As the world marked World Sexual Health Day 2026, KELIN joined sexual health advocates, researchers, health professionals and development partners at the Second World Sexual Health Assembly, held on 3–4 September 2026 in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The Assembly brought together participants from across the sexual health and rights field to discuss emerging challenges and identify areas for collective action.
KELIN Executive Director Allan Maleche joined the discussions, bringing perspectives from Kenya and KELIN’s wider work on health, law and human rights. He contributed particularly to conversations on sexual and reproductive health and rights, health financing and accountability.
A key part of KELIN’s participation was moderating a discussion on Health Sovereignty, Financing and Development Justice, with Dr Moses Mulumba of Afya na Haki, Levi Singh of SRHR Africa Trust and Swetha Sridhar of Fòs Feminista.
The discussion came at a critical time for global health, as countries navigate changing donor priorities, reduced development assistance and growing pressure to mobilise domestic resources for health.
The conversation challenged participants to think about health sovereignty as more than simply replacing donor funding with domestic financing. It also requires asking who sets health priorities, who pays for them, whose needs are protected and who is accountable when commitments are not met.
“Health sovereignty cannot simply be about who pays. It must also be about who decides that whose rights are protected and who is accountable. As financing shifts, we must ensure that sexual health services and communities that are already at risk of being left behind do not become casualties of that transition,” said Maleche.
For KELIN, sustainable health financing must therefore be locally driven, equitable, rights-based and accountable. This is particularly important for sexual and reproductive health services that may struggle to compete for limited domestic resources. As we reflect on World Sexual Health Day, the conversations in Stellenbosch are a timely reminder that advancing sexual health and rights requires not only good policies and services, but also sustainable financing and strong accountability systems
