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Charting the Future of Youth SRHR in Africa
Gerald Kombo
May 24, 2025
Dr. Edison Omollo, Programs Director at Reproductive Health Network Kenya, Sets the Stage Ahead of Pan-African Conference
Dr. Edison Omollo, Programs Director, Reproductive Health Network Kenya
At a high-level media breakfast hosted at Nairobi’s Fairview Hotel in anticipation of the 8th RHNK Pan-African Adolescent and Youth SRHR Scientific Conference 2025, Dr. Edison Omollo, Programs Director at Reproductive Health Network Kenya (RHNK), delivered a comprehensive presentation on the shifting landscape of Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (AYSRHR) across the continent.
Framing the upcoming scientific convening as a platform for bold advocacy, critical reflection, and youth-led leadership, Dr. Omollo highlighted the interconnected challenges and emerging opportunities shaping SRHR across Africa.
Global Politics and SRHR
Dr. Edison Omollo addressed the impact of global political forces, including the resurgence of conservative ideologies, on SRHR funding and service delivery in Africa.
He emphasized the need for domestic resource mobilization, legal safeguards, and grassroots accountability to protect adolescent access to health services, even amid shifting foreign aid and donor priorities.
Enhancing Bodily Autonomy and Self-Determination
Calling bodily autonomy “non-negotiable,” Dr. Edison Omollo advocated for the removal of structural and legal barriers that restrict youth access to comprehensive care.
He called for scaling up self-care innovations such as telemedicine and self-injectable contraceptives, while urging that mental health be fully integrated into youth reproductive services. Importantly, he emphasized the need to reform consent laws that undermine adolescents’ ability to make autonomous health decisions.
Climate Change and SRHR
Dr. Edison Omollo underscored that climate justice and reproductive justice are inextricably linked. He detailed how drought, displacement, and food insecurity intensify SRHR vulnerabilities among adolescents.
His recommendations included deploying climate-resilient health solutions such as mobile outreach, solar-powered clinics, and strengthened health supply chains—and embedding SRHR commitments in national climate response strategies.
Leveraging Technology for AYSRHR
While digital health tools offer new frontiers, Dr. Edison Omollo warned against unethical use and inequitable access. He urged for inclusive tech design, strong data privacy protections, and the bridging of the digital divide, especially in marginalized rural and peri-urban communities.
Empowering Gen-Z and Gen Alpha
Today’s youth are not just beneficiaries they are architects of the SRHR movement, Dr. Edison Omollo stated. He championed youth leadership, digital civic engagement, and power-sharing between older advocates and younger voices shaping the future of SRHR on the continent.
Countering Anti-Rights Movements
In closing, Dr. Edison Omollo issued a sharp warning about the rise of anti-rights movements using misinformation and legal loopholes to roll back SRHR gains.
He called for legal advocacy, political education, and evidence-based counter-narratives to safeguard progress and protect the rights of adolescents and youth.
We are not just responding to threats we are building a movement rooted in youth power, bodily autonomy, and reproductive justice.
What the Law Really Says
An Exclusive Q&A with Rosemary Kirui on Kenya’s Adolescent Reproductive Rights Crisis
Rosemaryi Kirui, Legal Program Officer, Center for Reproductive Rights
As legal misunderstandings continue to obstruct young people’s access to reproductive health services in Kenya, The 254 Report interviewed Rosemary Kirui, Legal Program Officer at the Center for Reproductive Rights, for a legal briefing on where the law stands and where it must go.
How does Kenya’s Constitution protect sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), especially for adolescents?
The Constitution of Kenya is one of the most progressive in Africa. Article 43 guarantees the right to health, including reproductive health, and Article 26(4) provides legal grounds to access abortion services.
We also have the Sexual Offenses Act, which empowers the minister to create regulations on how survivors of sexual violence are to be treated. Survivors are entitled to access services, including abortion, within the laws of Kenya.
