The African Women’s Protocol: Act now to support women’s reproductive rights and roll back HIV
In 2010 the international community will come together twice. First to review how countries are progressing towards attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and second to assess whether Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support have been achieved. This issue brief is centered on the African Women’s Protocol and emphasizes that achieving the MDGs requires that women in Africa have universal access to reproductive healthcare. A requirement to realizing the vision of the African Women’s Protocol is that all African governments ratify, domesticate, and transparently report on it. The following action points for civil society are suggested: demand the governments of Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mauritius and Swaziland ratify the African Women’s Protocol; lobby all governments in SADC to domesticate the African Women’s Protocol; ensure that all governments in SADC transparently report on their progress towards implementing the African Women’s Protocol, in line with their responsibilities around the treaty; and finally, align civil society programmes and funding with the provisions of the African Women’s Protocol, demonstrating that the African Women’s Protocol and women’s reproductive rights can be effectively implemented within the region. Supporting the ratification, domestication and transparent reporting of the African Women’s Protocol offers an unparalleled opportunity to secure women’s access to reproductive rights throughout SADC.
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