Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is central to advancing young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). While Malawi has demonstrated policy commitment to CSE, persistent challenges remain in implementation and coherence.

Through the SRHR4ALL project, youth researchers in Malawi have led Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) processes examining CSE policy alignment, curriculum quality, and young people’s lived experiences of accessing CSE. Data collection has now been completed across multiple streams. As the project moves from analysis to reporting, structured technical support is needed to translate findings into a coherent, evidence-based national report that is both academically rigorous and advocacy-oriented. In response, the Centre for Human Rights (Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Unit), in partnership with Sonke Gender Justice, supported a five-day, country-level Report Writing Week to enable focused drafting and consolidation of the Malawi country report.

The Malawi Report Writing Week, held from 2 to 6 February in Lilongwe, Malawi, brought together youth researchers, Sonke Gender Justice, and the Centre for Human Rights (SRHR Unit, University of Pretoria) to support the drafting of the Malawi country report on CSE. The week provided a focused and supportive space for youth researchers to synthesise quantitative, qualitative, and policy review findings into a coherent narrative.

The process was highly collaborative and productive, with strong engagement from the youth researchers and valuable technical input from Sonke Gender Justice and the Centre for Human Rights. Key sections of the report were drafted, and priority areas for further refinement were identified. The Centre for Human Rights and Sonke Gender Justice look forward to continued collaboration with the Malawi youth research team to finalise the country report and ensure that the findings meaningfully contribute to strengthening CSE policy and practice in Malawi. 

For more information, please contact:

Danielle Visser
Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa LLD candidate
danielle.visser@up.ac.za
www.chr.up.ac.za