MenEngage Africa SRHR progress symposium 2026: young people shaping the future of sexual and reproductive health and rights

The MenEngage Africa SRHR Progress Symposium 2026 brought together young people to reflect on the current opportunities and challenges for advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), particularly in the context of Africa. The symposium took place from August 12 – 14, 2026, in Mombasa, Kenya, under the theme ​“Reclaiming Autonomy: Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Justice in the Face of Resistance.” 

For young people working across different contexts, the conversations highlighted a common question: what does it take to move from including young people in SRHR movements to genuinely sharing power with them?

To explore these questions, Émilienne Languie and Irene Oget (MenEngage Alliance global youth reference group ) and Nyasha Phanisa Sithole ( Program Officer at MenEngage Alliance) shared their reflections on three areas: what they took away from the symposium, what transformative engagement with young people looks like in practice, and what needs to change to ensure young people are actively shaping the future of the movement.

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Question 1: What was your key takeaway or learning from the MEA SRHR Symposium, and how has it shaped your thinking about the current opportunities and challenges for advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), particularly in the context of Africa

Emiliene: My biggest takeaway from the MEA SRHR Symposium was that SRHR in Africa is no longer only about access to services; it is fundamentally about power, autonomy,  participation, and who gets to shape the decisions that affect our bodies and our lives. The discussions on bodily autonomy, inclusive service delivery, youth-led research, community-led action, and countering backlash made it clear to me that we cannot advance SRHR simply by developing good policies. We have to transform the systems, norms and power structures that prevent people, especially young people from exercising their rights. 

For me, another important learning was that Africa should not only be seen as a place where global SRHR solutions are implemented. African young people are producing knowledge, innovations and solutions themselves. 

Irene: My key takeaway from the MEA Progress 2026 was the profound understanding of both the vast potential and the significant challenges that exist in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) across Africa. I learned that, despite increasing awareness, advocacy efforts, and a growing momentum around SRHR issues, deeply rooted cultural, religious, and societal norms continue to influence and often complicate open conversations about gender equality, young people’s leadership, and reproductive rights. These norms can act as barriers to progress, limiting the scope and effectiveness of initiatives aimed at empowering youth and promoting SRHR.

The symposium underscored the importance of adopting approaches that are not only evidence-based but also culturally sensitive and context-specific. It became clear that meaningful progress requires engaging communities in dialogue, respecting local values, and working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders to challenge harmful norms while promoting positive change. This has reinforced my belief that young people, especially women and marginalized groups, must be supported as active agents of change, capable of shaping their own futures.

The experience broadened my thinking to focus on harnessing opportunities for youth-led advocacy and leadership, recognizing that young people are not just beneficiaries but essential drivers of social transformation. It also highlighted the need to confront systemic and social barriers such as stigma, misinformation, and restrictive policies that continue to hinder progress in SRHR across the continent. Moving forward, I am committed to supporting efforts that foster inclusive, culturally sensitive, and youth-centered strategies to advance SRHR in Africa, ensuring that young people have the tools, platforms, and support necessary to lead change at local, national, and regional levels.

Nyasha: My key takeaway from the MEA SRHR Symposium was the powerful application of true intersectionality in practice moving past preaching to the converted and intentionally bringing diverse, and often competing, voices into the same room.

Rather than working in traditional silos, the convening successfully bridged divides by incorporating faith-based leaders, LGBTIQ+ communities, and youth activists into critical dialogues. Witnessing how this approach directly confronts potential sources of backlash was a profound learning moment. It reframed my thinking about the current landscape across Africa: while the pushback against sexual and reproductive health and rights is growing and increasingly coordinated, our resistance cannot remain isolated too.

The path forward requires building courageous, multi-sectoral alliances that proactively engage conservative or hesitant gatekeepers alongside marginalized communities and young activists. True progress relies on transforming opposition into dialogue, ensuring that SRHR strategies in Africa are resilient, inclusive, and rooted in feminist principles.

Question 2:Moving beyond the label of ​“allies,” what does true, transformative engagement look like for young people — especially young men and boys — in SRHR movements? How do we build spaces where they are co-creators of inclusive, equity-driven change rather than just participants? 

Emiliene: For me, transformative engagement with young people, particularly young men and boys, means moving from inviting young people into existing structures to actually sharing power with them.For young men and boys specifically, I think we need to be careful not to engage them simply because they are perceived as gatekeepers or potential perpetrators of harm. They must also be recognized as rights-holders, change agents, and co-creators of healthier masculinities and more equitable relationships.

But that engagement must remain accountable to feminist and gender-justice principles. Young men should not occupy spaces at the expense of young women, girls or marginalized communities. Instead, we should create spaces where young people learn from one another, challenge harmful norms together and collectively build solutions.

For me, a truly transformative space would therefore have young people involved in designing the programme, setting the priorities, conducting the research, making decisions, managing resources and evaluating the outcomes, not simply speaking during a youth session.

Nyasha: Moving beyond the comfortable label of ​“allies” requires dismantling tokenistic inclusion and intentionally embedding young people as structural co-creators of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) programs rather than passive participants. In my programmatic work bridging youth strategies and membership engagement, true transformation means shifting away from transactional youth participation where young people merely validate pre-set institutional SRHR agendas. Instead, it demands integrating young leaders directly into governance, strategic planning, and decision-making architecture where they hold real influence over resource allocation and institutional priorities.

