Sexual and reproductive health month is critical

The sexual and reproductive health month observed in September and launched in 2006, is important, especially to girls and women in many ways. Primarily, it brings to the fore taboos, stigma, fundamental rights of bodily autonomy and other aspects that affect them.

This is a month women and girls should be in the forefront, advocating for easy access to sexual and reproductive health services which they are mostly denied for various reasons. It is also time to push for the removal of barriers that affect their health and wellbeing.

Currently, the country awaits implementation of reviewed post-abortion care guidelines—almost a year after a landmark court ruling in October 2025—which simply affirmed that survivors of sexual violence who get pregnant can access safe abortion services in both public and private health facilities. Implementation of these guidelines missed its April 2026 deadline, meaning survivors of sexual violence are being denied their right to access these sexual and reproductive health services.

This is just one example of the barriers hindering girls and women’s rights to sexual and reproductive health services.

According to the World Health Organisation, reproductive health refers to the state of physical, mental and social wellbeing relating to the reproductive system at all stages of life.

What this means is if women and girls face barriers affecting their reproductive health rights, their mental and physical health get affected. This means they simply won’t be as productive or carry out their other roles in the workplace, at church, within the family and society diligently.

It is, therefore, important that this month should be much more than a sexual and reproductive health month, but a period women and girls should lobby for legislation that protects their rights and interests; it should be a period to discuss issues affecting their reproductive health and push for strategies that can effectively address them.

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