Center for Reproductive Rights Africa

Today, the High Court of Kenya delivered its judgment in Petition E490 of 2025, protecting adolescents engaged in consensual, non-coercive and non-exploitative peer sexual relationships from arrests and prosecutions. The Court: ➡️Directed investigative, prosecutorial and enforcement agencies to distinguish consensual adolescent peer relationships from exploitative or abusive conduct. ➡️Stopped the criminal proceedings against minors charged with defilement for engaging in peer sexual relations. ➡️Ordered relevant agencies in health, education, and child protection to ensure adolescents can access sexual and reproductive health information and services without fear of criminalization. This is a major win for adolescent rights in Kenya and we continue to advocate for their protection. #AdolescentRights #ReproductiveJustice #Kenya #ASRHR

For adolescent girls and young women, access to accurate information is just as important as access to services. Protecting reproductive rights means they can seek lawful healthcare with dignity, confidence and without fear. #SRHR #AGYWRights

What if the right data could change the future for millions of adolescent girls? 💙 Not someday. Starting today. Leaders from Samburu, Garissa, Tana River, West Pokot + Homa Bay joined @MOH_Kenya, @MoH_DRMH, @NCPD_Kenya , #RHNK + @ReproRightsAFR to validate the #HerHealthInitiative #ASRMH Desk Review + Baseline. 📊 3 things that stopped the room: 💬 "Evidence should never sit on shelves. It should shape budgets + systems." - @nellymunyasia, #RHNK 💬 "Data speaks. Now counties have a foundation to measure 5 years of progress." - @Evelyne_Opondo - @ICRWAfrica 💬 "Tell the stories behind the numbers." - Dr. Claudia, @IPPFAR A County Director said it best: "Salaries alone don’t deliver healthcare. We need equipment, commodities + systems too." 🏥 Next steps: Findings from the baseline survey go to all 5 counties to guide implementation and investments. Built from within. County-owned. For the long term. 💪 #HHI #EvidenceToAction #SystemsThatWorkForHer

The numbers are in. And they are asking us to act. 📊 Yesterday, partners from Samburu, Garissa, Tana River, West Pokot and Homa Bay alongside the @MoH_DRMH, @NCPD_Kenya, @KJA_Kenya, @nnakenya, @KNBStats, @IPPFAR, @coimpactcollab, county governments and civil society gathered to validate the #HerHealthInitiative Baseline Survey, the evidence foundation for five years of systems change across five Kenyan counties. Here is what the data found about the adolescent girls at the centre of this work. 👇 • Tana River carries the heaviest burden. 🔴 • 81.3% of sexually active girls have been pregnant. • 27.5% were pregnant at the time of the survey. • Only 53% have ever attended school. • Only 51% can read. These are not just numbers. They are girls whose futures are being shaped by systems that are not yet working for them. 💔 First sex is happening too early. ⚠️ In Samburu, girls report first sex at just 15.5 years old on average. Across all five counties, the average is under 16 years. Before they finish primary school. Before they have full information. Before the system has reached them. 💭 But here is the thread of hope. 🌱 Across every single county, Garissa, Homa Bay, Samburu, Tana River, West Pokot, the number one source of sexual and reproductive health information for adolescents is the same: 👩‍🏫 Their teacher. • 60–69% in Homa Bay and Samburu. • 53.9% in Garissa. • 52.3% in West Pokot. Schools are the most powerful platform we have. 💡 When teachers are equipped, supported and trusted, they reach girls before anyone else does. 👩🏾Mothers are the second most trusted voice. 💜 • In Tana River, 34% of adolescents name their mother as a source of SRH information. • In Homa Bay, 26.4%. This is not a gap. This is an entry point. 🤝 When we strengthen what families and schools already do, we strengthen systems from the inside. This baseline is not a report to be filed. 📋 It is a call to action, for county governments, for health workers, for partners, and for every person who believes that an adolescent girl in West Pokot deserves the same quality of care as one in Nairobi. The #HerHealthInitiative starts here. With this evidence. With these counties. With these girls. 💬 What do you think is the single most urgent action Kenya must take for adolescent girls in these counties? #HerHealthInitiative #HHI #SystemsThatWorkForHer

Adolescents thrive when policies protect their health, rights, and futures. Through the SHE SOARS project, partners in Zambia are advancing equitable sexual and reproductive health policies by engaging decision-makers, strengthening youth-friendly services, and championing peer education to improve access to care for young people. Watch full video; youtu.be/o3I_ZCMp7ZY #srhr #shesoars

Every victory brings us closer to a future where women and girls can make informed decisions about their bodies, health, and futures. Here are some of the milestones making a difference across the continent. #srhr #reproductiverights #reproductivejustice

This World Cup season, we’re giving a RED CARD to the violations that keep women, girls and all people from accessing the reproductive healthcare they deserve.

