On Thursday, 15 December, the European Commission announced that the EU is going to invest €60 million in improving sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR in WHO jargon) in Africa over the 2023–2027 period.
This envelope, taken from the EU budget, is part of the €150 billion ‘Global Gateway Africa-Europe Investment Package’ (EUROPE 13072/13). It also serves the objectives of the new EU Global Health Strategy and the UN’s 2030 Agenda.
It will notably fund the dissemination of information on sexual and reproductive health and rights as well as information on SRHR goods and services in addition to actions that aim to improve the availability, affordability, and acceptability of products, particularly among girls and adolescent girls.
It is a matter of “[accelerating] progress on key issues such as family planning, the fight against gender-based violence, harmful practices, maternal mortality, as well as on sexual health and well-being”, indicates the European Commission.
The initiative was developed by the European Commission, ten EU countries—Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden—and three African Regional Economic Communities—the East African Community (EAC), ECOWAS, and SADC.
The European Commission specifies that EU Member States and the private sector will contribute funds but, at this stage, does not say how much. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)