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A campaign to increase commitments and funding on sexual and reproductive health and rights

Published 20 January 2021 in News

Global Health Advocates (GHA) are an advocacy organisation working in France and with the EU institutions to increase political and financial support for development and the fight against poverty.

France will soon co-host the Generation Equality Forum. In the run-up to the Forum, Focus 2030 is pleased to partner with GHA for a project to support gender equality and the advancement of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

The campaign launched by GHA aims to mobilise attention and support in France for ambitious political and financial commitments on SRHR in order to meet existing needs and enable all women and girls access to healthcare, and healthy lives.

Focus 2030 grant

Project title: Women’s Handbook (Carnets de Femmes)

Duration: 1 June - 30 September 2020

Main Objective: To strengthen France’s role as a leader on global health, and to secure commitment to achieving SDG 3 through greater investment on women’s and girls’ health.

Context

France, head of the SRHR Action Coalition, and co-president of the Generation Equality Forum

In June 2021, France will host the Generation Equality Forum. The Forum aims to establish a roadmap to accelerate progress on gender equality. Six Action Coalitions have been created in the run-up to the Forum to advise on a series of concrete measures to support women’s rights and gender equality.

France has been nominated to lead the Action Coalition on "Bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights". In this role, France will work with other members of the Coalition to develop a set of concrete and ambitious measures to be implemented between 2021-2026.

Despite the fact that women’s and girls’ health is an essential requirement for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, SRHR are still neglected by donors, given the debate often stirred by women’s rights and sexual or reproductive health.

In developing countries in particular, there is considerable need for greater investment on SRHR. International funds continue to be largely insufficient, and the Covid-19 pandemic has only made this situation worse in interrupting essential health services for women and girls.

French leadership of the SRHR Action Coalition therefore represents an important opportunity to strengthen political commitments on SRHR and ensure that these commitments are translated into action, notably by securing greater funding to fill the current gap on international financing.

Objectives

The GHA project aims to inform thinking and debate at the Forum on SRHR, but also in France more generally. The project illustrates the importance of SRHR as a lever for development, mobilising decision-makers and civil society around ambitious policies and funding for French development aid for women’s and girls’ health.

Main actions

The project is structured around the following activities:

The production of policy papers aimed at civil society with recommendations for politicians, decision-makers and influencers involved in the Generation Equality Forum.

The organisation of a workshop to bring together members of French civil society to pool analysis on French financing on SRHR and to agree common messaging.

The sharing of recommandations at meetings with politicians and decision-makers involved in the Forum and on issues related to SRHR, to ensure that messages are heard at the highest levels.

Publication of a series of articles calling on France to play a leading political role on SRHR and to sign up to ambitious funding commitments at the Generation Equality Forum.

Communication on social networks, notably using videos to visualise the importance of funding sexual and reproductive health, and to ensure that SRHR are visible and integrated in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Results

Through these different activities, the Women’s Handbook project opens a new channel for mobilisation, and the creation of a group of seven French civil society actors on financing for sexual and reproductive health and rights. Their work has already lead to a meeting with politicians and decision-makers involved in the SRHR Action Coalition, and continues to build awareness amongst all French stakeholders by sharing messages and recommendations from civil society on sexual and reproductive health and rights.