Overview

Africa Women’s Day is observed every 31 July to recognise and affirm the role of African women in securing the continent’s political freedom and advancing the social and economic status of women across Africa. The day was proclaimed during the first conference of the Pan-African Women’s Organization, held in July 1962 in Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika, now Tanzania. It offers an opportunity to honour the women whose organising helped shape a strong Pan-African identity, while recognising the women who continue to lead families, communities, economies, institutions and movements across the continent.

Africa’s vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful continent cannot be achieved without centring the rights, health, leadership and choices of African women. Women must be able to survive pregnancy and childbirth, receive respectful and quality health care, access contraception and reproductive health information, and decide whether and when to have children.

This Africa Women’s Day toolkit is part of the broader #OnHerSide campaign, which calls for health systems, policies, budgets and communities to work for girls and women at every stage of life. The toolkit offers six ready-to-use messages. Each includes a short version for X, a longer version for LinkedIn and Facebook, and accompanying graphic copy. Every message carries a clear call to action drawn from three core asks:

1. Centre Women

Recognise African women as leaders, rights holders and essential contributors to the continent’s development.

2. Protect their Rights

Guarantee equitable access to comprehensive reproductive, maternal and newborn health care.

3. Enable Choice

Ensure every woman and adolescent can access trusted information, contraception and respectful care without stigma, discrimination or coercion.

Campaign Essentials

Date:  Friday, 31 July 2026

Primary hashtag:

#OnHerSide #AfricaWomensDay

Supporting Hashtags:

  • #MaternalHealth  

  • #FamilyPlanning  

  • #SafeMotherhood  

  • #EWENE

Accounts to Tag:

Tagging partners and leaders extends reach

  • Ministry of Health, Kenya - @MOH_Kenya

  • Council of Governors - @KenyaGovernors

  • Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) - @FCDCKenya

  • Faith to Action Network - @FaithtoActionet

  • National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) - @NCPD_Kenya

  • UNFPA Kenya - @UNFPAKen

  • WHO Kenya - @WHOKenya

  • APHRC - @aphrc

  • Amref - @Amref_worldwide

  • UNICEF - @UNICEF

  • PATH - @PATHtweets

How to use this toolkit

  • Feel free to personalise each post i.e. add your organisation's voice, a local example or a short quote from a leader, and your logo on the graphics.

  • Keep #OnHerSide on every post so all partner activity is connected under the same campaign.

  • Pair each post with its graphic to improve reach and visibility.

Messages

General Posts

X/Twitter

African women helped shape the continent’s freedom & continue to drive its future. This #AfricaWomensDay, being #OnHerSide means protecting their right to health, dignity & choice. Africa’s progress must centre its women. Agree? Click to learn more! OnHerSideAfrica.com

LinkedIn/Facebook

Africa Women’s Day honours the women whose organising, leadership and courage helped secure the continent’s political freedom and build a shared Pan-African vision.

African women continue to lead movements, sustain families and communities, build economies and shape the future of the continent. Their health, safety and rights must receive the same recognition as their contributions.

The same continent that celebrates women’s leadership must protect women’s lives. Every woman and girl should be able to access quality health care, survive pregnancy and childbirth, make informed decisions about her reproductive health and seek care without stigma or discrimination.

This #AfricaWomensDay, being #OnHerSide means placing African women at the centre of the continent’s development and ensuring that progress reaches every woman and girl.

X/Twitter

On #AfricaWomensDay, we recognize we can't achieve growth in a world where women die from preventable causes in pregnancy & childbirth or are denied the power to plan their families. Being #OnHerSide means the health of our women are priority! Agree? 👉 OnHerSideAfrica.com

LinkedIn/Facebook

Africa’s vision of inclusive growth and sustainable development depends on the health, leadership and participation of its women.

That vision remains out of reach when women die from preventable complications during pregnancy and childbirth, when adolescent girls cannot access trusted reproductive health information, and when women who want to delay or avoid pregnancy cannot access the contraception they need.

Women’s health cannot be separated from education, economic participation, family wellbeing or national development. When women can make informed choices, receive quality care and live healthy lives, families become more secure, communities grow stronger and countries prosper.

