Consultant to Review the Campaign for Decriminalization of Abortion in Africa

Background

On 18^th January 2016, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) through the mechanism of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa officially launched the Campaign for the Decriminalization of Abortion in Africa to bring attention to unsafe abortion which poses a serious threat to women’s and girl’s rights to sexual and reproductive health. Unsafe abortion accounts for 30% of all maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa where over 6 million unsafe abortion occur annually resulting to approximately 29,000 maternal deaths.

The campaign launch followed a March 2015 Commissioners’ retreat on Accountability for African Women’s Reproductive Rights in Nairobi where ACHPR Commissioners committed to among other things: launch campaign for the decriminalization of abortion in Africa that would leverage on the African Union’s theme for the 2016 – Year of Human Rights, in particular with focus on the Rights of Women; advocate for the universal ratification of the Maputo Protocol and lifting of any reservations thereto; and work towards broad dissemination of General Comment No.2 on article 14 of the Maputo Protocol.

The campaign augments on a series of land mark interventions that have been pursued by AU organs to address unsafe abortion in Africa such as the Maputo Plan of Action on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) and other AU initiatives, as well as the Programme of Action from the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action. In the year 2014, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) issued General Comment 2 as interpretive guidance on family planning and abortion as provided for in the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. In the same year, the AU Department of Social Affairs issued guidance to member states through the publication “Interpreting and implementing existing abortion laws”.

These and other regional frameworks and initiatives undertaken by the African Union and its organs over the last 10 years have worked to raise the profile of women’s reproductive rights in Africa with a focus on the urgent need for member states to address the human rights and public health challenge of unsafe abortion.

To support this campaign and other complementary AU initiatives on safe abortion, Ipas Africa Alliance has been working with regional policy making institutions in their various capacities to advocate for the creation of an enabling environment for access to safe abortion.

About Ipas Africa Alliance and the work with the regional bodies

Ipas Africa Alliance has been working with the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights to create an enabling environment for access to safe abortion at the regional level. The engagements with the ACHPR have included working with the ACHPR Commissioners in its observer status to call upon states to protect, promote and fulfill the sexual reproductive rights of women and girls across the continent. Ipas has conducted colloquium and dialogue sessions with the Commissioners to interact on the status of access to safe abortion across the continent. Ipas has also worked with the ACHPR to develop the General Comment No. 2 on Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol which seeks to give member states interpretative guidance on the provision of abortion services in their different contexts.

With the success of the partnership with the ACHPR Ipas has sought to engage with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to foster a partnership that would strengthen the advocacy efforts already being employed to increase sexual and reproductive health rights of women and girls within the region. As such Ipas has been engaging with the EAC (East African Community) and is looking to expand its engagements with the RECs to include ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) as well as Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Two advocacy opportunities present themselves for the engagement with the ACHPR and the RECs. Due to the structure of the ACHPR the Commissioners have varying terms. From time to time it is imperative to conduct buy-in’s and dialogues with the Commissioners who are new to the Commission or who have taken up the position of Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa (SRRWA). In 2020 there have been new Commissioners coming on board and the election of a new SRRWA. Being the driving force of the Campaign for the Decriminalization of Abortion in Africa it is imperative to engage with the ACHPR Commissioners to assess and analyze the current status of the campaign and chart a way forward for Ipas and the other CSO partners to support the Commission in furthering the campaign.

With the RECs Ipas has an opportunity to engage with the EAC as it develops its Reproductive Health Bill. The SADC and ECOWAS RECs have made great strides and shown success in creating an enabling environment for SRHR as well as implementing programmes that further SRHR. Ipas is looking to engage with the EAC by showcasing the best practices from the SADC and ECOWAS regions to the EAC to inculcate into the EAC Reproductive Health Bill.

Scope of Work

To engage further with the ACHPR and the RECs Ipas Africa Alliance is seeking a consultant to develop a clear strategy and communications plan towards the two key stakeholders.

Specific objectives of the 30 days assignment are outlined below:

Scope – Desk Review /Literature review and mapping key stakeholders for assignment Deliverable – List of key stakeholders and relevant consultative /interview schedule Timeline – 5 days
Scope – Developing key interview questions and facilitating a virtual meeting with partners to identify priority areas for the assignment. Deliverable – Virtual meeting with RECs and ACHPR representatives.
List of questions shared with Ipas Timeline – 5 days
Scope – Conduct interviews with mapped stakeholders. RECs and ACHPR representatives identify opportunities for Ipas to engage in creating an enabling environment for access to safe abortion. Deliverable – Compiled analysis of interviews shared with Ipas. Timeline – 10 days
Scope – Develop strategy and communications plan for the engagement with the ACHPR and the RECs taking into consideration impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Deliverable – Draft strategy and communications plan developed and shared with Ipas. Timeline – 5 days
Scope – Facilitate a meeting with Ipas on draft plans. Deliverable – Meeting conducted. Timeline – 1 day
Scope – Final strategy and communications plan shared with Ipas. Deliverable – e-copy and hard copy delivered to Ipas. Timeline – 4 days

Duration of the task.

The assignment is estimated to be undertaken within 45 days from the date the consultancy agreement, with total billable days being 30.