For many women in Kenya, seeking abortion care is not only a health decision—it is a journey shaped by fear, stigma, and uncertainty. In this @NationAfrica , @Konyango_Martin , Associate Director, Africa Legal Strategies at the Center, shares insights on Kenya’s legal framework for abortion and the importance of ensuring that women can access lawful reproductive healthcare without fear of harassment, discrimination, or criminalization. Read the full story through the link: nation.africa/kenya/news/gen…

Abortion is a healthcare service—not a crime. In this interview with the @NationAfrica , @Konyango_Martin Associate Director, Africa Legal Strategies at the Center, unpacks Kenya’s legal and policy framework on abortion, clarifying when abortion is lawful, why post-abortion care is protected as emergency healthcare, and how misconceptions continue to expose women and healthcare providers to harassment and unlawful criminalization. Watch the full interview via the link : youtu.be/EuY9_a5XXKw?si…

Teenage mothers in Kenya are entitled to free delivery services, yet many continue to face out-of-pocket costs, informal charges, and systemic barriers when seeking maternal healthcare. These gaps not only undermine the right to health but also place an unfair burden on some of the country’s most vulnerable young mothers. In this @NationAfrica feature, @Konyango_Martin Associate Director, Africa Legal Strategies at the Center for Reproductive Rights, shares insights on why these barriers persist and the urgent need for greater accountability to ensure maternal healthcare policies translate into real access for every young mother. Read the full article here: share.google/Uu8Ke9lHOmApAl…

Every milestone tells a story of progress, partnership and persistence. The second issue of our quarterly newsletter highlights key moments from across Africa as we advanced reproductive rights through strategic litigation, regional advocacy, movement building and partnerships. From landmark court decisions and high-level policy engagements to community initiatives, this edition captures the work driving change across the continent. Click on this link to flip through the pages and read more about our work in Africa: heyzine.com/flip-book/5ff4…

Rights should protect—not punish. Kenya’s Constitution recognizes circumstances where abortion is lawful, yet legal uncertainty continues to put women, girls, and healthcare providers at risk. Protecting reproductive rights means ensuring the law is clear, constitutional, and centered on health, dignity, and justice. #ReproductiveJustice

@ISERUganda welcomes the UN Human Rights Council's landmark resolution recognising reproductive violence as a distinct form of gender based violence. This historic recognition affirms what @ISERUganda has long argued, that, detaining women in hospitals after childbirth over unpaid medical bills is not a billing dispute but a human rights violation. As we continue to challenge reproductive violence, we remain committee to ensuring that no woman is deprived of her dignity and liberty. @UN_HRC @ReproRightsAFR

The @achpr_cadhp, through the Working Group on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights and the SRRWA, with support from @ReproRights is convening a consultative meeting (2–3 July)

This week we supported @achpr_cadhp ECOSOC Working group and the Special Rapportuer on the Rights of Women in Africa to convene a two day consultative meeting with the Technical Drafting Team that is supporting the two mandates to develop Guidelines on the Elimination of Obstetric Violence and Promotion of Maternal Healthcare in Africa in line with ACHPR/Res.625 (LXXXII) 2025

Every pregnant learner and adolescent mother deserves the opportunity to stay in school, access essential health services and shape her own future. Through the SHE SOARS project in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia, young people are driving change and breaking barriers to education and sexual and reproductive health. 🎥 Watch the full video via the link youtu.be/1FbsdOWPVt0

Earlier this month, @Zamara_fdn participated in the Abortion and Reproductive Justice Conference (ARJC) 2026 in Nairobi, joining feminist movements, global partners, consortiums, advocates, researchers, and community organizers committed to advancing reproductive justice. The conference offered a valuable space to exchange knowledge, deepen partnerships, and contribute to critical conversations on bodily autonomy, abortion justice, and equitable access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. We are grateful to have been part of this collective moment of learning and solidarity. #ARJC2026 #ZamaraVoices

A judgment is only as meaningful as its implementation. Here are four key orders issued by the High Court in Petition E490 to strengthen rights-based responses for adolescents.