These strong provisions exist, but we lack subsidiary legislation to support them. The Constitution provides for reproductive rights, yet implementation and interpretation gaps persist. Health providers often face uncertainty, especially when providing abortion services to survivors of sexual violence.
Are there legal conflicts between national policies and county-level enforcement?
An adolescent who is a minor cannot legally give consent to sex, making such cases potentially defilement. If an adolescent presents at a facility, the law requires the health provider to offer necessary services.
However, providers are being arrested by police officers for offering abortion services. This is due to misalignment between the Penal Code enacted long before the Constitution and the 2010 Constitution.
While the Penal Code still criminalizes some reproductive health services, the Constitution guarantees the right to the highest attainable standard of health, including reproductive health. Law enforcement officers often selectively apply the Penal Code and ignore constitutional provisions, creating a chilling effect among health providers.
What are the legal provisions regarding age of consent for reproductive services?
Section 16 of the Children’s Act requires parental consent for anyone under 18 to access reproductive health services.
This is unrealistic. Adolescents are engaging in sexual conduct and must have access to contraceptives and comprehensive sexuality education to make informed decisions about their health and bodies.
How is CSE addressed in Kenyan law and policy?
Teenage pregnancy rates are high 15% in Kenya, 25% in Uganda, 30% in Zambia, 22% in Tanzania and Nigeria. Adolescents are sexually active. It is the state’s duty to create an environment where they can access the services they need.
Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is essential, but there’s substantial pushback. Schools often reject it, forcing implementers to rebrand it as health education or lifestyle education.
Regional commitments, such as those from the East African Community, recognize the importance of CSE, yet even providing this information to students is met with resistance.
Are there examples of legal threats or criminalization in SRHR access?
There has been progress in service provision, but persistent challenges remain.
Recently, a health provider was taken to court after offering contraceptives to a minor. The adolescent was in a child marriage, and yet the provider was accused of offering services without consent.
Many adolescents are married by age 16 or 17. Some are survivors of incest or defilement. It is unacceptable to expect these adolescents to bring a parent or abuser to the clinic to access care.
Adolescents also engage in consensual, non-exploitative relationships with peers. Legal and policy barriers must not criminalize or block their access to health services.
What should change? What’s the legal bottom line?
Barriers imposed by outdated laws and misapplied policies must be removed.
The Constitution should be interpreted broadly to include adolescents in the right to access reproductive health services. Our laws must reflect lived realities, not outdated moral expectations.
What do you expect from the upcoming RHNK Conference?
This conference brings together civil society and government to reaffirm commitments to adolescent and youth reproductive rights.
It will raise awareness that these issues are real and urgent.
Kenya has made strong legal commitments. The Constitution, regional frameworks, and court decisions such as the JMM Petition No. 266 of 2015 have all laid a strong foundation.
The next step is implementation. We must deepen our conversations, demand accountability, and ensure that legal rights translate into actual access for adolescents and young people.
Conclusion
Rosemary Kirui’s legal analysis strips away the myths, stigma, and half-truths surrounding adolescent reproductive rights in Kenya. Her perspective is grounded in both constitutional law and on-the-ground realities. Her core message is unequivocal: the law is not the problem misinterpretation, political hesitancy, and societal resistance are.
As Kenya prepares to welcome the continent to the 8th Pan-African AYSRHR Scientific Conference, the nation stands at a legal crossroads. The question is: Will we implement what our Constitution promises or continue to let fear, silence, and confusion govern the fate of our youth?
Advocate in Focus
Rosemaryi Kirui, Legal Program Officer, Center for Reproductive Rights
Rosemary Kirui is a Legal Program Officer at the Center for Reproductive Rights, a global legal advocacy organization working to advance reproductive rights as fundamental human rights. She supports legal and policy advocacy across seven African countries, including Kenya, with a focus on constitutional litigation, legal reform, and adolescent health access.