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AMA, Health

Newly released 2025 scorecard unveils progress and setbacks on health and gender equality across Southern Africa

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Geneva, Switzerland, 26 February 2026- /African Media Agency (AMA)/- The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has launched its biennial scorecard, a critical tool that tracks progress on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) across its 16 Member States. New data, including from demographic health surveys, shows great strides in improving the sexual and reproductive health of people across the region, while in other areas, concerted efforts are urgently needed.

The SADC scorecard offers a regional snapshot of progress towards the implementation of the SADC SRHR Strategy and SRHR targets of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on health and gender equality. First developed in 2019, the scorecard serves as a social accountability tool and uses a “traffic light” system to track 20 indicators.

The scorecard highlights improvements in reducing adolescent birth rates and the vertical transmission of HIV, while sounding the alarm on a rise in sexually transmitted infections and the need for investments to further reduce maternal mortality:

Lowered Adolescent Birth Rates: Twelve Member States recorded a decline in adolescent births, which can be attributed to the high roll-out of life-skills HIV and comprehensive sexuality education in primary schools.

Decline in HIV infection rates: The region has seen a decline in new HIV infections, however, the latest scorecard suggests that the rate of reduction in new HIV infections amongst adolescent girls and young women aged 15 – 24 years is slowing in seven countries. This could be partially linked to a rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in half of the countries and a decline in condom use in a majority of countries.

Reduction in Maternal Mortality: Six countries recorded significant reductions in maternal mortality, based on their latest national health data. This can be attributed to the priority given by the region to reduce maternal mortality, which needs to be sustained in order to preserve the gains made.

Strong progress in the decrease in the vertical transmission of HIV: Twelve Member States are on track to meet the SDG target by 2030, five of whom already achieved the milestone in 2025. Despite this success, children and adolescent girls and young women are lagging behind in receiving HIV services.

In addition to the abovementioned gains, the scorecard also identified areas where concerted efforts are needed:

Family Planning: Eight Member States are not meeting the contraceptive needs of women. Investing in the contraceptive needs of women and adolescent girls can further reduce teen pregnancies and preventable maternal deaths, and ensure their contribution to their country’s economic growth and development.

Gender-Based Violence: Sexual and intimate partner violence remains persistently high across all Member States in the SADC region. Though all countries have made progress in putting in place relevant laws and policies, greater investments are required to ensure their implementation, including the integration of SRHR, HIV and GBV services, so that all survivors are able to ensure their health and well-being.

Domestic financing: No SADC country has met the ‘Abuja Declaration’ target of allocating 15% of their national budgets to health. Four countries have allocated more than 10% of their national budget to health. Countries need to accelerate domestic funding given declining donor investments if progress is to be made in achieving Universal Health Coverage, and to reduce out of pocket expenditures for citizens.

“The true power of this 3rd Milestone Scorecard lies not merely in what it measures, but in the action it demands from us. With only five years to 2030, we must move with urgency, we need to accelerate implementation, scaling what works, and we need to support our commitments with bold, measurable, and accountable actions,” said Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Health, Republic of South Africa.

“Investing in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is no longer just a public health issue; it is a fundamental economic imperative. Research has shown us that every dollar invested in family planning, particularly among the youthful population, can yield up to $100 in long-term economic benefits, yet our chronic underfunding and reliance on external aid actively sacrifices our demographic dividend. Political leadership must translate into urgent, domestic financial mobilization that meets the 15% Abuja target. Our greatest challenge is the paralysis between policy commitment and real-world execution. The SADC scorecard and mid-term review of the SADC SRHR strategy reinforces that Member States need to reform restrictive national laws, enforce gender-based violence and child marriage legislation, and fully integrate SRHR into climate adaptation plans to build truly resilient, rights-based health systems,” reaffirms H.E. Mr. Elias Mpedi Magosi, Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Since 2018, the joint United Nations Regional Programme, 2gether 4 SRHR, composed of UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO, has supported SADC to develop, implement and monitor the SADC SRHR strategy and its scorecard, with funding from the Government of Sweden.

