Advancing Reproductive Justince in Zimbabwe

Where?

The 4th Annual Reproductive Justice Litigation Baraza served as a multidisciplinary deliberative space to examine age as a structural determinant of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SHRH) across the full life course, building the South-to-South coalitions that sustained reproductive justice litigation demands, and develop the normative and strategic frameworks that African advocates, courts, and policymakers currently need to ensure that the next generation of legal challenges leaves no age -and no one- behind.

The 4th Annual Reproductive Justice Litigation Baraza convened from August 4 to 6, 2026, at Manna Resort in Harare, Zimbabwe. Hosted collaboratively by the Afya na Haki Institute, Community Working Group on Health, Women and Law in Southern Africa, alongside other regional institutions, the gathering centered around the theme "Age as a Determinant of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights."

What did we do?

The Baraza critically examined how age structures access to healthcare across the entire life course, challenging both the barriers faced by adolescents and the systemic invisibility of older persons within sexual and reproductive health and rights discourse, policy, and litigation. Saruh Rusike, the TAMIRA Study lead, participated as a panelist during a plenary discussion "Older Persons, Sexuality and the Right to Reproductive Health Across the Life Course" alongside Evelyne Opondo (Kenya) and Dr. Mildred Mushunje (Zimbabwe). Drawing from her research through the TAMIRA Study, which aims to co-produce a public health intervention targeted at healthcare professionals to support midlife women through menopause in Zimbabwe, Saruh shared evidence from the study on current service provision and policy gaps.

And what's the point?

Her contributions focused on identifying where current healthcare systems and existing policy frameworks deprioritise midlife women's health and wellbeing, moving beyond research findings to explore practical strategies for integrating specialized menopause and aging care into Saruh Rusike at Presenting at the Panelstandard professional training and policy frameworks. By bridging clinical research and public health advocacy, Saruh's work underscored the vital need to dismantle the stigma and misconceptions around menopausal health and older persons' rights in Africa.