Advancing rural and urban women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR)
archived | 07 Aug 22
The Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Network (ZWRCN), with financial assistance fromBread for the World- Protestant Development Service Germany, is implementing a 3 year project (October 2017- September 2020) on advancing rural and urban women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) through increasing their access to reproductive health services in 4 districts (Mutoko, Murehwa, Shurugwi and Bulawayo). The overall development goal of the project is “Women’s empowerment through building capacity to demand their sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) from local and national health service providers in three rural districts of Mutoko, Murehwa and Shurugwi as well as one urban district of Bulawayo”.
The three year Gender and Health Budgets Project falls within the ZWRCN Gender, Economic Policies and Public Finance Programme (GEPPF). It seeks to address women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) rights in Zimbabwe through advocacy and research aimed at promoting equitable allocation of national resources that will address women’s practical and strategic needs. The project has two components, namely:
- Budget Monitoring and Expenditure Tracking (BMET) of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRHR) Budget Allocations
- The Role of Community Monitoring Committee on SRHR in the four districts.
In recent efforts, ZWRCN has expanded its scope in advocating for women’s SRHR issues under the Gender and Health Budgets project. Gender budgeting and Budget Monitoring and Expenditure Tracking (BMET) has been employed as a main strategy to influence government to allocate resources equitably and in response to women’s health needs. In line with the project, deliberate efforts will be made on creating synergies between the local governments and the Community Monitoring Committees (CMCs) as well as other health service providers so as to improve service delivery in the health sector. In the past project cycle, ZWRCN established Community Monitoring Committees (CMCs) in Shurugwi and Mutoko and will further these efforts by establishing CMCs in Murehwa and Bulawayo. Each district will have 40 community monitors.
“SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS (SRHR) ARE LINKED TO LARGER DEVELOPMENT GOALS LIKE REDUCING POVERTY, ACHIEVING BETTER HEALTH AND ENSURING EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS.”