Welcome to the third edition of MenEngage Africa Newsletter!
We're excited to bring you the third edition of our newsletter, packed with updates and highlights from some of our most recent initiatives. This issue features insights from the groundbreaking MenEngage Africa Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Symposium, the MenEngage Africa Training Institute, and the International AIDS Society Conference and Summit of the Future.
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The MenEngage Africa Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Learning and Exchange Symposium concluded in Nairobi, Kenya, leaving a lasting impact on the continent's efforts to promote SRHR for all. The three-day event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including government officials, civil society organizations, researchers, and community leaders, to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices under the theme PROGRESS 2024: “Promoting the realization of SRHR and Gender Equality across Africa’’. With an attendance of over two hundred participants from all around Africa, Indonesia and The Netherlands. The symposium was the second of its kind, following the inaugural one that took place in South Africa last year. The symposium hosted twenty-one breakout rooms and three plenaries over three days.
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Twenty-five fellows from West, Central, East and Southern Africa are now equipped with knowledge on International Instruments and Frameworks on Human Rights, skills to identify and deconstruct the structural drivers of conflict as well as how to engage in joint advocacy for the effective implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and 2250. This is an aftermath of MenEngage Africa Training Institute, dubbed #MATI2024, on Gender, Peace and Security, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya in August.
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The 2024 AIDS conference which took place in Munich, Germany from 22-26 July 2024, brought together global leaders, scientists, advocates, and communities under the theme "Put People First! to advance progress towards the shared global goal of ending AIDS by 2030". Power To Youth Uganda hosted a workshop on designing gender positive interventions for HIV prevention in young people, while MenEngage Africa examined how the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act is preventing LGBTQI+ persons from accessing HIV services, and the role of MenEngage Uganda in helping them access these services.
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Sonke Gender Justice recently concluded a three-year project aimed at promoting gender equality in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Namibia. The Linking Policy and Implementation for Gender Equality project, funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) culminated in a close-out meeting in Malawi from the 16th to 17th of September. The meeting served as a platform for partners from the three countries to reflect on the project’s achievements and challenges over the past three years. Participants shared their proudest moments and discussed the progress made in linking policy and implementation to address harmful cultural norms and patriarchal attitudes that perpetuate gender inequality and human rights violations.
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The Power to You(th) Programme has started a global initiative dubbed #HearUsOut campaign to promote the rights of young people and elevate their voices and aspirations. This campaign calls on communities and local leaders to address issues that influence the lives of young people and ensure that youths are heard on issues that are critical for the latter’s empowerment. Click this link to engage in our campaign and spread the word https://powertoyouth.com/hearusout/ .
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MenEngage Africa Youth was represented at the Summit of the Future held in New York from 20th-22nd September. This was an international gathering of global leaders, innovators, activists, government representatives, and civil society leaders which served as a platform for calls to action, rethinking of global cooperation, human rights, and sustainability in an era of unprecedented challenges such as the rising global inequalities, climate change, and ongoing humanitarian crises. On the sidelines of the Summit, MEA Youth attended the Global People’s Assembly which was a space to hold leaders accountable for the work they do and the LGBTIQ+ stakeholder group side event which focused on the role of LGBTIQ+ youth in driving sustainable development. For MEA Youth, the Summit reaffirmed the commitment to Intergenerational Equity as it demonstrated the practical steps being taken to integrate young leaders into decision-making processes.
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State of the Zimbabwe’s Fathers Report
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Regional policy analysis of sexual and reproductive health and rights framework in Africa
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