sexual health and human rights in the african region - The ICHRP

ights rests with Member States and urged them to establish independent
human rights institutions. 135
• Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa: 136 In the Solemn Declaration
on Gender Equality in Africa, Member states of the African Union agreed,
inter alia, to accelerate the implementation of measures aimed at
combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic and effectively implement the Abuja
Declaration and the Maputo Declaration on Malaria, HIV/AIDS,
Tuberculosis and other related diseases. Member states also agreed to
launch campaigns for the prohibition of abuse of girl children as wives
and sex slaves.
• Maputo Plan of Action for the Operationalisation of the Continental Policy
Framework for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights 2007-2010 (Maputo
Plan of Action): 137 This is a plan for universal access to comprehensive
sexual and reproductive health services that was devised and adopted in
recognition of the fact that African countries were unlikely to achieve
Millennium Development Goals without a significant improvement in the
sexual and reproductive health of the people of Africa. The plan follows
from the Continental Policy Framework on Sexual and Reproductive
Health and Rights which was endorsed by the African Union Heads of
State in January 2006. It is a short-term plan built around the following
action areas: integrating sexual and reproductive health into Primary
Health Care; repositioning family planning; youth-friendly services;
unsafe abortion; quality safe motherhood; resource mobilisation;
commodity security; and monitoring and evaluation. The key strategies of
the Maputo Plan of Action are: integrating STI/HIV/AIDS and sexual and
reproductive health programmes; repositioning family planning as an
essential part of the attainment of health Millennium Development Goals;
addressing sexual and reproductive Health needs of adolescents and
youth as a key sexual and reproductive health component; addressing
unsafe abortion; delivering quality and affordable services in order to
promote safe motherhood, child survival, maternal, newborn and child
health; and African and ‘South to South’ co-operation for the attainment of
the Cairo Programme of the International Conference on Population and
Development, and the Millennium Development Goals in Africa.
• New Partnership for Africa’s Development Declaration (New Partnership for
Africa): 138 New Partnership for Africa is a declaration on the development
agenda of Africa as a continent that has thus far been poor. Though it is
135 Para 27 ibid.
136 Adopted by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in May July 2004.
137 Adopted at the Special Session of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Health, Mozambique,
18-22 September 2006.
138 NEPAD was adopted at the first meeting of the Heads of States and Government Implementation
Committee in Abuja, Nigeria, in October 2001.
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