Shifting attitudes towards key populations in Zimbabwe

February 4, 2022

Image: UNDP/Aisha Jemila Daniels

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Dr. Ruth Labode, a Member of Parliament in Zimbabwe, is a She Decides Global Champion and a member of the African Union Regional Biosafety and Biosecurity Working Group. Dr. Labode is a champion for sexual and reproductive health and rights for the most vulnerable groups.

She has boldly spoken out in support of policy reform to facilitate inclusion of and access to healthcare services for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people, and young key populations (YKP) in her country.

Dr. Labode uses different platforms to raise awareness about key population issues (in the context of HIV and AIDS, TB and SRH), and advocates for progressive policies such as repealing laws on the wilful transmission of HIV. She has championed and supported UNDP’s Linking Policy to Programming (LPP) Project, a regional project seeking to improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes for young key populations in five Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries including Zimbabwe.

In the #WeBelongAfrica: Young Key Populations video, she narrates how she participated in “meet the KP” programmes and travelled around the country to sensitize other members of parliament about KPs and the challenges they face.

Dr. Labode supported Zimbabwe’s inception phase of the #WeBelongAfrica: Inclusive Governance Initiative project, a regional initiative designed to support state entities in sub-Saharan Africa to become increasingly accountable, responsive to and inclusive of LGBTI people and young key populations, which in turn will contribute to better laws, more responsive public sector services, and social norms that affirm these populations’ perspectives, needs and rights.

Read more stories in The People Edition.