“We need to start asking the right questions and not making noise that that does not have impact. We are losing track of issues by asking the wrong questions thus ensuring our duty bearers are able to get away with their wrong doing”- Rhodah Njuguna
These were the sentiments of a facilitator during the recently concluded training that KELIN conducted on 21- 22 August 2017. The two day training focused on empowering civil societies working on sexual and reproductive health (SRHR) from around the country with the aim of contextualizing the rights based approach to programming through transparency, accountability and participation in sexual and reproductive health.
During the workshop, participants learnt the basic principles of the rights based approach, the budget making process at the national and county level, and available platforms and mechanisms for holding duty bearers accountable. This was crowned on the second day with discussions on the role of civil society in shadow reporting, focusing on a case study of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the African Commission.
At the end of the training, the participants committed to participating in the formulation of the ongoing CEDAW shadow report for Kenya. This is one of the avenues through which civil societies can hold the government accountable for its actions. KELIN hopes that as a result of this two day dialogue, many more grass root and community based organizations can be at the forefront of advancing rights and demanding accountability.
To contribute to the discussions on this forum, follow KELIN on our social media platforms: Twitter: @KELINkenya and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kelinkenya
For more information please contact;
Nerima Were
Programme Officer, Sexual & Reproductive Health Rights
Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV & AIDS (KELIN)
4th Floor, Somak Building, Mombasa Road Tel +254202515790;
Email: nwere@kelinkenya.org
