Challenging the politics of social exclusion (CPSE)

Africa’s young people and women continue to bear a huge burden of disease and death associated with unintended pregnancies and their consequences; harmful cultural practices, sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS, and the marginalization of vulnerable groups. The social and economic costs of such conditions are borne not only by individuals but by communities and societies as a whole.

In recognition of this toll African States have made collective commitments to ensure the sexual and reproductive health, and the rights of all of Africa’s young people and women. However, pervasive barriers impede such progress, and profound gaps remain in the translation of continental directions into policy, law and practice and, ultimately, positive impacts on people’s lives.

The four-year CPSE program, funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), seeks to support the constellation of government and civil society actors who are working to overcome the barriers, and to advance the full domestication and realization of continental SRHR commitments – in pursuit of development that leaves no one behind.

To do so CPSE acts as a critical and neutral and knowledge partner to key actors at the Africa-region level; at sub-regional level in Eastern, Southern and Western Africa, and in seven countries: Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Liberia.

Across these geographies, CPSE works to broker evidence and support partners in developing and marshaling effective evidence-based policy engagement and advocacy, specifically on three focal SRHR issues:

• The sexual and reproductive health and the rights of adolescents
• Access to safe abortion and post-abortion care
• The discrimination of LGBTQ+ populations

Across the focal issues CPSE’s work encompasses three pillars:

• Research, the synthesis of existing, or generation of new policy relevant, evidence needed to shift barriers to the translation of continental commitments into sound sub-regional and national policy, legal and practice responses

• Promoting and supporting the effective use of evidence in policy engagement and advocacy for change

• Strengthening core capacities of key government and civil society partners to sustain the use of evidence and learning to achieve change

Project period:

• Start date: December 2018
• End Date: December 2024

Project funders:

• Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA)
• APHRC adheres to sida’s whistle blowing policy as outlined on their website here.

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