Sexual Health

Voices and visions: Navigating the landscape of sexual, reproductive, and maternal health and rights in Latin America and the Caribbean: A stakeholder mapping and analysis.

TL;DR

A stakeholder mapping and analysis identified and categorized key actors operating in Sexual, Reproductive, and Maternal Health and Rights (SRMHR) across seven Latin American and Caribbean countries, finding that their actions shape, promote, or hinder the SRMHR political agenda in the region.

Key Findings

The study identified key stakeholders operating in SRMHR across seven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

  • Countries included in the study were Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, and Peru.
  • The mapping focused on stakeholders involved in health rights entitlement and access to health services.
  • Target populations of focus included women, adolescents, LGBTQI+ individuals, migrants, indigenous people, Afro-descendants, and people with disabilities.
  • The primary objective was to identify and comprehensively categorize the activities undertaken by these stakeholders.

Stakeholder activities were found to either promote or hinder the SRMHR political agenda in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

  • The study categorized the nature of stakeholder actions as shaping, promoting, or hindering SRMHR policy.
  • Stakeholders included actors across multiple sectors relevant to sexual, reproductive, and maternal health and rights.
  • The mapping was designed to be useful in contributing to the development of public policy strategies.
  • The analysis covered a diverse set of countries representing varied political, social, and legal contexts within the region.

The stakeholder mapping was designed to inform public policy strategy development in the SRMHR field.

  • The findings were framed as directly applicable to contributing to public policy strategies in the region.
  • The study identified comprehensive categories of stakeholder activities rather than individual actors alone.
  • The mapping approach allowed for a regional landscape analysis across seven distinct country contexts.
  • The study addressed a broad range of marginalized and vulnerable populations within the SRMHR framework.

What This Means

This research mapped and analyzed the key organizations and actors working in the field of sexual, reproductive, and maternal health and rights (SRMHR) across seven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, and Peru. The study aimed to understand who these stakeholders are, what they do, and how their activities either advance or obstruct policies and services related to reproductive health, particularly for vulnerable groups such as women, adolescents, LGBTQI+ individuals, migrants, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and people with disabilities. The researchers found that stakeholder actions actively shape the political landscape around SRMHR in the region, with some actors promoting access to health rights and services while others create barriers. By systematically categorizing these actors and their activities, the study provides a clearer picture of the forces at play in determining whether people in these countries can access sexual and reproductive healthcare. This research suggests that understanding who the key players are in the SRMHR field — and what roles they play — is an important step toward developing more effective public health policies. Policymakers, advocates, and health organizations could use findings like these to identify allies, anticipate opposition, and design strategies that are better suited to the complex social and political environments in which reproductive health programs operate across Latin America and the Caribbean.

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Citation

Pirsch S, Zavala D, Berrueta M, Belizán M, Alonso J, Formia S, et al.. (2025). Voices and visions: Navigating the landscape of sexual, reproductive, and maternal health and rights in Latin America and the Caribbean: A stakeholder mapping and analysis.. Global public health. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2025.2456476