Accountability on African SRHR Instruments Toolkit
How accountable are you? How do you hold others accountable? These essential questions confront those of us who engage in the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) field.
Kofi Annan said, “Ignorance and prejudice are the handmaidens of propaganda. Our mission, therefore, is to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the outstretched hand of generosity.” Applying this narrative to that of achieving better Sexual and Reproductive and Health and Rights, this toolkit hopes to engage diverse audiences from different contexts, by providing practical and thought-provoking learning outcomes.
Accountability is an essential element in addressing stigma, inequality, patriarchy and discrimination in the context of SRHR. Thus, together with the AIDS Foundation of South Africa, Accountability International has devised this toolkit, which outlines the foundation of practical strategies to be employed in addressing these social issues.
This toolkit begins with unpacking the complex narratives that exist for a variety of communities, from youth to people living with disabilities and people living with HIV to people who use drugs. It is based on the premise that if we are better able to understand the barriers that exist to inclusion and equality, we are better able to ensure human rights and accountability for all.
The curriculum then goes on to examine several cross-cutting issues, including Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), gender inequality, peace and security and poverty.
The section on Accountability Literacy provides the learner with a foundation in good governance, accountability, the role of transparency and data and how to get accountability in the real world. Closely following on this section is an analysis of the various types of commitments that exist, their strengths and weaknesses and how the learner can engage with each for the benefits of human rights and accountability.
In the final sections, the toolkit unpacks twelve of the African and four of the global commitments that are crucial tools in getting countries to reach the as yet unattained Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets. The learner is able to understand the background of each commitment, its scope and its applicability to the SRHR field.
In its entirety the toolkit aims to unpack a complex narrative by providing analysis, discussions on SRHR, intersecting issues, and further navigating into the various SRHR instruments. We aimed to bring awareness of the issues in SRHR and the relevant employed strategies, mandates and protocols in existence to hold leaders and individuals accountable, as well as advocate towards better standards and quality of living
Access the toolkit and the training videos here or go to bit.ly/AccountabilitySRHRToolkit
Do you have research reports, advocacy or policy documents, training tools or other resources that you would like to share? You can submit them here or by e mail to abbeyhudson@aids.org.za