The Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights is part of a long-term process of building and fostering regional dialogue on sexual and reproductive health and rights that leads to concrete actions and enhance stakeholders’ ability to influence policy and programming in favour of a sexually- healthy continent. The African Federation for Sexual Health and Rights (AFSHR) has collaborated with several Core Conference Partners (CCP) and other key stakeholders in sexual and reproductive health over the past twelve years to organise this regional conference. The conference was previously held in Johannesburg, South Africa (2004); Nairobi, Kenya (2006); Abuja, Nigeria (2008); Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2010); Windhoek, Namibia (2012); Yaoundé, Cameroon (2014); and Accra, Ghana (2016).

The conference starts with a two-day pre-conference programme consisting of experts meetings, constituency-focused meetings and capacity building workshops on sexual and reproductive health and rights for young people. The main conference follows immediately thereafter and includes plenary sessions, concurrent sessions, skills-building workshops and exhibitions among others. The conference deliberates on Sexual and Reproductive Health of adolescents and youth sub-types including early, middle and late adolescents, adolescents and youth living with HIV, in conflict situations, and living with disabilities and will also focus on vulnerable, excluded and marginalized populations, sexuality education, youth-friendly services, forced/early marriage, adolescent motherhood, abortions, gender-based violence as well as maternal morbidity and mortality.

Conference Objectives

1. Identify promising/best practices on adolescents and youth sexual and reproductive health with a focus on effective responses to youth vulnerabilities
2. Facilitate knowledge management and programming to enhance adolescents and youth agency.
3. Enhance adolescents and youth policies and programmes in regional and global development agendas.
4. Propose actions to promote adolescents and youth sexual and reproductive health and rights in the implementation of the ICPD Beyond 2014, the Post-2015 Development Agenda and Agenda 2063.

Participants

About 1,000 participants representing various stakeholder and constituency groups are expected at the conference. These include policy makers, development partners, civil society organisations, and academia, media, adolescents, youth, and duty bearers.