Shelves go dry, services collapse, anti-rights forces surge and deepen the crises

Two health and gender rights leaders delivered a stark assessment of what happens when major external funding disappears overnight and organised opposition fills the vacuum. The sudden withdrawal of US government's funding support has not merely reduced services - it has fractured health systems, emptied pharmacy shelves, driven up unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions, and enabled anti-rights groups.

Asia Pacific leaders warn attacks against health and gender are undoing decades of progress

At a recent global meet, a session cut through the usual conference optimism with a stark warning: the global AIDS response is being hit by a coordinated anti-rights and anti-gender backlash at the precise moment when funding is collapsing.

African rights groups urge pause to flawed convention on violence against women and girls

Rising attacks against health and gender rights are threatening the global AIDS response. No wonder, a special session on this issue hosted at the world's largest AIDS conference - the 26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) - was full to capacity. This session put the spotlight on a recent #PauseForPurpose protest organised by a group of African feminists, survivors, women’s rights organisations and legal advocates around the Pan-African Parliament meet on 25th July 2026. This meet was for the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU CEVAWG). They were not there to reject continental action against violence against women and girls. They were there to demand better.

[video] Rising Anti-Rights and Anti-Gender Backlash: Threats to the Global AIDS Response

[video] Pause for Purpose: Analyse if Convention to End Violence Against Women and Girls is fit for purpose?

SHE & Rights at AIDS 2026: Rising anti-rights and anti-gender backlash: Threats to the global AIDS response

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At 26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, join us in hybrid SHE & Rights session on the theme: "Rising anti-rights and anti-gender backlash: Threats to the global AIDS response."

Rising patriarchal resistance in Africa against gender equality and health rights

Only 54 months are left to deliver on the promise of gender equality (SDG-5), and health and wellbeing (SDG-3) by 2030. But the sense of urgency and purpose is acutely missing and instead of going forward, in many instances we are slipping backwards. Growing anti-rights and anti-gender pushbacks are trying to reverse whatever progress has been made on gender and health rights, especially for girls and women and gender diverse communities.

[video] African governments must disengage with regressive 'draft Charter', says UN Special Rapporteur on Right To Health

[video] Protect Maputo Protocol to resist anti-rights pushbacks and advance gender equality and right to health

4th Edition of SHE & Rights Media Awards 2026-2027

Click here to apply!

After the largest convening on gender equality in 2026 (Women Deliver Conference 2026) and ahead of 79th World Health Assembly and International Day of Action for Women's Health and Menstrual Hygiene Day, the Geneva-based Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI) and CNS proudly announce the 4th Edition of SHE & Rights Media Awards 2026-2027.

Protecting Maputo Protocol is critical to resist anti-rights pushbacks and advance gender equality and right to health

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We invite you to another important SHE & Rights session on the regressive draft ‘African Charter on family, sovereignty and values,’ which threatens to undermine progress made on gender equality and right to health in the African continent.

The invisible must get served first by legally binding treaty for older persons

We are living in an age of ageing with a fast-growing number of older people. Life expectancy has increased significantly over the past years. Japan has nearly 100,000 people aged 100 or older - the highest in the world, with women comprising roughly 88% of this population. By 2050 the population of persons above 60 years of age is projected to grow to 2.1 billion (nearly one fifth of the total global population).

Reclaiming the narrative: Media, sexual health and bodily autonomy, and feminist storytelling

In Women Deliver Conference 2026 (WD2026) - largest gathering on gender equality this year, before the first plenary had even begun, a quieter but deeply urgent conversation unfolded in the Media Lounge - one that set the tone for everything that followed. Framed as a fireside chat, “Reclaiming the Narrative: Media, SRHR and Feminist Storytelling” brought together advocates, communicators, and frontline health workers to confront a pressing question: who gets to tell stories about bodies, rights, and health - and what happens when those stories are taken out of the hands of those who live them?

Transgender rights in anti-rights era

In Women Deliver Conference 2026 - largest gathering on gender equality this year - a panel of transgender rights leaders and advocates from across Asia and the Pacific came together to speak about a reality that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore: the intensifying global backlash against transgender rights, and the deeply personal toll it is taking on communities already pushed to the margins. What emerged from the discussion was not just a policy conversation, but a powerful reminder that behind every law, every statistic, and every debate are people whose lives cannot - and should not - be reduced to categories, labels, or data points.

56 months left to end female genital mutilation/ cutting: Are we on track?

In Women Deliver Conference 2026, a session unfolded with a title that felt less like a discussion and more like a deadline: "56 months left to end female genital mutilation/ cutting (FGM/C): Are we on track?" The urgency was unmistakable. Female genital mutilation/ cutting (FGM/C), a practice internationally recognised as a violation of human rights, remains deeply embedded in social, cultural, and structural systems across parts of the world. Yet what this session made clear is that the question is not only whether the world is on track to end it - but whether the world is truly listening to those most affected, and whether the strategies in place are grounded in their lived realities.

Turning development justice analysis into collective actions

Despite growing backlash against women’s rights and feminist movements globally, it gives hope to see that the world’s largest gathering on gender equality this year – Women Deliver Conference 2026 - was attended by around 6000 people from 189 countries globally. The city that hosted this meet - Narrm or Melbourne in Australia - has an inspiring history of resistance which runs through its lands and waters, carried by generations of First Nations (indigenous) leaders, feminists, and activists who have fought for justice, self-determination, and collective care.

SHE & Rights Media Awards Ceremony 2026 - Women Deliver Conference 2026 #WD2026

[video] Equitable access for youth to sexual, reproductive and mental health: Rethinking funding, integration

[video] Reclaiming the Narrative: Media, SHR and Feminist Storytelling | Fireside chat at Women Deliver Conference 2026

[video] Reflections from Women Deliver Conference 2026 and way forward to deliver on SDG-5 and SDG-3 by 2030