80th UNGA: It is important to stop the forces pushing back on health and gender equality
- SDG-3 and SDG-5 promises in crisis
- The Caucasus: the impact of war and conflict on health and gender
- Accountability and the role of governments
- Asia-Pacific region: challenges of maternal mortality and child marriage
- The state of health and gender equality in Africa
- Policy rollbacks and pressure from anti-gender lobbies
- Feminist leaders' warnings and solutions
Countdown to 2030: concrete action needed
The 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) raised demands to halt the decline in progress and the increasing regressive attacks on health (SDG-3) and gender equality (SDG-5)…
By committing to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 2015), all government leaders had promised health and well-being (SDG-3) and gender equality (SDG-5) by 2030, “where no one is left behind.” Two-thirds along the way in 2025, writing on the wall is clear: promises are not being kept.
“Together, these 2 SDG goals (SDG-3 and SDG-5) are at the heart of the 2030 SDGs agenda. Without them, there can be no human development, no sustainable peace, and no economic transformation, said Benedicta Oyedayo Oyewole, Community Engagement and Partnership Lead, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Africa.
Rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushbacks along with conflicts, wars, invasions and genocides, have not only arrested the progress made on gender and health but also threaten to reverse (and reverse) some of the fragile gains made on health and gender.
We are not only majorly off track on health and gender but also governments have hardly prioritised them when it comes to political will, investment or integrated whole-of-government action.
Accountability is missing in the SDGs
“We cannot achieve SDG-3 and SDG-5 goals and targets without the commitment from the governments as governments have a responsibility and duty to protect the human rights of women and gender diverse peoples in all aspects. We must have accountability when it comes to these promises enshrined in SDGs and progress made or lack of it,” said Matcha Phorn-In, a noted feminist and development justice leader and Founder Executive Director of Sangsan Anakot Yaowachon, Thailand.
“In many countries, we are faced with armed conflicts (or invasions or genocide). People in these conflict areas are forced for internal and external displacements. Many countries do not acknowledge indigenous rights. So, indigenous peoples’ rights to land and natural resources also get severely restricted. Rather, indigenous peoples are impacted by so-called ‘business’ activities that violate human rights and our environment. We cannot talk about the right to health without talking about ending wars, conflicts, invasions and genocides,” stressed Matcha Phorn-In. “We also need to acknowledge the indigenous right to land and right to natural resources, because by not doing so, we are ignoring the root cause of hunger, poverty, and lack of education, especially for girls and gender diverse peoples.”
“I would like to celebrate a major progress in Thailand for which we have been fighting for over 20 years: the Marriage Equality Act. Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise marriage equality. We would fully celebrate when all countries in the Southeast Asian region stop criminalising LGBTQIA+ people,” she added.
Despite progress in Africa on health and gender, major challenges remain
“Since 2015, the African region has taken important steps to advance progress on health and gender. But here is the reality. The progress is really slow. We must confront the reality: we are not on track,” said Benedicta Oyedayo Oyewole of IPPF Africa.
“African countries still accounts for 70% of global maternal deaths worldwide. In countries such as Nigeria, South Sudan, Chad, women continue to die from preventable causes simply because essential obstetric services are out of reach. In parts of the region, 1-in-3 women experienced intimate partner violence and conflicts have worsened this crisis in countries such as South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Somalia. Reports of conflict-related sexual violence have increased. Child marriages remain widespread. Nearly 4 out of 10 girls in West and Central African countries are married before 18 and this robs them of education, health and ultimately their future. On universal health coverage (UHC), the African regional coverage index remain far below global averages and millions are pushed into poverty every year because of out-of-pocket health spending,” said Benedicta.
“COVID-19 and recent conflicts have reversed some gains. But let us be clear, the crisis is not only about shocks. It is also about underfunded systems, weak accountability, and political choices that failed to prioritise women's health and rights. And a good example of that is in the case of the Gambia which last year moved to repeal the Act that criminalised female genital mutilation in the country,” added Benedicta.
