WHO and African health ministries set global benchmark for preventing sexual exploitation in joint health operations – World Health Organization (WHO)

Report on WHO and African Member States’ Joint Initiative for Safeguarding in Health Operations and its Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: A Landmark Partnership for Health, Equality, and Justice

The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with 42 African Member States, has initiated a strategic effort to integrate accountability for Preventing and Responding to Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PRSEAH) within joint health operations. This initiative, launched at the African Strategic Conference in Pretoria, establishes a global model for safeguarding reforms and directly supports the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): By ensuring health operations are safe and protect the dignity of communities and health workers, the initiative strengthens the foundation for universal health coverage.
• SDG 5 (Gender Equality): The program’s core mission is to prevent sexual misconduct and gender-based violence, which is fundamental to achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
• SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions): It aims to build accountable, transparent, and effective health institutions by establishing clear frameworks for justice and conduct.
• SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals): The collaboration between WHO and 42 nations exemplifies a powerful partnership to achieve shared development objectives.

The PRSEAH Accountability Framework: A Blueprint for Institutional Reform (SDG 16)

A central component of this initiative is the WHO’s PRSEAH Accountability Framework, which provides a voluntary structure for health ministries to institutionalize safeguarding. The framework’s design promotes the development of strong institutions by focusing on three mutually reinforcing pillars:

1. Policy and Conduct: Establishing clear policies and codes of conduct that set minimum standards for preventing and responding to sexual misconduct. This directly contributes to building effective and accountable institutions as outlined in SDG 16.
2. Capacity Building and Training: Equipping health personnel and partners with mandatory and specialized training, including modules for emergency responders and victim support teams, to ensure competent and ethical service delivery.
3. Incident Management and Survivor Support: Ensuring robust, survivor-centered mechanisms for safe reporting, assistance, and timely investigations backed by disciplinary or legal action. This pillar is crucial for providing access to justice for all.

African Leadership in Advancing Global Health Governance (SDG 17)

The Pretoria conference demonstrated Africa’s leadership in operationalizing the PRSEAH framework. In a region facing over 160 public health emergencies annually, the commitment from 42 Member States highlights a significant advancement in global health governance and a strong application of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Key action areas discussed to institutionalize safeguarding within health systems included:

• Policy integration and emergency preparedness to manage risks in vulnerable settings.
• Strengthening survivor support systems, a critical measure for advancing SDG 5 (Gender Equality).
• Sharing achievements and challenges to foster a collaborative approach to building resilient and ethical health systems.

Global Implications and Future Outlook: A Model for Universal Safeguarding

This African-led initiative sets a global benchmark for accountability in healthcare. It serves as a powerful model for how to integrate principles of human rights, social justice, and gender equality into health service delivery, aligning with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign.

The long-term goal is to scale this approach globally, ensuring that every act of healthcare is delivered with accountability. This will help achieve key SDG targets by:

• Restoring trust in public health institutions, a cornerstone of SDG 16.
• Upholding human dignity and ensuring communities are protected during health interventions.
• Ensuring that health care is a place of safety, never discrimination or violence, which is essential for realizing SDG 3 and SDG 5.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

  The article focuses on initiatives within the health sector, involving WHO, ministries of health, and health workers. The goal of ensuring safety and preventing abuse within “joint health operations” and healthcare settings is central to promoting well-being.

• SDG 5: Gender Equality

  The initiative directly confronts gender-based violence by aiming to prevent sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment. The article explicitly links the prevention of sexual misconduct to the broader commitment to “gender equality” and notes that “When women are safe and respected, societies thrive.”

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  The core of the initiative is the creation of an “Accountability Framework” to institutionalize safeguarding. This involves establishing “clear policies and codes of conduct,” ensuring “safe reporting channels,” “timely investigations,” and “legal action,” all of which are fundamental to building effective, accountable, and just institutions.

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

  The article describes a major partnership between an international organization (WHO) and 42 African Member States. This collaboration to create and implement a global model for safeguarding reforms is a clear example of a partnership for achieving sustainable development goals.

Specific SDG Targets Identified

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • Target 3.d: Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks. The article highlights the need to embed safeguarding into health systems and “emergency operations” in a region facing over 160 public health emergencies annually, which directly relates to strengthening the capacity to manage health risks.

2. SDG 5: Gender Equality

   • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation. The entire PRSEAH initiative is a direct measure to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment, which are forms of violence predominantly affecting women and girls.

3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children. The framework aims to protect “vulnerable communities” during health interventions, which inherently includes protecting children from sexual exploitation and abuse.
   • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. The article details the creation of an “Accountability Framework” that focuses on “robust incident management,” “safe reporting channels,” and “timely investigations,” which are all hallmarks of accountable and effective institutions.

4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge. The collaboration between WHO and 42 African Member States to shape a “global model for safeguarding reforms” exemplifies this target.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

• Existence of Policies and Frameworks

  The article implies that a key measure of progress is the formal adoption and institutionalization of the PRSEAH Accountability Framework by Member States. An indicator would be the number of ministries of health that have established and implemented clear policies and codes of conduct based on the framework.

• Training and Capacity Building

  The framework requires “mandatory and specialized training” for health personnel. Progress can be measured by the number and proportion of health personnel and partners who have completed PRSEAH training, including specialized modules for emergency responders.

• Incident Management and Reporting

  The article emphasizes the need for “safe reporting channels” and “survivor-centered assistance.” Implied indicators include the establishment of functional and accessible reporting mechanisms within health operations and the proportion of reported incidents that are investigated and resolved according to the framework’s standards.

• Integration into Emergency Preparedness

  The focus on public health emergencies suggests an indicator related to the integration of PRSEAH safeguarding measures into national health emergency preparedness and response plans.

Summary Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: nationaltribune.com.au