In Sub-Saharan Africa, MenCare partners are engaging men as caregivers and as fathers through powerful media campaigns, high-impact program development, and local- and national-level advocacy initiatives in 11 countries. In Benin, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, our partners focus on issues ranging from gender equality and violence prevention to masculinities and men’s health.
Across the region, MenCare partners are reaching fathers through group education and community campaigns to engage men in sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child health, women’s economic empowerment, and caregiving. As part of the campaign, powerful films from Rwanda and South Africa tell the stories of men who challenge stereotypes to become more involved caregivers for their children. In Rwanda, work with the Ministry of Health aims to increase health knowledge and positive decision-making among young people, fathers, and couples. In South Africa, advocacy initiatives encourage policymakers to take a stand against corporal punishment and to legislate paid leave for new parents. From Ethiopia to Namibia, work with men and boys has led to positive transformations in the gender norms and behaviors that serve as barriers to involved fatherhood.
For more information on MenCare in Africa, check out the regional highlights below.
Uganda has made remarkable progress in advancing girls’ and women’s empowerment, promoting their rights in education, leadership, and health. However, amidst this critical work, boys have been gradually sidelined –often assumed to be self-reliant and emotionally immune. As a result, many boys in Uganda today are falling through the cracks, facing neglect, emotional isolation, and …
Written by: Kate Doyle, Equimundo Fellow and Emmanuel Karamage, RWAMREC In Rwanda, efforts have been ongoing to take the gender transformative Bandebereho intervention to scale through the health sector, with the long-term aim of making the intervention available to all families nationwide. Bandebereho, adapted from Program P, engages men in promoting maternal, newborn and child …
Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP) in Okpanku Community of Enugu State, Nigeria organizes knowledge-sharing session on female genital mutilation (FGM) for 15 participants, comprised of various men and boys.
On Friday, August 28 Sonke Gender Justice through MenCare South Africa and MenEngage Africa launched the MenCare in Africa Media Kit: a toolkit aimed at promoting men as caregivers and fathers by offering guidelines on how to use the power of the media within advocacy initiatives, educational programs, and media campaigns.
This video presents a summary of SIRP-Nigeria’s activities during COVID-19. SIRP-Nigeria embarked on: – Training/Sensitization of women and young girls – especially survivors of female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage – on COVID-19 prevention strategies, in line with WHO and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) protocols in Enugu State, Nigeria. – Provision of <a class="read-more-link" href="http://www.mencare.org/resources/sirp-nigeria-and-covid-19-response-in-nigeria/">…</a>
Fatherhood is a gift to children, but it's also a gift to dads. In Khayelitsha, Themba inspires his younger brother, Andrew, who is about to become a father.
State of South Africa’s Fathers 2024 is the third edition of an evolving report on fathers and fatherhood in South Africa. This report confronts the evolving realities of fatherhood in a nation grappling with deep socio-economic challenges. Fewer children are living with their biological fathers than with other men, and caregiving dynamics being reshaped by …
This is the second issue of an evolving report, planned for publication every three years. It can be used in the development of policy and legislation for families, labour market regulations, educational curricula, and other training materials. It can be referenced as a source of expert information for advocacy and community groups, individual families, and …
This manual was developed by RWAMREC and Equimundo to support the scale-up of the Bandebereho couples’ intervention through the health system in Rwanda. The manual is adapted from the original Bandebereho facilitators manual, inspired by Program P, that was developed as part of the MenCare+ project and evaluated through a randomized controlled trial. The study …
This manual provides information about MenCare 50:50 Facilitators, how to structure parenting groups, how to facilitate group sessions, and some useful general tips to use in sessions. This manual has been adapted by Sonke Gender Justice, from Program P originally developed by Equimundo, CulturaSalud/ EME, and REDMAS. It has been adapted for the MenCare SA …
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