The Community Agenda

By Umar Weswala: Iceland envoy Hilda (C) appends her signature in commitment to the STOP project. Looking on is the UNFPA Country Rep. Gift Malunga (R) and Dr. Rony from the MOH  The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with the government of Uganda have embarked on a new program aimed at combating Obstetric Fistula, one of the most serious and tragic childbirth injuries suffered by women. The 3-year program dubbed the Survivors Treatment and Obstetric Fistula Prevention (STOP) has been made possible with funding from the government of Iceland, and it will be implemented in Namayingo District. While speaking at the launch of the program at Namayingo District Local Government Headquarters on Wednesday February 7 th , the Head of Mission at the Embassy of Iceland in Uganda Hilda Engilbertsdottir explained why it is funding the STOP Fistula program and why Namayingo District was picked.   “We have noted that fertility rates are among the highest in Nama...

  Local NGO comes to the rescue of sex workers living on Lake Victoria landing sites By Umar Weswala: FMP team in Kyondo, one of the Sex workers'  communities in Kigungu Landing site Reports of injuries and illnesses resulting from unsafe abortion complications among sex workers living on Lake Victoria landing sites are unacceptably high, placing a huge health care burden not only on individual patients and their families but also on the national health care system, which is already burdened with other morbidities.   On a sadder note, many of those who suffer these complications lose lives because they cannot afford or quickly access Post Abortion Care (PAC) depending on where they are offered. Private facilities charge highly for such services and public facilities are either distant or the health workers stigmatize the sex workers seeking medical care. On average, Post Abortion Care costs about UGX 500,000= (US$130) an amount that an average Ugandan cannot affor...

By Umar Weswala Danish Ambassador Signe (L) with UNFPA Country Representative Gift Malunga (R) The Danish government has launched a new program in Uganda targeting the adolescents and youth in refugee settlements and refugee host communities in Acholi and West Nile Sub Regions. The two Sub Regions are grappling with alarming Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) indicators, adversely impacting the education, health, and development prospects of young girls. The program dubbed Strengthening Adolescents and Youth (SAY) Empowerment and Rights was unveiled yesterday during an agreement signing ceremony between the Danish Government and UNFPA at the Royal Embassy of Denmark in Kampala. Ambassador Signe Winding Albjerg signed on behalf of the Danish government and Ms. Gift Malunga, the Country Representative signed on behalf of UNFPA. It is a four-year initiative set to run from January 2024 to December 2027 with a budget allocation of USD 14,500,000 (about UGX 55,000,000,000)...

Dr. Kakaire  The Executive Director of the Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Uganda (AOGU) as well as lecturer at Makerere University School of Medicine Dr. Othman Kakaire has urged health service providers in both public and private facilities to provide Post Abortion Care (PAC) without fear because it is fully provided for in the Ministry of Health standards and guidelines. Dr. Kakaire was speaking yesterday at a closeout meeting for the Advocacy for Prevention of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity (APMM) project which has been running for the past five years with funding from the federation of International Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO). In an interview with our reporter, Dr. Kakaire stressed that PAC is a key component of health care in Uganda and in the course of the APMM project, AOGU trained medical personnel all over the country how to manage PAC cases. “We are a professional health association and therefore we articulate the ministry’s position...

  By Umar Weswala: President Museveni endorsing the UNYJP  in Kabale The President of the Republic of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has endorsed a new collaborative program between the government of Uganda and the United Nations. This happened yesterday at Kigezi Primary School Lower Grounds in Kabale Municipality during the national commemoration of this year’s International Youth Day. The US$22 million Uganda-UN Joint Adolescent and Youth Program (UNYJP) involving 13 UN agencies will address youth related actions under the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF). According to a United Nations Joint Press statement issued in commemoration of the International Youth Day, the program is broadly aligned to the global UN Youth strategy and the national frameworks and policies and it is set to address the barriers hindering youth potential. “The focus areas are; sexual and reproductive health, inclusive quality education, skills and employment opportunit...

  By Dr. Simon Peter Kayondo Dr. Simon Kayondo Under normal circumstances, gynecologists (doctors who specialize in female reproductive health) should be attending to mothers and prospective mothers with pregnancy or child birth complications in maternity wards; but as fate would have it, members of the Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Uganda (AOGU) have also joined the Sexual, Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) advocacy movement for obvious reasons. As a member of AOGU, I think this move was long overdue given the not so impressive maternal and child health statistics in our country. For a long time for instance, the teenage pregnancy rate has stagnated at a high of 25% with some regions and districts way above this national average. The situation became worse at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to have a high rate of maternal mortality due to preventable causes like unsafe abortion, child marriage, teenage pregnancy and poor access to SRHR...

By Umar Weswala: Dr. Mary (R) chatting with VP Alupo (C)  The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Representative Dr. Mary Otieno has lauded the government of Uganda for coming up with and implementing strategies aimed at preventing as well as managing cases of teenage pregnancies in school settings. Doctor Mary Otieno was speaking at a national event in commemoration of the World Population Day 2023, held at Alebtong Boma grounds in Alebtong District (Lango Sub-Region) on 11 th July. In her remarks, she singled out the `Revised Guidelines on the prevention and management of teenage pregnancies in school settings in Uganda` through the Ministry of Education which she said has given many girls a second chance to pursue their studies, acquire 21 st century skills and live their dreams. She gave an example of Deborah Atai, a young mother she met during last year’s World Population Day commemorations in Kumi District. VP Jessica Alupo Becoming a mother in her tee...