Press Release: Impact of Public Health Emergencies on SRHR Services in Africa [30 October 2025]

On 30 October 2025, the Socio-Economic Rights Project at the Dullah Omar Institute, in collaboration with the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, hosted a webinar on the impact of public health emergencies on sexual and reproductive health and rights services in Africa.

Scholars and practitioners reflected on the vulnerabilities exposed by Ebola, COVID-19, natural disasters and continuing humanitarian conflicts, and considered how emergency preparedness can better protect essential reproductive health services.

The discussion demonstrated that public health emergencies do not affect all services or communities equally. When already fragile health systems redirect personnel, supplies and funding to emergency response, sexual and reproductive healthcare is frequently disrupted or treated as non-essential, with severe and long-lasting consequences.

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Written by Favour Akanbi
Email: fakanbi@uwc.ac.za