Pass the Sexual and Reproductive Health Bill to stop the senseless death of women in East Africa.

In the past year, 39,000 children in East Africa were born with HIV infections that could have been easily prevented. During the same period, 62,000 mothers died from childbirth complications that could have been easily addressed. Two hundred million girls and women are estimated to have undergone genital mutilation. Additionally, cervical cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in African women, where the estimated rate of deaths is 94 women per 100,000. 

Currently, 19 million women in East Africa cannot access modern contraception. A further 2.5 million are at risk of death due to complications from unsafe abortions. Moreover, the so called shadow pandemic of violence against women and girls has worsened in all East African countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, putting the future of millions of women and children in jeopardy.

The pointless tragedies and grief can be avoided if we have a regional law that advances access to accurate information and quality services and provides protection of the sexual and reproductive health of East African women and girls in all their diversities. 

The East Africa Community (EAC) Sexual and Reproductive Bill, 2021, needs your urgent support!

Introduced to the Legislative House in June 2021, the Bill protects East African women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health throughout their entire life course. If enacted, the Bill will be anchored as part of the universal health coverage frameworks in Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, South Sudan, and Rwanda. Equally, the Bill will comprehensively address the challenge of teenage pregnancies, ensuring that girls in East Africa have access to information and get the chance to make decisions about their reproductive health. It also makes provisions for re-entry into school for pregnant schoolgirls, a matter of great urgency considering the explosion in the number of teenage pregnancies amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Bill protects persons living with disabilities by prioritising their sexual and reproductive needs and mandates Governments to train health providers on disability inclusion. It equally protects the rights of elderly persons, promotes menstrual hygiene and addresses men’s sexual and reproductive health. This Bill ensures no one is left behind in the region. 

This Bill aligns with the existing EAC policies, including the Reproductive Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) Strategic Plan 2016-2021. In addition, it provides a legal framework that will guide the partner States to fulfil their obligations under several international, continental, and national frameworks.

The vision of the East African Community “to be a prosperous, competitive, secure and united East Africa” will never be realised if we continue to treat the health and welfare of all women and girls as a secondary issue in the region. Support the EAC SRHR and Reproductive Health Bill to show you care about the lives of women and girls.

Sign the petition! Tell the EALA Members of Parliament to pass the Bill!

Endorsed by:

Akina Mama wa Afrika
White Ribbon Alliance
Ipas Africa Alliance
Marie Stopes Kenya
The Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN)
Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (TICAH)
Youth Changers Kenya
Zamara Foundation
Network of Adolescents of Youth in Africa (NAYA)
SRHR Alliance Kenya
Xhale Africa
Reproductive Health and Rights Alliance (RHRA)
Grassroots Women Initiative Network - Kenya
Reproductive Health and Rights Alliance 
Reproductive Health Network Kenya 
Women Spaces Africa 
Love Matters Africa
Women First Digital
Marie stopes Kenya 
RHYFE 
Positive Young Women Voices
The Eastern Africa National Networks of AIDS and Health Service Organizations (EANNASO)
Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD)
Young Empowerment Movement Kenya (YEM Kenya)
Reproductive health Champions organization (RHCO)