The implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) across Africa remains complex even though several, related continental and regional policy frameworks exist to support this enterprise. These policy supports include the Eastern and Southern African (ESA) Commitment on CSE, the African Youth Charter, the Maputo Plan of Action, and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Framework (Chandra-Mouli et al., 2015). Several factors contribute to the complexities of CSE buy-in and roll-out, such as lack of political will, the resistance of parents and religious communities, as well as non-supportive socio-cultural norms (Wangamati, 2020). A rarely explored but albeit important challenge is that researchers and civil society organizations (CSOs) often work in silos when it comes to CSE.
Human Sciences Research Council (2026) studied this question.