YOWCO

YOWCO is a feminist grassroots movement that advocates for the reproductive Justice of young women and girls in Malawi, particularly access to safe abortion Led and formed by young women in 2021 after the National Advocacy Strategy on Safe Abortion in Malawi largely left out young women and girls. Kwathu Ndi Kwanu is a founding member of YOWCO and is currently chairing the consortium.

YOWCO exists to provide a gateway to SRHR information, empower young women to exercise their rights and bridge the knowledge and socio-economic gap when it comes to accessing these rights. YOWCO aims to bring about clarification of ambiguous/unclear laws, clear any myths, and policies on access to SRHR and abortion services, and to bring about an end to oppressive laws and policies. YOWCO’s overarching values are justice, bodily autonomy and integrity, inclusion, feminism and intersectionality.

Under Kwathu Ndi Kwanu’s Leadership YOWCO has achieved the following:

  • Led and coordinated the development of a five year advocacy strategy that guides and leads our work. This strategy was validated by SRHR experts in Malawi including FPAM, MSI International, and Hon Matthews Ngwale, the Chairperson and Lead of Health Cluster in the Parliament of Malawi.
  • Developed a policy brief on the Maputo Protocol and Safe Abortion in Malawi.
  • Led a national social media campaign to debunk safe abortion myths and destigmatize access to safe abortions that have reached over 50,000 people.
  • Recorded a podcast Episode on I am Nala Podcast to create public awareness and dialogue on issues of SRHRJ and safe abortion.
  • Invited to participate in the 86th Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) session in 2023 due to our  efforts in SRHRJ. During this meeting, Kwathu Ndi Kwanu presented 3-Point Recommendations. These recommendations were adopted and included in the final recommendations presented to the governments from CEDAW.
  • Developed animations on the current abortion law and the TOP bill.
  • Won a Regional Award in recognition of our SRHR advocacy and communications efforts from NalaFem a prestigious partner in East Africa at their 2nd Nala Summit in June 2023.
 
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