“The leadership of the SADC Ministers of Health and the Secretariat, guided by the SADC SRHR Strategy, is demonstrating tangible results: reduced adolescent birth rates, fewer maternal deaths, and decreased rates of HIV. These must be celebrated and safeguarded. However, the 2025 scorecard is a stark reminder that these gains are fragile. Without continued commitment and increased domestic investments, these gains risk being undone. As a long standing partner to SADC, the 2gether 4 SRHR programme remains committed to using the scorecard findings and working with Governments in areas where the region and countries are lagging behind.

Collectively, we must do better to ensure that all people can exercise their sexual and reproductive health and rights and that young people can achieve their full potential, so that everyone can contribute to the economic and social development of the region,” highlights Lydia Zigomo, UNFPA Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, on behalf of the Regional Directors of the 2gether 4 SRHR programme.

“Despite our successes, we now risk a two-speed region where gaps in family planning, HIV prevention, and gender equality strand 94 million adolescents without the wellbeing they need to drive the economic and social development of SADC. To avoid this, all Member States must invest urgently and in sustained ways in adolescent SRHR as a foundation for all SRHR,” concludes Jonathan Gunthorp, Executive Director, SRHR Africa Trust.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of World Health Organisation.

Notes to editors:

The SADC scorecard is published every two years and tracks 20 indicators across SADC Member States, including information on rates of maternal and neonatal mortality, adolescent birth rates, family planning, HIV infections and treatment, STIs, including HPV, number of health facilities offering SRHR services and schools offering sexuality education, as well as number of health workers and budget allocated to health. The scorecard also tracks key legal issues which impact on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Milestones were set for 2025 and the scorecard’s traffic light system indicates green for progress and red for regression, against a baseline set in 2019.

Explore the scorecard

The SADC SRHR Strategy (2019 – 2030) serves as a policy and programmatic framework for Member States to ensure that all people in SADC enjoy a healthy sexual and reproductive life, have sustainable access, coverage, and quality SRHR services, information, and education; and can fully realize and exercise their SRHR. The 16 Member States in SADC include: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

About 2gether 4 SRHR:

2gether 4 SRHR is a joint United Nations Regional Programme, in partnership with Sweden, which brings together the combined efforts of UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO to improve the sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) of all people in Eastern and Southern Africa. For more information and for a one-stop-shop of information and resources in Africa, visit the SRHR Knowledge Hub.

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Health

A brewing crisis: Millions of women still lack access to family planning

Maravi Post Reporter

SHOBHA SHUKLA – CNS

The landscape of sexual and reproductive health and rights is shifting: millions of women want to avoid pregnancy but are not using a modern method of contraception.

Modern contraceptives are essential and life-saving, and yet an estimated 224 million women in developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy are not currently using safe and effective family planning methods.

For most women, the basic human right to choose whether to have children continues to be undermined. They are at risk of losing access to the most basic tools for bodily autonomy and health.

While contraceptives remain essential and lifesaving, yet supply chains, funding streams, and political will are collapsing, while demand is surging among women and girls worldwide. Millions are now at risk of losing access to the most basic tools for bodily autonomy and health.

Experts warn that this is not just a health issue – it is a human rights and economic crisis that threatens decades of progress in gender equality, education, and maternal health.

“Family planning is not only a matter of health, it is a matter of rights,” said UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita.

“When women and adolescent girls have access to contraceptives, their pregnancies are more likely to be planned and safe, they are more likely to complete school, be employed and fulfil their potential, their children are healthier, and their societies are more prosperous. Contraceptives reduce abortion rates and lower the incidence of death and disability related to complications of pregnancy and childbirth”, she said.

Referring to the economic benefits that contraceptives bring, she said that every $1 spent ending unmet need for contraception yields nearly $27 in economic benefits.

A widening gap in access

In the Asia-Pacific region, more than 140 million women of reproductive age still lack access to modern methods of contraception. The consequences are staggering: an estimated 13 million unplanned pregnancies occur every year, alongside 3.9 million adolescent pregnancies, nearly half of which are unintended. Also fewer than one in four sexually active, unmarried adolescent girls in Asia and the Pacific are using a modern contraceptive method.

