SOGIESC to realise their rights to optimal sexual and reproductive health and wellbeing in Africa. The Plan will inform country networks on how to advocate for improved sexual and reproductive health and rights outcomes, and for societies free of gender inequality through four strategies summarised as Link, Learn, Improve and Influence. Under the MEA banner, each country network will be able to customise the MEA SRHR Strategic Plan to their local context without compromising on the sexual and reproductive principles, rights, quality, and minimum standards implied by the Plan. By standardizing country approaches, harmonious progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and other regional and global SRHR agendas is possible.

This MEA SRHR Strategic Plan, like all MEA programmes and policies, is underpinned by evidence as well as global and regional policy commitments and objectives. The SRHR of girls and women in Africa, of different ages, religions, socio-economic status, sexual orientations, cultural associations and gender expressions guided the content of the strategy. During the development process, partners and bodies in the SRHR response were widely consulted for input. MEA is committed to advocating for gender-transformation that will afford bodily autonomy and bodily integrity to all people free from coercion and discrimination.