SADC Scorecard Shows Uneven Progress on Health and Gender Equality
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has launched its 2025 biennial scorecard, revealing notable progress alongside persistent challenges in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) across its 16 Member States.
Launched on 24 February 2026 in Johannesburg, the scorecard draws on recent demographic and health survey data to assess regional performance against the SADC SRHR Strategy and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals on health and gender equality. First introduced in 2019, the scorecard uses a traffic-light system to track progress across 20 key indicators and serves as a social accountability tool.
According to the findings, the region has made encouraging gains in reducing adolescent birth rates, with 12 Member States recording declines, largely attributed to the expansion of life-skills HIV education and comprehensive sexuality education in primary schools. There has also been strong progress in reducing the vertical transmission of HIV, with 12 countries on track to meet the SDG target by 2030, five of which had already achieved the milestone by 2025.
However, the scorecard also highlights areas of concern. While new HIV infections have declined overall, the rate of reduction among adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24 has slowed in seven countries. This trend is linked to rising sexually transmitted infections and declining condom use in many Member States. Maternal mortality has fallen significantly in six countries, but SADC warns that sustained investment is required to preserve these gains.
The scorecard further shows that eight Member States are failing to meet women’s contraceptive needs, a gap that continues to drive teenage pregnancies and preventable maternal deaths. Gender-based violence remains alarmingly high across the region, despite progress in establishing laws and policies, pointing to the need for stronger implementation and integrated SRHR, HIV and GBV services.
On financing, the scorecard notes that no SADC Member State has met the Abuja Declaration target of allocating 15 per cent of national budgets to health, with only four countries exceeding 10 per cent. SADC warns that declining donor funding makes increased domestic investment critical to achieving universal health coverage.
Speaking at the launch, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, South Africa’s Minister of Health, said the scorecard should spur urgent action. “With only five years to 2030, we must accelerate implementation, scale what works, and support our commitments with bold, measurable and accountable actions,” he said.
SADC Executive Secretary Elias Mpedi Magosi emphasised that investment in SRHR is both a health and economic imperative, urging Member States to mobilise domestic resources, reform restrictive laws and integrate SRHR into climate adaptation plans to build resilient, rights-based health systems.
The scorecard was developed with support from the 2gether 4 SRHR programme, a joint United Nations initiative comprising UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF and World Health Organization, with funding from the Government of Sweden.
Speaking on behalf of the programme, Lydia Zigomo, UNFPA Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said the results demonstrate tangible progress but warned that the gains remain fragile without sustained political commitment and increased domestic investment.
SRHR Africa Trust Executive Director Jonathan Gunthorp cautioned that failure to address persistent gaps risks creating a “two-speed region” that leaves millions of adolescents behind, undermining the region’s future economic and social development.
The SADC SRHR Strategy (2019–2030) aims to ensure that all people in the region can access quality SRHR services, information and education, enabling them to fully exercise their rights and contribute meaningfully to development across Southern Africa.
