News and Insights

Breaking Barriers

February 26, 2025

How AmplifyChange is Shaping the Future of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in Africa Amid Crisis

AmplifyChange recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of progress in advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) while acknowledging the ongoing challenges. Through the years, the organization has championed grassroots advocacy, influenced policy change, and worked to overcome the stigma surrounding reproductive rights. However, these efforts have faced persistent resistance, as SRHR remains a deeply controversial issue in many regions due to long-standing cultural beliefs and political opposition. Media engagement has played a crucial role in addressing these challenges, ensuring that SRHR remains a topic of public discourse in the face of ongoing pushback.

As part of this effort, FINN Partners collaborated with AmplifyChange to strengthen its media outreach, particularly across African regions where SRHR remains a complex and often contentious issue. This partnership involved media training for key spokespeople, developing press materials, and targeting outreach to East and West African media. The work we did together highlighted the vital role of grassroots advocacy, media engagement, and policy change in driving sustainable improvements in SRHR. Coverage in national outlets such as The Standard in Kenya and The Guardian in Nigeria helped bring these critical issues to a broader audience.

SRHR suffers because of systemic issues too. Healthcare systems across Africa have long faced significant challenges, from inadequate infrastructure and limited funding to persistent health inequalities. These issues have only been exacerbated by economic instability, climate change, and public health crises, leaving many communities struggling to access basic care. Millions of people continue to face gaps in SRHR services and support.

AmplifyChange has been at the forefront of tackling these gaps in Africa and beyond, prioritizing advocacy and capacity-building to overcome deep-rooted challenges in SRHR.

Access to basic services such as contraception, maternal healthcare, family planning, and HIV prevention has long been inadequate in Sub-Saharan Africa. The challenges facing these services have grown in recent years, leaving many communities underserved. High maternal mortality rates, increasing rates of teenage pregnancies, and lack of comprehensive sexual education continue to be significant concerns. AmplifyChange partners with local leaders to tackle these disparities and support community-based solutions designed to improve SRHR. By empowering grassroots organizations, their initiatives foster sustainable, culturally relevant strategies that respond directly to the unique needs of these underserved populations.

These efforts are especially significant as public health systems worldwide increasingly recognize the critical importance of SRHR in achieving comprehensive health outcomes. African governments have also been compelled to acknowledge the urgent need to prioritize SRHR within their health agendas due to growing community outcry over rising incidents of gender-based violence.

The organization’s emphasis on empowering youth, who comprise more than 60% of Africa’s population, has been particularly impactful. Addressing SRHR for youth through the provision of reliable contraception, accessible maternal care, and education on sexual health lays the groundwork for healthier future generations while reducing health inequalities.

Equally important in advancing SRHR is the role of journalists. In many African communities, cultural taboos and misinformation around reproductive health have long hindered open public discussions. Media can shift societal perceptions through responsible and sensitive journalism, raise awareness, and hold policymakers accountable for their SRHR commitments through responsible and sensitive journalism. By reporting on successful initiatives and shedding light on the struggles individuals face in accessing care, the media can foster a more informed, engaged public better equipped to advocate for the needed changes.

Policymakers also play an essential role. They must take urgent action to safeguard and invest in essential SRHR services. Without such investment, key health outcomes such as improved maternal health, gender equality, and reduced HIV transmission will remain out of reach. Rural and conflict-affected regions, in particular, are especially vulnerable and require additional resources to ensure access to care for everyone, no matter where they live. Strengthening infrastructure, securing adequate funding, and integrating SRHR into national health strategies are essential steps in ensuring the sustainability of services.

AmplifyChange understands that policy change and cultural transformation must go hand-in-hand. By actively engaging with the media, AmplifyChange has worked to normalize conversations around reproductive rights and help spotlight the barriers to healthcare access that many people still face. In supporting advocacy efforts and pushing for SRHR to be integrated into policymaking, the organization has played an instrumental role in creating a more open, informed, and forward-thinking dialogue about SRHR in Africa.

The intersection of SRHR with broader social and economic goals is clear: investing in SRHR contributes directly to healthier populations and sustainable economic growth since healthier populations, particularly women and young people, are more likely to participate in the economy and lead more productive, fulfilling lives.

AmplifyChange a powerful example of the progress possible through collaboration and a relentless focus on human rights. Yet, there is still much to be done. Governments, organizations, and communities must continue prioritizing SRHR to meet the urgent needs of the most vulnerable populations.

Through sustained grassroots advocacy, media engagement, and a commitment to policy change, organizations working in the field of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights provide valuable models for building stronger public health systems. Their collective efforts illustrate the transformative impact of empowering local voices while addressing structural inequalities in healthcare. The ongoing push for meaningful change inspires a future where access to sexual and reproductive health rights is recognized as an undeniable right for all.