ARASA 2023 - 2026 ARASA 2023 - 2026 The overall goal of the program is to realize the rights to BAI and the fulfilment of SRHR for women, girls, LGBTIQ persons, vulnerable people on the move and other marginalized populations in southern and eastern Africa. This goal will be achieved through two objectives.
Objective 1: Civil society has increased co-ordination, understanding, capacity, agency, and strategic alliances, which contribute to stronger, more inclusive movements for SRHR. Civil society can use these movements to ensure community-led transformation of social norms and to advocate national key influencers and decision-makers for positive changes to operational environment, laws, policies, and financial allocations.
Objective 2: Key influensers and decision makers have increased understanding through research-based advocacy of the need to realize the rights to bodily autonomy and integrity, to fulfill SRHR and of the impact of failure to do so on health, and use this to catalyze positive changes to the operational environment, laws, policies, and financial allocations. Det övergripande syftet med insatsen är att realisera rätten till kroppslig integritet och självbestämmande samt tillgodose sexuell reproduktiv hälsa och rättigheter för kvinnor, flickor, HBTQI personer, särskilt utsatta människor i södra och östra Afrika.
De två specifika målen är fokuserade på arbete med rättighetsbärare, civilsamhället samt ansvariga makthavare:
1. Civilsamhället har ökad förmåga till koordinering, förståelse, kapacitet, inverkan och strategiska allianser vilket bidrar till starkare och mer inkluderande rörelser för SRHR och använder dessa till att säkra lokalsamhällesledd förändring av sociala normer och påverka nationella nyckelaktörer och beslutsfattare till positiva förändringar av omgivning, lagar, policyer och finansiell allokering.
2. Nyckelaktörer och beslutsfattare har, genom evidensbaserad påverkan, utökad förståelse för behovet av att respektera rätten till kroppslig autonomi och integritet samt sexuell och reproduktiv hälsa och rättigheter för alla och hälsokonsekvenserna av att undlåta att tillgodose dessa och använder det till att skapa positiva förändringar av omgivning, lagar, policyer och finansiell allokering. The overall goal of the program is to realize the rights to BAI and the fulfilment of SRHR for women, girls, LGBTIQ persons, vulnerable people on the move and other marginalized populations in southern and eastern Africa. This goal will be achieved through two objectives.

Objective 1: Civil society has increased co-ordination, understanding, capacity, agency, and strategic alliances, which contribute to stronger, more inclusive movements for SRHR. Civil society can use these movements to ensure community-led transformation of social norms and to advocate national key influencers and decision-makers for positive changes to operational environment, laws, policies, and financial allocations.

To achieve this objective, ARASA will use:

i. Capacity-strenghtening

ARASA looks to continue and build on the positive results of the Training and Leadership Program(TaLP) from the first phase and have them cascade into the various countries through (a) decentralizing the training programs, (b) creating country-level expertise and in-country chapters (c) providing alumni with small advocacy grants for lobby and advocacy initiatives in their countries and consolidate progress in the TaLP training. These TaLP activities take up most of the budget for this first objective.

ARASA will continue the delivery of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and online short courses on advocacy for protection and promotion of the rights to BAI, and other priority areas. ARASA are also planning to conduct training on Research and Documentation on SRHR in the context of BAI. 

ii. Linking and learning

ARASA will create and strengthen linking and learning platforms for civil society, where partners can exchange lessons learned and coordinate and advance their advocacy agendas on SRHR and BAI matters. ARASA will also organize expert round tables that will convene ARASA partners and the populations they serve for discussions.

Objective 2: Key influensers and decision makers have increased understanding through research-based advocacy of the need to realize the rights to bodily autonomy and integrity, to fulfill SRHR and of the impact of failure to do so on health, and use this to catalyze positive changes to the operational environment, laws, policies, and financial allocations.

To achieve this objective, ARASA will use:

i. Advocacy for accountability

This is primarily done through forwarding of funds to country partners, coupled with technical support to these partners on advocacy and support to improve relations with key players including media, human rights institutes and parliaments. ARASA will also support and protect human rights defenders in advocating for the domestication of progressive regional and national leglization to protect SRHR.

ii. Evidence generation 

ARASA will forward small grants to partners to conduct research, development of advocacy tools based on audience analysis. ARASA will utilize its network of partners to gather information at the community level and will utilize its technical skills to package this information for a regional audience. They will continue to curate the human rights database created under the previous phase, and are planning a regional scan on barriers to UHC and linkages between migration and SRHR to guide their future work in these areas.

Beneficiaries

The final beneficiaries of the program are vulnerable and marginalized populations who face multiple and intersecting forms of stigma, discrimination, and violence such as women, adolescent girls, young women, LGBTIQ persons and key populations.

The program aims to reach these beneficiaries through civil society at the national and local levels that are grounded and led by the communities they serve. Additionally, the program will target key duty bearers in the region, such as SADC structures and the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, National Human Rights Institutions, governments and parliamentarians, at the regional and national level with advocacy initiatives, which are a key element of ensuring accountability.

Partners

ARASA's strategic partnerships include civil society groups working with adolescents, young girls, women and vulnerable people, people living with or affected by HIV, key populations and progressive grassroot, national, regional, international civil society groups, movements and coalitions such as SheDecides, HIV Justice Worldwide (HJWW), among others. ARASA also works with Regional and National Mechanisms such as, African Commission on People and Human Rights (ACPHR), Southern Africa Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI), including media as well as research institutions such as African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research Division (HEARD) of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

ARASA is part of the collaboration with the Southern African Regional Student and Youth Consortium (SARSYC) as well as the 2Gether4SRHR Program implemented by UNFPA, UNAIDS, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO).