When observing prominent and successful initiatives to improve women and girls’ health, it is precisely the strategy we take notice of: multi-level actions involving diverse institutional actors and social sectors must be a focus. To illustrate inclusive and prosperous action courses, we highlight two cases: Brazil, focusing on the health system’s strategy; and Argentina, the collective action front to ensure significant legal breakthroughs in the field of sexual and reproductive rights.

Two aspects of the Brazilian SUS deserve special attention: (1) the combination of a national and universal public system with governance decentralization, all funded by tax revenues, and (2) community-based primary care strategies (Massuda, 2020).

 

First, it simultaneously guarantees administrative coherence and standardized access, as well as expands and democratizes the population’s access to free health care through the municipalities’ protagonism. Second, the system supports and enables public policies, such as the Family Health Program (Programa Saúde da Família).  For these policies, the core element of primary care is community outreach, interdisciplinary workgroups, and geographical-centered organization – a piece of evidence that “community-based primary care can work if done properly” (Macinko and Harris, 2015).

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Concerning sexual and reproductive rights, the recent legalization in Argentina (2021) deserves a highlight. The most thought-provoking facet is precisely the process, how it came about: (1) by diversification of strategies, (2) by the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion (Campaña Nacional por el Derecho al Aborto Legal, Seguro y Gratuito), and (3) by joint action by several actors. 

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First, instead of concentrating exclusively on the legislative path to assure safe abortion, the social movements diversified their action fronts, such as campaigning for its destigmatization and facilitating abortion access by fighting for the real implementation of existing regulations (Ruibal, 2020). While working and waiting for the legalization, for instance, the collective Lesbians and Feminists for the Decriminalization (Lesbianas y Feministas por la Decriminalización del Aborto) created a Safe Abortion Information Hotline under the motto “more information, less risks,” supporting people before and after abortion processes (Drovetta, 2015). Second, from the series of Argentinian National Women’s Meetings, the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion was created in 2005 to defend “sex education to decide, contraceptives not to abort, legal abortion not to die” (Sutton and Borland, 2013). The alliance is an inspiring example of how social movements’ networks valuing proximity to the grassroots and diverse debate within the movement may grasp outstanding rights’ attainments along with political processes and public opinion.

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Finally, both as a result and essence of this process, the executive and legislative branches and the civil society participated closely in the consolidation of the right to legal, safe and free abortion. The executive proposed the bill, which was debated and approved by the legislative, and social movements actively pressured and advocated for guaranteeing human rights (Phillips, 2020).

 

The Argentinian path demonstrates how joint action of civil society mobilization and institutional political action is a vital tactic to achieve and protect the health rights of women, girls, and other marginalized groups.