Strengthening Inclusive Governance and Human Rights in Africa
The African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHER) has officially launched the implementation phase of the SOGIR project, a strategic initiative designed to advance inclusive governance and human rights across the African continent. Building on years of regional advocacy and coalition-building, the project focuses on empowering communities, strengthening civil society organisations, and promoting evidence-based policy engagement on sexual orientation and gender identity issues.
What Is the SOGIR Project?
The SOGIR project is an ambitious, multi-country effort aimed at integrating sexual orientation and gender identity rights into broader governance, health, and human rights frameworks. By centering community-led responses and intersectional approaches, the project seeks to ensure that marginalised groups, particularly LGBTQI+ communities, are visible, heard, and protected in national and regional decision-making processes.
Core Objectives of the SOGIR Project
- Promote inclusive governance: Support governments, regional bodies, and civil society to adopt policies that respect and protect the rights of all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Strengthen community resilience: Enhance the capacity of community-based organisations to respond to human rights violations, stigma, and discrimination.
- Advance evidence-informed advocacy: Generate and use data, research, and lived experiences to shape fair, inclusive, and practical policies across sectors such as health, justice, and social protection.
- Foster regional solidarity: Connect activists, advocates, and institutions across countries to share knowledge, tools, and strategies for effective human rights work.
The Launch: Setting the Foundation for Implementation
The kick-off of the SOGIR project marks a pivotal implementation phase where planning translates into coordinated action. AMSHER convened key stakeholders, including regional networks, human rights defenders, legal experts, and community representatives, to set out a clear roadmap. This process emphasized collaboration, transparency, and the central role of community voices in shaping priorities and strategies.
Strategic Planning and Stakeholder Engagement
During the launch activities, participants collaborated to refine the project’s theory of change, clarify shared objectives, and agree on realistic milestones. Special attention was given to ensuring that community-based organisations are properly resourced and equipped to lead local implementation, while benefiting from regional coordination, mentoring, and technical support.
Stakeholders explored how SOGIR can align with existing national and continental frameworks, including human rights mechanisms, public health strategies, and development plans. This alignment ensures that advocacy is not siloed but embedded within broader policy conversations about democracy, inclusive development, and social justice.
Building Capacity for Sustainable Impact
One of the pillars of the SOGIR project is sustained capacity strengthening for organisations working on sexual orientation, gender identity, and related human rights issues. AMSHER is prioritising long-term institutional growth rather than one-off interventions, recognising that sustainable change requires robust, well-supported organisations.
Capacity Development Focus Areas
- Organisational development: Supporting governance structures, financial management, strategic planning, and internal accountability for civil society organisations.
- Advocacy and policy skills: Enhancing the ability of activists and advocates to engage with policymakers, regional institutions, and human rights mechanisms using persuasive, evidence-based approaches.
- Security and wellbeing: Providing tools and strategies for digital security, physical safety, and psychosocial wellbeing for human rights defenders and community leaders.
- Data and documentation: Strengthening skills in research, monitoring, evaluation, and learning, so that organisations can generate credible evidence and track progress.
Centering Communities and Lived Realities
A defining feature of SOGIR is its commitment to centering the lived experiences of LGBTQI+ individuals and communities most impacted by rights violations. Rather than top-down interventions, the project champions community leadership and participatory decision-making. This approach ensures that strategies are grounded in real needs and realities, not assumptions.
Community-Led Approaches
Through consultative processes, community forums, and ongoing feedback mechanisms, SOGIR seeks to ensure that marginalised voices inform every phase of the project. Community organisations are not only beneficiaries of capacity initiatives but also co-designers and co-implementers of activities, campaigns, and advocacy priorities.
This model aims to transform power dynamics within civil society, promoting more equitable partnerships and amplifying the expertise of those closest to the issues.
Strengthening Policy and Legal Environments
The SOGIR project recognises that meaningful change requires both social transformation and legal reform. Many communities across Africa still face criminalisation, harassment, arbitrary arrests, and violence simply for who they are or whom they love. Addressing these challenges demands coordinated, strategic advocacy in legal and policy arenas.
Engaging Institutions and Decision-Makers
Through the project, AMSHER and its partners will work to build constructive dialogue with institutions, including government agencies, human rights commissions, and regional bodies. By grounding conversations in human rights principles, public health evidence, and development imperatives, SOGIR aims to make a compelling case for law and policy reforms that respect diversity and protect dignity.
Innovative advocacy tactics, such as strategic litigation support, policy briefs, and multi-stakeholder dialogues, will help translate community experiences into concrete recommendations and reforms.
Regional Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing
AMSHER has long been a convening force for movements and organisations working on sexual health and rights in Africa. Through SOGIR, this convening role is expanded and deepened, creating a stronger ecosystem for knowledge exchange, solidarity, and joint action.
Cross-Country Learning and Solidarity
The project will facilitate cross-country exchanges, peer learning, and thematic working groups focused on areas such as health, law, advocacy, and movement-building. These platforms enable organisations to learn from both successes and setbacks, adapt strategies to their own contexts, and avoid working in isolation.
At the same time, regional solidarity helps elevate local struggles onto broader stages, where collective voices can have greater influence on continental and global agendas.
Embedding Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
To ensure accountability and continuous improvement, the SOGIR project places strong emphasis on monitoring, evaluation, and learning. Rather than viewing these as administrative tasks, AMSHER treats them as critical tools for reflection, adaptation, and strategic refinement.
Evidence to Drive Change
The project will track changes in organisational capacities, policy landscapes, and the lived realities of communities across participating countries. Lessons learned will inform ongoing implementation, while also producing knowledge products, case studies, and analysis that can guide future initiatives in the region.
This deliberate focus on evidence and learning reinforces the project’s credibility and helps build a stronger foundation for advocacy, fundraising, and long-term sustainability.
Why the SOGIR Project Matters Now
The launch of the SOGIR project comes at a time when debates around democracy, equality, and human rights in Africa are increasingly urgent. In many contexts, shrinking civic space, rising conservatism, and persistent inequalities threaten hard-won gains. For LGBTQI+ communities and other marginalised groups, the stakes are especially high.
By advancing inclusive governance, strengthening civil society, and championing human rights, SOGIR contributes to building societies where everyone can live with dignity, safety, and respect. The project reinforces the principle that sustainable development and democratic governance are impossible without the full participation and protection of all people.
Looking Ahead: A Vision for Inclusive Futures
As AMSHER moves from planning to implementation, the organisation envisions the SOGIR project as a catalyst for broader transformation. The initiative is not confined to a single sector or issue; instead, it weaves together health, justice, governance, and development through the lens of human rights and inclusion.
The next phases of SOGIR will continue to prioritise partnership, accountability, and community leadership. By working collaboratively across borders and sectors, AMSHER and its partners aim to secure tangible, lasting improvements in legal frameworks, institutional practices, and everyday experiences of LGBTQI+ communities and allies.