Description
There is agreement that the human rights agenda has undergone significant expansion; yet challenges of delivery remain acute. Whilst women’s sexual and reproductive rights (SRHR) are not a ‘new’ issue, moving their health rights up and delivering them, especially in the global South, have been difficult. Currently, pressure on governments to take these rights more seriously are increasing, however. This paper explores the shift to Universal Health Coverage (UHC), as an avenue for improved delivery of reproductive health rights, focusing on the agency of women’s advocacy groups. It does so in the case of the Southern African region. Southern Africa is particularly important for understanding the relationship between SRHR, UHC and gender, with a majority of women severely deprived of SRHR and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reporting that the region is unlikely to achieve UHC by 2030 if these underlying SRHR issues remain unaddressed. This paper draws on the Thanzi la Onse (Health for all) programme of GCRF-funded research (https://thanzi.org/; https://www.york.ac.uk/igdc/research/thanzi-la-onse/
