A high-level panel of philanthropists, academics and industry leaders has urged world governments meeting at the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York to advocate, partner and fund innovative financing models that strengthen provision of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) infrastructure and services in Africa. This could reverse severe repercussions experienced by adolescent girls and young women such as child, early and forced marriages, encourage contraceptive use, promote safe deliveries, avert maternal mortality, cervical cancer and HIV infections.
Speaking at the side event, the panellists affirmed that innovative financing including blended financing – the term used to describe a mixture of private and public funding sources for public services – can lessen the burden of overstretched government budgets to include resources and commitments from the private sector to pay for essential SRHR services and infrastructure.
Kenya-based Professor Myriam Sidibé, Founder and Chief Mission Officer at BoaM closed the session saying: “We need to commit to moving beyond traditional boundaries and dare to collaborate in new and unexpected ways to develop the type of platforms and coalitions, that will allow private, public and social sectors to join forces and scale up innovative financing models that will secure the future of SRHR for African populations, most of all women and girls.”
Tiko Kenya Chief Impact Officer Serah Malaba highlighted, “By 2030, African adolescent girls will make up over 24% of the global youth population. The time to act is now. The SRHR needs of adolescent girls are growing, against the backdrop of constrained fiscal space and competing public health challenges. Innovative financing models are required to ensure sustainable funding for SRHR, with interventions that remain girl centred.”
In her remarks, the 3rd First Lady of Namibia, HE Madame Monica Geingos said, “We need to figure out who has the social capital and how to translate it for impact – there are ways to create innovative partnerships that work and that bring private and philanthropic partners together with individual Africa governments at the centre for growth and scale of SRHR projects.”
The side event, co-hosted by Brands on a Mission (BoaM) and Tiko highlighted how, critically, approximately 59 percent of SRHR financing in low and middle-income countries comes from donors and approximately 41 percent from national government sources. Therefore, if donor funding falls short, there will be drastic repercussions for the health and well-being of adolescent girls and young women in the Global South as SRHR intersects with key Sustainable Development Goal indicators such as child, early and forced marriage, contraceptive use, safe delivery/maternal mortality, cervical cancer and HIV infection.
According to the World Health Organisation and UNAIDS, inadequate or constrained SRHR services are responsible for millions of unsafe abortions among people of reproductive age and 3,100 HIV infections among adolescent girls in Sub-Saharan Africa every week. Furthermore, nearly one in three women reported that they experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
Dr. Michael Sidibé, African Union Special Envoy for the African Medicines Agency, added, “What we need are not only advocates who believe in comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights, but also those who currently don’t see or understand the intersection of the many challenges young people face during their second decade of life. The real issue lies in funding and implementation, and it is essential that Africans are at the centre of developing these solutions. New financial models must not add another layer of complexity, and youth must be positioned as the drivers of change.”
The private sector – in Africa and internationally – can and should care because equitable, affordable and efficient sexual and reproductive health will support the health and well-being of African individuals, families and communities whilst also being good for business’ productivity, sustainability and growth.
The side event was organised as part of Brands on a Mission’s flagship programme ‘African Voices’, a high-level advocacy programme that aims to uplift the profile of SRHR among a broad base of stakeholders across the continent. African Voices seeks to engage the expertise of non-traditional players, such as brands and branded content from social media influencers with the well-established expertise from NGOs and UN agencies.