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A high-level panel of industry leaders, and philanthropists came together to call for existing and new collaborators to advocate, partner and fund innovative financing models for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) infrastructure and services in Africa. New York, 23 September 2024.
The future of SRHR in Africa is at risk due to shifting geo-political contexts and funding cuts in major donor countries, leaving adolescent girls and young women especially vulnerable. Speaking during a side event during the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York, the panellists affirmed that the international community needs to act now to secure the long-term future of SRHR for adolescent girls and young women in Africa and those living in the diaspora. For SRHR, 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 governments to include resources and commitments from the private sector to pay for essential SRHR services and infrastructure.
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, co-hosted by Brands on a Mission (BoaM) and Tiko highlighted how, critically, approximately 59% of SRHR financing in low and middle-income countries comes from donors and approximately 41% 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 SDG 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 3100 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.
In her opening remarks, the 3rd First Lady of Namibia, HE Madame Monica Geingos communicated, “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 the government at the centre for growth and scale.”
Tiko’s 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.”
Dr. also,el 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.”
Professor Myriam Sidibé, Founder and Chief Mission Officer at Brands on a Mission closed the session by 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.”
This 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.
Overview of event
· Event title: ‘Financing the Uncertain Future of Sexual and Reproductive Health in a Multi-Crisis World: Innovative Models for Protecting and Advancing SRHR in Sub-Saharan Africa’ held 23rd September 2024, New York, UNGA.
· Co-hosted by Professor Myriam Sidibé, Founder & Chief Mission Officer of Brands on a Mission, and Dr. Serah Malaba, Chief Impact Officer, Tiko
· Special remarks by HE Madame Monica Geingos, 3rd First Lady of the Republic of Namibia, Founder & Chairperson of the One Economy Foundation and HE Dr. Michel Sidibe, Special Envoy, African Medicines Agency, African Union
· Panellists included Dr Andrea Feigl, Founder & CEO, Health Finance Institute; Dr. Serah Malaba, Chief Impact Officer, Tiko; Dr. Priya Agrawal, Vice President: Health Equity & Partnerships, Merck; Mr. Richard Matikanya, Deputy Executive Director, Africa, CIFF; Dr. Andrew Karlyn, Board member & Advisor, E-Health Nigeria
· Moderation by Ms. Richelle Carey, Journalist & Broadcaster
· Event included questions from African youth, part of the Tiko Club, and from the virtual influencer Fatima TV developed by Songhai Films and Brands on a Mission
Co-host backgrounds
Brands on a Mission (BoaM) is a B-Corp consultancy dedicated to transforming operational models to accelerate impact in global health and well-being. From FMCG brands to world leaders in public health, policy and development, BoaM delivers tailored solutions to drive sustainable, inclusive impact across sectors and public health issues. With a growing portfolio focused on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in sub-Saharan Africa, BoaM’s flagship initiative, African Voices, is at the forefront of elevating the profile of SRHR and advancing its cause across the continent.
Tiko is an African non-profit organization leveraging the power of a tech-responsive world to deliver sexual and reproductive health impacts to underserved adolescent girls and young women in urban and peri-urban Africa. Tiko uses a tech-powered model to connect otherwise fragmented stakeholders on the ground, such as private and public medical service providers, community-based organizations (CBOs) and pharmacies, so that adolescent girls have access to high-quality sexual and reproductive health services and products, at no cost to them. Tiko’s model removes social and financial barriers to care, ultimately empowering girls as agents in their sexual and reproductive health journey.
