A newly released joint report by the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reveals that up to 80 percent of health facilities in conflict-affected areas across Africa have been rendered non-operational due to widespread infrastructural destruction.
The report, launched on August 12, 2026, under the theme "From Ratification to Reality: Protecting Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in Conflict and Fragile Contexts," underscores how intensifying conflicts continue to threaten sustainable peace on the continent.
With healthcare systems severely compromised, pregnant women are increasingly cut off from critical, life-saving medical care. The report highlights that young women bear a disproportionate and devastating brunt of these crises. Among women living in conflict and humanitarian settings in Africa, 40 percent are vulnerable to sexual violence.
Often utilized as a deliberate weapon of war to erode social cohesion, conflict-related sexual violence remains pervasive across all regions.
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Survivors frequently face profound social stigma, which, coupled with damaged infrastructure, deters them from seeking essential medical support for conditions such as HIV. These barriers severely restrict access to comprehensive social services and justice systems.
To bridge implementation gaps in protecting women during crises, the report stresses that security actors must fully ratify and operationalize the Maputo Protocol.
Sustainable peace will remain elusive unless women's safety, health, and dignity are treated as foundational pillars of security. Consequently, civilian protection must take top priority as African conflicts grow increasingly complex, with young women engaged as active partners in program design, execution, and monitoring.
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To combat these systemic issues, the report outlines several key recommendations, closing gaps across legal systems through ongoing technical consultations, enhanced stakeholder participation, domestic financing commitments, and strengthened cross-border cooperation.
Exerting strategic pressure on governments to allocate transparent budgets specifically for reproductive health and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) services.
Expanding flexible, life-saving financial aid systems tailored to the urgent needs of displaced women and girls in volatile environments. Funding continuous capacity-building initiatives and training programs for young advocates working in peace and security.