“SDG-3 and SDG-5 matter because it is not only a health issue or a gender issue – it is about justice and economics. The Africa Union has estimated that gender inequality cost sub-Saharan African countries billions of dollars in loss of productivity each year. Every maternal death is not only a personal tragedy. It is a blow to families, communities and national development. When girls stay in school and delay marriages, fatality rates fall, economies grow, and societies stabilise. Conversely, when you allow gender inequality to persist, we entrench circles of poverty and vulnerability. How do we then accelerate progress?”
Health and gender policy rollbacks
“Despite having made great progress around health and gender equality, we are now - more than ever - seeing a lot of fight from the anti-gender groups and anti-rights groups to undo the gains made on health and gender,” said Kavutha Mutua, Founder Director, The Legal Caravan and noted High Court lawyer, Kenya.
“Despite having made strides on health and gender, we are seeing a lot of policy rollbacks. For example, Kenya, despite having made commitments to advance comprehensive sexuality education, withdrew it. Likewise, Kenya has reservations against Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol which directly jeopardises access to safe abortion services and hinders progress on sexual and reproductive health and rights,” said Kavutha Mutua.
The Maputo Protocol is a legally binding African Union treaty adopted in 2003 that guarantees the promotion and protection of women's rights in Africa. Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol guarantees comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights for women and girls, encompassing rights to fertility control, family planning education, protection from STIs (including HIV/AIDS), and access to safe abortion.
“We have seen contradicting laws that hinder access to these services for young women and girls, including the regressive ‘Geneva Consensus Declaration’ that we have continuously advocated against, to protect the human right to health and gender equality. These policy changes hinder the government's commitments towards advancing reproductive rights for young women and girls,” added Kavutha Mutua.
Matcha, Kavutha and Benedicta were keynote speakers at SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) session hosted together by Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI), International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2025, Family Planning News Network (FPNN), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media) and CNS.
Anti-rights groups are using deceptive tactics to stall progress on SDG-3 and SDG-5
It is interesting to note that anti-rights and anti-gender groups are using the deceptive garb of ‘family’ and ‘values’ to propel their harmful narrative and defeat, dilute, water down and derail progress made on SDG-3 and SDG-5.
“Anti-rights and anti-gender groups are organising ‘conferences’ under the guise of ‘having family values’ or ‘protecting family values’ in Uganda, Rwanda, Sierra Leonne, and Kenya. Such so-called conferences have come up with drafts or pushing for retrogressive laws and policies against gender equality and human rights. I know there were discussions around a draft called ‘African Charter on Family Sovereignty and Values’ which contradicts some of the rights we are advocating for, especially around sexual and reproductive health and rights,” said Kavutha Mutua.
“These anti-rights and anti-gender groups are even coming after the existing progressive constitutional provisions. We have seen some of these groups dragging us to court in their bid to stop us from pushing forward gender equality and human rights,” shared Kavutha, who herself is a noted High Court lawyer in Kenya.
“We must defend progress made in laws and courts where possible. Like for us in Kenya, we are in court defending the national reproductive health policy which had come under attack or rather had been passed without public participation and therefore the voice of young women and girls was not covered and aspects such as comprehensive sexuality education were intentionally removed. Such regressive pushbacks are against the commitments made in SDG-3,” added Kavutha.
Ring fence investment for health and gender
Along with ring fencing budgets for investing in SDG-3 and SDG-5 and ending all forms of sexual and gender-based violence and child marriages, IPPF’s Benedicta calls for “putting money in the hands of women's rights and community-led organisations because they are the groups reaching the most vulnerable and the most marginalised in the communities, from sex workers to people living with HIV, persons who inject drugs, sexual and gender diverse peoples, persons with disabilities, and women in rural settings. And these are people most often led behind - and yet they receive only a fraction of development financing. If we want transformative change, we must trust and fund them.”
Progress on SDG-3 and SDG-5 is way off the mark in the Asia Pacific too
“Globally, the instability brought about by prolonged war and shifts in political power have led to dramatic declines in focus and funding on sexual and reproductive health and rights and justice. In some countries in Asia, increasing fundamentalisms at the national level further impedes progress made towards the realisation of sexual and reproductive health and rights and justice for its women and girls,” said Anjali Shenoi, noted intersectional feminist from Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW).
