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Women's health innovation, Eswatini

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Eswatini

Eswatini has effectively no femtech startup scene. Women's health here is dominated by the world's highest HIV prevalence among women and one of the highest cervical cancer burdens on earth, so the real activity sits in public health and donor programming: HIV testing, PMTCT and a growing menu of PrEP options, HPV vaccination and screening, maternal care, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Digital health is emerging through government and World Bank systems rather than private ventures, and women-in-tech activity is nascent and largely folded into broader regional programmes.

HIV, PMTCT & PrEPCervical cancer & HPVMaternal healthSRH & adolescent girlsDigital health
35.2%

HIV prevalence, women 15-49 (2022), the world's highest beintheknow.org

84.5 per 100,000

Cervical cancer incidence, among the world's highest gavi.org

75 per 100,000

Institutional maternal mortality (2024), down from 140 afro.who.int

20.4%

Unmet need for family planning, married women (2021-2022) eswatini.unfpa.org

01 of 06

Latest major news

Recent milestones cluster around new HIV prevention options, HPV vaccination and maternal mortality gains, amid pressure from global aid cuts.

02 of 06

Policy & strategy

Government and partners frame women's health through HIV prevention, cervical cancer elimination, family planning and gender policy.

03 of 06

Latest ecosystem moves

Momentum is in public-health delivery and government digital-health systems rather than private femtech.

04 of 06

Key players & programmes

The landscape is almost entirely government, UN agencies, NGOs and research programmes; there are no notable local femtech startups.

05 of 06

Notable funding

There is no femtech venture funding; money flows as donor grants for HIV and vaccine programmes.

06 of 06

White papers & reports

Reference material is public-health, HIV and gender oriented.

Latest major news

2025-06
The long-acting injectable PrEP cabotegravir (CAB-LA) launches in Eswatini via the Family Life Association of Eswatini, offering women an every-eight-weeks alternative to daily pills amid deep budget cuts.
ippf.org
2024-06
A second round of the integrated school-based HPV campaign lifts coverage to 69.7% of the targeted 80,000 girls, later expanding routine vaccination to nine-year-olds.
gavi.org
2024-01
Human Rights Watch urges Eswatini to strengthen enforcement against violence toward women, noting persistent gaps despite the 2018 Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act.
hrw.org

Policy & strategy

2025-01
The Cervical Cancer Elimination Acceleration Plan 2025-2030 sets national targets for HPV vaccination, screening and treatment against the country's very high cervical cancer burden.
iccp-portal.org
2024-01
The Ministry of Health and UNFPA launch the 3rd edition of the National Family Planning Guidelines to improve service quality and cut unmet need.
eswatini.unfpa.org
2023-01
Eswatini launches its National Gender Policy and a National Strategy on Ending Violence (2023-2027), covering health, education and employment.
eswatini.un.org
2023-01
The NERCHA HIV Prevention 2025 Road Map prioritises adolescent girls and young women and scale-up of ARV-based prevention including PrEP.
hivpreventioncoalition.unaids.org

Latest ecosystem moves

â–¸The Ministry of Health, with World Bank support, digitises community health services through the electronic Community-Based Health Information System (CBHIS), running offline on handheld devices used by Rural Health Motivators. worldbank.org
â–¸Digital handheld devices help Rural Health Motivators close immunisation gaps and reach women and children in remote areas. gavi.org
â–¸MTN Eswatini and the Ministry of ICT roll out digital platforms including the TruMD health service, part of a public-private push into digital service delivery. techreviewafrica.com
â–¸UNICEF supports a social-accountability mobile platform for youth-friendly SRH services; in 2024 alone 1,744 young clients submitted 2,875 recommendations. unicef.org
â–¸A dapivirine vaginal ring (PrEP ring) study reports early user and provider experiences as Eswatini expands the menu of women-controlled HIV prevention methods. onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Key players & programmes