This #AfricaWomensDay, being #OnHerSide means treating maternal health, reproductive rights and family planning as essential parts of Africa’s development agenda.

For Ministries of Health, Government Officials and County Leaders

X/Twitter

A right on paper must become care in every clinic. This #AfricaWomensDay, governments must fund comprehensive reproductive, maternal and newborn health care, with skilled workers, and lifesaving commodities within reach. #OnHerSide. Curious? Learn more: OnHerSideAfrica.com

LinkedIn/Facebook

African governments have made important commitments to women’s rights, universal health coverage and sustainable development. Africa Women’s Day is an opportunity to ensure those commitments are experienced by women in clinics, maternity wards, communities and homes.

Every woman and girl should have access to comprehensive reproductive, maternal and newborn health care. This includes trusted information and contraception, antenatal care, skilled support during childbirth, emergency obstetric care, postpartum support and quality newborn services.

Delivering these rights requires adequate and sustained financing, skilled health workers, reliable referral systems, strong primary health care and consistent access to lifesaving medicines, commodities, diagnostics and equipment.

This #AfricaWomensDay, being #OnHerSide means turning policies, budgets and commitments into quality care that reaches every woman and girl.

X/Twitter

This #AfricaWomensDay, Governments must know where women are being failed, why they are dying & what must change. #OnHerSide means better data, and equitable services are essential to protect women and girls across every country. Curious? Learn more: OnHerSideAfrica.com

LinkedIn/Facebook

A woman’s ability to access quality health care should never depend on her income, age, county, community or distance from a health facility.

Yet women living in rural, remote and underserved areas often face the greatest barriers to reproductive and maternal health care. These barriers include poverty, long distances, inadequate services, shortages of skilled providers, limited information and harmful stigma.

Governments must strengthen health systems to collect and use high-quality data on maternal deaths, reproductive health needs, quality of care and inequalities in access. That information must guide budgets, workforce planning, commodity distribution and services at national and county levels.

Accountability also requires listening to women and girls, investigating where systems have failed them and acting on the findings.

This #AfricaWomensDay, being #OnHerSide means making every woman visible in health data, every preventable death a demand for action, and equity a measure of national progress.

For Faith Leaders

X/Twitter

Faith leaders help shape how families understand women’s health and choice. This #AfricaWomensDay, we call on them to replace stigma with compassion and support access to trusted information, family planning and quality care. #OnHerSide

Learn more 👉OnHerSideAfrica.com

LinkedIn/Facebook

Faith leaders are among the most trusted voices in many African communities. Their words can influence whether a woman seeks care, whether a girl receives accurate health information and whether a family supports a woman’s reproductive choices.

Family planning allows women and couples to make informed and voluntary decisions about the number, timing and spacing of their children. Access to reproductive and maternal health care protects women’s lives, supports healthy families and gives girls greater opportunity to remain in school and shape their futures.

Faith communities can help replace shame and misinformation with compassion, trusted information and practical support. They can encourage women to attend antenatal appointments, support timely referrals, speak openly about maternal and reproductive health, and help adolescents seek guidance and care without fear.

This #AfricaWomensDay, being #OnHerSide means using the power of faith to uphold women’s dignity, protect their health and ensure that no woman or girl is pushed away from the care she needs.

For HealthWorkers

X/Twitter

Every woman deserves care that listens, explains, respects and responds in time. This #AfricaWomensDay, health workers can protect women’s rights through skilled, compassionate maternal and reproductive health care. #OnHerSide. Agree? Learn more here: OnHerSideAfrica.com

LinkedIn/Facebook

Health workers are often the people standing between a woman and a preventable complication, between fear and trusted information, and between delayed care and a safe outcome.

Every woman and girl deserves care that respects her dignity, privacy, consent and right to make informed decisions. She should be listened to when she reports pain or danger signs, given clear information about her options and treated without judgement because of her age, marital status, pregnancy history or reproductive choices.

Quality care also requires health workers to recognise complications early, act quickly, make timely referrals and ensure continuity of care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period.

This #AfricaWomensDay, we recognise the health workers who advocate for their patients and provide skilled, respectful and compassionate care. Being #OnHerSide means making every interaction with the health system one that protects a woman’s rights and gives her the best chance to survive and thrive.