Barometer 2024: Introduction

• The 15th Barometer tracks the region’s progress in meeting the commitments made by governments in the SADC Gender and Development Protocol. It is also the fifth Voice and Choice Barometer, which focuses on SRHR in SADC.  
• This Barometer provides a comprehensive analysis of 100 indicators that reflect the current state of reproductive health and rights within the 16 SADC countries. 
• This Barometer is being launched under the shadow of war, conflict and genocide across the globe, as well as deep uncertainty emanating from fast-moving and quite dramatic changes that are following the inauguration of President Trump in the United States. 
• The Barometer analyses the 2021 & 2023 SADC milestone Scorecards on SRHR adopted by Health Ministers in 2018 (See video here). SADC expects Member States to report every two years on progress made against the Scorecard over the next five years in the lead-up to 2030, the target date for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 
• Regionally, many SADC countries have not fully recovered from the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic but now face the effects of climate change disasters as well as prolonged war and conflicts in some countries, including DRC and Mozambique. 
• As a result of these crises, the hard-won rights achieved for women and LGBTQI+ people over the last three decades are being eroded. 
• The 2024 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Progress Report shows that progress has stopped and even regressed across some areas despite renewed commitments by member states. Just 17% of the SDG targets are on track to be achieved by the 2030 deadline. 
• The African Union has recently adopted the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG), the first continental legal instrument for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls in the world.   
• This Barometer shows that the women’s movement in SADC must redouble its efforts to protect our hard-won rights and resist regressive forces attempting to restrict women’s fundamental human rights. 

Download the Introductory Chapter.
Download the full Barometer.