“Worsening climate change of course, unequally affects communities that are already at social and economic disadvantages, leading to forced migration, disruption of access to health and services, proper sanitation, worsening food insecurity and increased exposure to environmental toxins with women and girls bearing the brunt of these problems. Most emerging economies in the Asia Pacific region ranked poorly on gender equality within the SDG framework. Asia Pacific region still has a long road ahead towards achieving gender equality and the fulfilment of sexual and reproductive health and rights, indicating an urgent need for accelerated action,” shared Anjali Shenoi of ARROW.
Delays in seeking and receiving maternal care kill
ARROW and partners have reviewed progress in Asia Pacific on SDG-3 and SDG-5 in the face of intersecting crisis, both within the SDG framework but also incorporating community and lived experiences of women and girls in all their diversities from the region.
“If we look at maternal mortality, one-third of the countries in Asia and the Pacific region are not on track to reduce maternal mortality to below 70 deaths per 100,000 live births. A majority of countries are experiencing a decline in maternal mortality, but for many, the problem is too big and the progress is not far enough. Of course, maternal mortality is a completely preventable issue, and a regional analysis shows that the full spectrum of maternity care, including antenatal care, skilled delivery services and postpartum care, is correlated to lower maternal mortality ratios. The maternal mortality ratio is lowest in countries where these services are highly utilised. Delays in accessing maternal health services also increase the risk of mortality. Research from our partners at the University of Health Sciences Lao PDR shows that the delays in seeking care and receiving care are the primary contributors to maternal mortality in rural areas,” said Anjali Shenoi.
“In the SDG framework, the protection of girls is monitored through the assessment of two outcomes: prevalence of early marriages and prevalence of female genital mutilation or cutting. If we look at both, then we are not faring very well.
Alarmingly high femicide in the Asia Pacific
“More than one-third of women worldwide experience gender-based violence. Incidents in Asia are substantially higher than these global averages. Femicide in the Asia-Pacific alone accounts for about 18,100 deaths. 15-64% of women experience physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. 75% of women in the region experienced sexual harassment. 57% of women across 139 countries said that they felt unsafe walking in their neighbourhood,” said ARROW’s Anjali Shenoi.
Anjali called upon governments to remove legal, structural, social, and geographical barriers to health services, including safe abortion and maternal health services. She also stressed upon redesign inclusive health systems and create cohesive, inclusive, accessible systems for all diversities, which provide equitable access to marginalised populations, and strengthen sexual and reproductive health services.”
Countdown to 2030: Deliver on gender equality and human right to health
"As we are looking ahead to 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this month, my call to African leaders is that countries cannot afford ‘polite promises’ any longer. We need our commitment honoured. The promises of SDG-3 and SDG-5 are the promises of dignity, life, and equality. We need the leaders to deliver on it. We need protection of health and gender equality financing even in times of austerity. Do not balance budget on the backs of women and girls. We need action with urgency. We need to set measurable milestones, reduce maternal mortality by half by 2027. We must move to end child marriages within a generation, guarantee universal access to essential sexual and reproductive health and rights services," said Benedicta Oyedayo Oyewole of IPPF Africa.
"This is not charity. This is justice. It makes economic sense. It is the foundation of the African countries that we want. The time for political rhetoric is over. What we need now is courage, financing and political will to ensure that by 2030 no woman dies from giving birth, no girl is forced into marriage, no one is denied health and dignity because of who they are," she added.
Shobha Shukla
(Shobha Shukla is a feminist, health and development justice advocate, and an award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service). She was also the Lead Discussant for SDG-3 at the United Nations intergovernmental High Level Political Forum (HLPF 2025). She is a former senior Physics faculty of prestigious Loreto Convent College; current President of Asia Pacific Regional Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media); Chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA received AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Talents Award 2024); and coordinator of SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights).
