MenEngage Africa Newsletter 2020/3

At the height of the Covid-19 lockdown in Uganda, Kuraish Mubiru, Executive Director of Uganda Young Positives, a member of MenEngage Uganda, took it upon himself to ensure that young people who take antiretroviral medication around the capital, Kampala, did have access to their medication. Without his efforts, many would not have been able to access their medical supplies because of movement restrictions to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus.

On International Day of the African Child, MenEngage Africa Youth added their voices to many young African children’s voices in Africa who continue to experience hardships that hinder their growth and development – lack of access to quality education, lack of employment opportunities, the resultant poverty, lack of access to basic needs, human rights abuses and structural inequalities – to call for change, and to be included in changes that seek to improve their lives and future.

As Madagascar marked its 60th anniversary of independence on 26 June 2020, the commemoration occurred amidst an emerging struggle, a feminist movement seeking to prioritise the rights of women. This is a struggle that can only be waged if everyone supports it – men and women of all ages.

The celebration of World Refugee Day 2020 was particularly different as the world battles against a common enemy called COVID-19. While governments across the globe and the African continent have put measures in place to respond to the threats posed by this pandemic, many responses have focused on citizens much to the exclusion of other vulnerable groups such as refugees and migrants.

World Refugee Day 2020 was marked under the theme “Every action counts” – a very relevant theme amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to show us how desperately we need to fight for a more inclusive and equal world: a world where no one is left behind. Our Senior Trainer, Micheline Minani Muzaneza, shares with us her personal account of how “Every action counts” to make a difference.

In Botswana, several civil society organisations, including MenEngage Botswana, have come out to condemn a ruling party Member of Parliament, Polson Majaga, amidst allegations of defiling a minor.