The SRHR Portfolio has three overarching goals, which is to build capacity and provide technical assistance both within Sonke as well as among key partners nationally, regionally and globally to promote and provide rights-based and positive-oriented sexual and reproductive health services and education to men, women and young people in all their diversity.

We also support and hold duty bearers accountable to develop and implement policies and programmes that secure the SRHR for all, including gender transformative language and approaches to engage men and boys.

An additional goal includes engaging men and women around SRHR as clients, equal partners and positive agents of change in their communities. We have built capacity of our partners within the MenEngage Alliance to build a common understanding of a rights-based and positive-oriented approach to SRHR, particularly within the African context and activities.

Across Africa, we have engaged young people to strengthen their leadership in SRHR, harmful practices, and gender justice, through activities such as national youth parliaments, peer advocacy campaigns, and capacity building for youth-led community actions.

We have contributed to the South African national HIV response through prevention, awareness, and linkage-to-care activities, aligned with the 95-95-95 strategy, and reached thousands of individuals through HIV prevention campaigns and services, including targeted interventions for men, young people, sex workers, and migrants, helping to reduce barriers to testing, treatment, and adherence.

Sonke jointly established a Men’s Wellness Center in Gugulethu township, in Cape Town in 2012 with the City of Cape Town, to address men and boy’s inequitable access to and outcomes in healthcare services from a gender-transformative perspective. This was in response to the rate of HIV/AIDS in the country as men and boys experience lower access to prevention, care and treatment for many health conditions, including HIV and TB. The centre has nursing staff dedicated to providing health services to patients weekly and relies on Mosaic organization for psychosocial counselling services for patients.

Through the Wellness Centre, Sonke can reach people, in particular men, in their own communities, with a local presence to strengthen outreach activities and encourage ongoing interactions around several health, wellness and gender messages with the community members.