Across the region, 64 out of every 1,000 women will experience an unintended pregnancy during their lifetime. For many, this leads to unsafe abortions – a leading cause of maternal death and injury – or forces girls out of school and women out of the workforce.

“The supply, distribution, and availability of contraceptives are simply not keeping up with demand. Persistent supply gaps and funding shortfalls are putting millions of women at risk,” says a UNFPA regional report. This is especially true of women living in remote and rural areas.

A looming funding crisis

Despite the proven benefits, global funding for family planning is falling. The issue is being compounded by a decline in global funding for reproductive health supplies. Recent major funding disruptions and proposed cuts by key donors, including the USA, threaten to worsen this crisis significantly, in communities that rely on international family planning funding.

While shortages have been most visible in parts of Africa, UNFPA warns that similar ripple effects are now being felt in Asia and the Pacific. The UNFPA projects a US$ 1.5 billion shortfall in reproductive health commodity financing by 2030 in low- and middle-income countries.

The burden of the funding gap falls disproportionately on poor, marginalised, and vulnerable populations, – those who rely on public healthcare systems.

Beyond health: The social impact

The consequences of unmet family planning needs go far beyond healthcare statistics. Rising unintended pregnancies can lead to increased school dropouts, child marriages, and gender-based violence, especially among adolescent girls

“When contraceptive stocks run low, health systems brace for a spike in unintended pregnancies — and with that comes a rise in maternal deaths and unsafe abortions,” Keita warned. “The impacts ripple outward: into classrooms, workplaces, and entire communities.”

Barriers to access

Beyond funding and supply challenges, women and girls continue to face social and systemic barriers. These include limited access to healthcare facilities, misinformation about contraception, fear of side effects, and social opposition from partners or families. Young and unmarried women are often excluded from national surveys, making their needs less visible to policymakers.

A call to action

As the seventh International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2025 opens in Bogota, with more than 3500 attendees from across the globe (including world leaders, researchers, and advocates) the world stands at a decisive crossroads for sexual and reproductive health and rights. ICFP 2025 comes at a decisive moment for sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice (SRHRJ) – as the world faces both reproductive rights rollbacks and a projected US $1.5 billion funding shortfall in reproductive-health commodity financing by 2030 in the poorest countries.

Without decisive action, millions of women will remain trapped in cycles of poverty and preventable health risks. Ensuring universal access to modern contraception is not just about preventing pregnancies – it is about saving lives, protecting rights, and enabling women and girls to shape their futures.

“Contraception saves lives. It is the front line of defense against maternal mortality. We cannot afford complacency – women and girls are counting on us,” Keita reminds the global community.

Keep the promise of Agenda 2030

By committing to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 2015), all government leaders had promised health and wellbeing (SDG-3) and gender equality (SDG-5) by 2030 “where no one is left behind.” Two-third along the way in 2025, writing on the wall is clear: promises are not being kept.

“Together, these 2 SDG goals (SDG-3 and SDG-5) are at the heart of the 2030 SDGs agenda. Without them, there can be no human development, no sustainable peace, and no economic transformation, said Benedicta Oyedayo Oyewole, Community Engagement and Partnership Lead, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Africa. She was speaking in SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) session ahead of ICFP 2025.

Rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushbacks along with conflicts, wars, invasions and genocides, have not only arrested the progress made on gender and health but also threatening to reverse (and reversing) some of the fragile gains made on health and gender.

We are not only majorly off track on health and gender but also governments have hardly prioritised them when it comes to political will, investment or integrated whole-of-government action.

Gender equality and human right to health are fundamental human rights. Governments must course correct and be on track to deliver on the promises of Agenda 2030.

Shobha Shukla – CNS (Citizen News Service)

(Shobha Shukla is a feminist, health and development justice advocate, and an award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service). She was also the Lead Discussant for SDG-3 at United Nations inter-governmental High Level Political Forum (HLPF 2025). She is a former senior Physics faculty of prestigious Loreto Convent College; current President of Asia Pacific Regional Media Alliance for Health, Gender and Development Justice (APCAT Media); Chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA received AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Talents Award 2024); and Host of SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights). Follow her on Twitter/X @shobha1shukla or read her writings here www.bit.ly/ShobhaShukla)

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