Ecosystem by organisation type

7 orgs
NGO3
Program3
Research1
Family Life Association of Eswatini (FLAS)
NGO

IPPF member delivering SRH, family planning and PrEP including the new injectable CAB-LA through static clinics ippf.org

UNFPA Eswatini
NGO

Leads family planning, maternal mortality reduction and gender-based violence programming under its country programme eswatini.unfpa.org

NERCHA (National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS)
Program

Coordinates the national HIV response and the HIV Prevention 2025 Road Map hivpreventioncoalition.unaids.org

Ministry of Health, Eswatini
Program

Runs PMTCT, HPV vaccination, cervical cancer screening and the CBHIS digital rollout afro.who.int

MOSAIC project (USAID/PEPFAR)
Program

Supports national scale-up of PrEP choice for women, including CAB-LA situation analysis and readiness prepwatch.org

UNICEF Eswatini
NGO

Supports youth-friendly SRH services and a social-accountability mobile feedback platform unicef.org

Georgetown Lombardi global cancer researchers
Research

Partner on cervical cancer screening and prevention research in Eswatini lombardi.georgetown.edu

Notable funding

Disclosed round size (USD)

Eswatini HPV vaccine introduction USD 1.6M
Grant · 2023-01 · Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance afro.who.int
CAB-LA injectable PrEP launch (FLAS) Undisclosed
Donor-funded program · 2025-06 · IPPF / donor partners ippf.org

Rounds by type

2 rounds
Grant1
Donor-funded program1

White papers & reports

â–¸Cervical Cancer Elimination Acceleration Plan, Kingdom of Eswatini 2025-2030 iccp-portal.org
â–¸HER Voice Fund Country Profile: Eswatini 2024 (adolescent girls and young women, HIV) yplusglobal.org
â–¸Cervical cancer screening outcomes for HIV-positive women in Lubombo and Manzini regions (2024) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
â–¸Kingdom of Eswatini Beijing+30 Country Progress Report, UN Women (2024) unwomen.org

Sources and references

Every figure and claim above links back to a public source. 21 references, updated 2026-08.

Be in the KNOW: HIV in Eswatinibeintheknow.orgGavi: Eswatini HIV and cervical cancer double burdengavi.orgWHO Afro: 93% skilled birth attendance, maternal mortalityafro.who.intUNFPA Eswatini: ending unmet need for family planningeswatini.unfpa.orgIPPF: injectable PrEP launch in Eswatiniippf.orgHRW: Eswatini address violence against womenhrw.orgEswatini Cervical Cancer Elimination Acceleration Plan 2025-2030iccp-portal.orgUNFPA: revised National Family Planning Guidelineseswatini.unfpa.orgUN Eswatini: National Gender Policy and Strategy on Ending Violenceeswatini.un.orgUNAIDS: Eswatini HIV Prevention 2025 Road Maphivpreventioncoalition.unaids.orgWorld Bank: digital transformation of community healthworldbank.orgGavi: digital handheld devices close immunisation gapgavi.orgTech Review Africa: MTN digital platforms including TruMDtechreviewafrica.comUNICEF Eswatini: youth voices improve SRH accessunicef.orgJIAS: PrEP ring introduction in Eswatinionlinelibrary.wiley.comWHO Afro: Gavi USD 1.6M grant for HPV vaccineafro.who.intMOSAIC Eswatini CAB PrEP situation analysisprepwatch.orgGeorgetown Lombardi: cancer research in Eswatinilombardi.georgetown.eduHER Voice Fund Country Profile Eswatini 2024yplusglobal.orgPMC: cervical cancer screening HIV-positive womenncbi.nlm.nih.govUN Women: Eswatini Beijing+30 Country Progress Reportunwomen.org

Related country reports

Gabon Gabon is a small, oil-dependent Central African economy with relatively high per-capita income but weak health outcomes for women. Algeria Algeria has no visible dedicated femtech startup scene, so the women's-health picture is driven by public health and policy rather than private products. Sudan Sudan does not have a femtech startup ecosystem in any conventional sense. Libya Libya has no meaningful femtech sector.