The agreement was signed by the Clerk of the National Assembly of Botswana, Dr Gabriel Malebang, and the Secretary General of SADC PF, Her Excellency Boemo Sekgoma, formally bringing Botswana into the regional project framework.

The process brought together parliamentary leadership, Members of Parliament, development partners and civil society to affirm Parliament’s role in strengthening legislation, oversight and advocacy on SRHR. The agreement establishes a National SRHR Technical Working Group to guide parliamentary engagement.

During the ceremony, parliamentary leaders emphasised that the initiative would strengthen Parliament’s capacity to address inequalities affecting women, youth, adolescents, rural communities and persons with disabilities through improved law-making, budgeting and oversight.

Representatives of development partners and civil society organisations also welcomed the agreement, highlighting its potential to improve health outcomes and advance human rights across communities.

The signing marked an important milestone in the rollout of the Sweden-supported regional project, reinforcing cooperation between the Parliament of Botswana and SADC PF to promote SRHR, HIV and AIDS governance across the SADC region.

Discussions focused on integrating the project into the core functions of Parliament—namely legislation, oversight and representation—while emphasising that the initiative should operate as an embedded parliamentary mechanism rather than a stand-alone project structure.

The meetings also clarified implementation modalities, including the recruitment of SRHR researchers, the establishment of National and Technical Working Groups, and strict adherence to monitoring, reporting and financial compliance requirements. Participants underscored the importance of evidence-based programming, timely reporting and strong institutional ownership by Member Parliaments.

Funded by the Swedish, the three-year project (2023–2026) supports parliamentary action on SRHR governance across the SADC region. For Botswana, activities planned under the current phase include parliamentary roundtables with line ministries, multi-stakeholder capacity-building workshops, public hearings on SRHR-related legislation, constituency awareness campaigns and media advocacy initiatives.