Maun, Botswana- "I encourage you to be champions for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), to speak openly about SRHR issues with your communities and to advocate for SRHR in the various platforms of which you are members. I hope that the Chairperson of Ntlo Ya Dikgosi will also include SRHR into the business of the house to ensure continuity of this meeting," said Mr. Innocent Modisaotsile, Officer in Charge of UNFPA South Africa and Interim Country Director for UNFPA Botswana and UNFPA Eswatini.

He made these remarks at the first ever High-Level meeting on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights with members of Ntlo Ya Dikgosi, which brought together over thirty (30) traditional leaders from various communities in Botswana, convened by UNFPA Botswana in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. In Botswana, Ntlo ya Dikgosi is one of the advisory body to the National Assembly on issues of national interest as set out in the Constitution of Botswana and therefore a critical partner to advance sustainable development.  

Mr. Innocent Modisaotsile further called upon the government to work towards closing the negative SRHR indicators that still exist even though Botswana is one of the countries with a large share of the total budget going towards health. 

The week-long discussion centred on the role of traditional leaders in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights within their communities, especially in promoting gender equality, disability inclusion and ending all forms of gender-based violence (GBV).

UNFPA recognizes that traditional leaders as respected figures in many communities are a critical entry point for advancing the SRHR of their communities. They hold significant influence and play a critical role in influencing community values, norms and behaviours. Their authority and status must be harnessed to drive positive change to promote SRHR. 

In his remarks, the Minister of Health Dr. Edwin Dikoloti highlighted the critical role of traditional leaders and the importance of working with them in advancing the health care of communities particularly in the area of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH). He emphasised that Botswana has committed to ensuring good health and wellbeing for its citizens as per goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition he also emphasised the importance of realising other SDGs including Goal 4 on Quality Education, goal 5 on Gender Equality and goal 10 on Reduced Inequalities. He underscored that realising the reproductive rights of women will enable them to have a choice in deciding when and with whom to have children. He acknowledged that even though the government has done well in providing health care services there are still gaps in providing quality SRH information and services.

Voices of traditional leaders

During the discussions, the traditional leaders described their efforts to advance sexual and reproductive health in their communities and identified the challenges remaining. The dialogue also unearthed tactical solutions to respond to the various SRH needs acknowledging the heterogeneity of communities and their beliefs and practices.

Kgosi Rebecca Banika of the Chobe Region, one of the only two female representatives in the house, acknowledged that the training shed a lot of light on a lot of issues she has had challenges with.

“I have in the past went against my community and refused to vote for a person with disability into the village development committee because I believed they were incapable of doing the job. The discussion on Leaving No One Behind and Inclusion opened my eyes and now I will start doing things differently, knowing that disability is not inability,” she said.

All the traditional leaders affirmed their key role and made commitments that as influential members of the community, they will use their authority to drive the country towards achieving prosperity for all and realising the Sustainable Development Goals. Some of the commitments include:

• Reviewing laws and policies that hinder advancement of SRHR of the community.
• Involving boys and men in SRHR including prevention and response to GBV.
• Enhancing partnerships for a harmonised multi-sectoral response as well as to ensure seamless flow of information at all levels. 
• Supporting families as the smallest unit of the community to receive accurate SRH information and contribute to promoting change in the gender and social norms that increase SRH issues.

Delving deeper into the capacity building sessions, a number of topics were unpacked which provided members of Ntlo Ya Dikgosi with new insights on the SRH issues and the available interventions responding to such issues. These topics include among others; Family planning, Reproductive cancers, Sexually Transmitted Infections, Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Gender and social norms, improving access to SRHR information and services for persons with disabilities. This included defining the concept of disability and its intersections with SRHR, GBV and other issues and factors that exacerbates the vulnerabilities of persons with disabilities to SRH issues. Additionally, the members were provided with recommendations to ensure disability inclusion. 

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Professor Oatlhokwa Nkomazana acknowledged the work led by traditional leaders and reiterated that the Ministry in collaboration with UNFPA and other partners will continue to facilitate traditional leaders to know how to speak out confidently about SRHR issues. 

For her part, UNFPA Head of Office, Ms. Tlangelani Shilubane- Pietersen expressed her appreciation on the dedication of the traditional leaders in advancing SRHR. She underscored that improving the SRHR of everyone starts at the community level therefore partnering with them is crucial due to the authority they command in their communities. She  assured them of UNFPA’s firm support to continue partnering with Ntlo Ya Dikgosi on advancing SRHR and beyond. 

In closing, the Chairperson of Ntlo Ya Dikgosi Kgosi Puso reiterated the role of traditional leaders in advancing SRHR - first as part of the legislative arm of government, as well as responsible for advising government on laws and policies, playing an oversight role. He further acknowledged the timeliness of the high level meeting and appreciated the knowledge acquired during the meeting and how it will immensely enhance the collective ability of the house to execute its duties in future. 

He appreciated UNFPA and the Ministry of Health for an impactful meeting as well as a fruitful partnership which is expected to continue to grow in leaps and bounds. An Action Plan and Roadmap for SRHR Advocacy has been developed, which will see UNFPA Botswana, Ministry of Health and Ntlo Ya Dikgosi continue to work and collaborate in the coming years to make sure that there is inclusion of SRHR issues in the business of the house, advocacy in all relevant platforms, continued capacity building, community sensitization and mobilisation.

                                                                                                                                                                ~Priscilla Rabasimane