For young men and boys specifically, advancing gender-transformative SRHR movements past superficial allyship requires cultivating spaces of radical accountability. Rather than coddling male fragility under the guise of gender-sensitization, these spaces must challenge young men to actively interrogate their privilege, unlearn harmful masculine norms, and take collective responsibility for dismantling systemic patriarchy within reproductive justice spaces. Institutionally, this requires building genuine intergenerational solidarity where experienced practitioners step into supportive, resource-sharing roles while allowing young leaders to drive the narrative and methodology. By operationalizing shared power, clear accountability frameworks, and inclusive membership dynamics, we transition young people particularly young men and boys from isolated participants into empowered, permanent co-architects of sustainable, rights-driven change. 

Irene: True, transformative engagement requires creating meaningful spaces where young men and boys are not merely passive participants or symbolic allies but are actively involved as equal partners and co-creators of change. This involves intentionally involving them from the very beginning in designing programs, dialogues, and policies that address sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), ensuring that their voices, experiences, and perspectives directly inform the agenda. Such participation helps foster a sense of ownership and responsibility among young men and boys, encouraging them to become genuine agents of change.

This approach also entails fostering a nuanced understanding of positive masculinity, challenging harmful stereotypes and promoting models of masculinity rooted in respect, empathy, and accountability. By encouraging young men and boys to reflect on and challenge traditional gender norms, we can cultivate a culture of accountability that promotes gender equity and human rights. Education and dialogue are critical components of this process, helping to dismantle toxic masculinity and promote healthier, more equitable notions of manhood.

Building these spaces requires deliberate, sustained efforts to promote open dialogue, provide comprehensive gender and SRHR education, and develop leadership among young men and boys. This includes creating safe environments where they can share experiences, discuss challenges, and learn about their roles in advancing gender equality and human rights. Leadership development initiatives can empower them to become advocates and allies who actively support gender-transformative change within their communities.

Question 3: Looking to the future, what critical partnerships, strategies, or institutional shifts are needed to ensure young people aren’t just at the table, but are actively steering the agenda and shaping the next era of the movement? 

Emiliene: Looking ahead, I believe we need three major shifts. First, we need stronger intergenerational partnerships. Older generations bring institutional memory, experience and networks, while young people bring new perspectives, digital innovation, creativity and an understanding of the realities facing today’s generation. The answer is not replacing one generation with another; it is building intergenerational leadership where power is intentionally shared. 

Second, we need to change how movements are financed. Young people cannot steer an agenda if they have no control over resources. We need funding mechanisms that provide young-led organizations with flexible, long-term and accessible funding, rather than only short-term project grants where young people implement priorities defined by others. 

Third, institutions need to redefine what meaningful youth leadership means. Young people should have seats on governance structures, advisory boards and decision-making bodies but representation alone is not enough. They need voting power, leadership positions, access to information, budgets and the ability to influence institutional priorities.

Nyasha: To ensure young people, including young men and boys, are actively steering the next era of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and men and masculinities movements, we must institutionalize three critical shifts. First, we need decentralized power and resource reallocation, moving past tokenistic panels to embed young leaders directly into co-governance and direct budget allocation. 

Second, within the men and masculinities field, we must pivot towards radical accountability, transforming young men from defensive allies into co-strugglers who actively interrogate privilege and dismantle patriarchal power hoarding. 

Finally, older-generation leaders must transition from gatekeepers to shield-bearers, fostering intergenerational solidarity that transfers political access while supporting youth to drive narrative-building and strategy. With uncompromised youth governance together with accountability-focused masculinity work and real resource transfer, we can build a resilient, future-proof SRHR movement truly steered by its young changemakers. 

Irene: To ensure that young people are genuinely leading and shaping the movement for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), it is essential to foster strategic, cross-sectoral partnerships that bring together government agencies, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and the private sector. These partnerships must prioritize youth leadership as a core value and work towards institutionalizing youth participation at all levels. This involves creating formalized structures and mechanisms that embed youth voices within decision-making processes, policy development, and program implementation.

A critical step in this direction is the establishment of dedicated platforms such as youth councils, advisory boards, Youth Reference Groups at the regional level, and coalitions that serve as ongoing spaces for young people to contribute their insights, experiences, and innovative ideas. These platforms should be supported by sustainable funding mechanisms that specifically target youth-led initiatives, leadership development programs, and capacity-building activities. Such investments are vital to empowering young people to take ownership of their advocacy efforts and to build their skills in leadership, policy influence, and organizational management.

Strategies to support youth-led leadership must include targeted capacity-building efforts, including training, mentorship, and networking opportunities that enhance young people’s skills, confidence, and effectiveness as advocates and decision-makers. Creating spaces for meaningful engagement where young people can influence policy design, program planning, and resource allocation ensures that their perspectives are not only heard but actively shape the direction of SRHR initiatives.

Institutional shifts are crucial; organizations, government bodies, and key stakeholders must embed youth participation into their governance structures. This can be achieved by establishing youth advisory committees, integrating youth representatives into leadership roles, and ensuring that youth voices are central to strategic planning and accountability processes. Such structural integration signifies a genuine commitment to youth empowerment rather than superficial or tokenistic inclusion.

The goal is to move beyond token gestures of youth inclusion to genuine empowerment where young people are equipped with the resources, authority, and platforms needed to define their priorities and lead transformative change. This involves recognizing young people as equal partners and investing in their long-term leadership potential. When young people are enabled to lead the future of SRHR advocacy and action, we foster a more inclusive, innovative, and sustainable movement that truly reflects the needs and aspirations of youth and the broader community.