Tagged as: family palnning

Uganda Celebrates 16 Days of Activism for Reproductive Health and Gender Violence

Uganda— The Director of Finance at Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU), Peter Mark Mutebi, has asked public and private organizations and other related players to take the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) outside workplaces and homes.

Presiding over the high-level stakeholder engagement in Hoima district by the RHU and partners Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE), Mutebi, said most of the GBV cases are happening in the homes, workplaces, and in countryside communities.

“Most of the cases that we do hear about are happening at work or in villages where women and girls are not empowered to report,” Mutebi said, adding that as “a young boy, I witnessed a lot of gender-based violence and bullying in my village.”

The Director of Finance also asked public and private sector players to refocus, find, and stop the drivers of gender-based violence.

“In rural areas mainly, I think it’s due to low levels of education, poverty, alcohol, and primitive beliefs that a man is above a woman even when a woman is feeding a man,” he said, committing, together with religious, cultural, and political leaders, to continue deliberate action in supporting communities in their campaign to end violence towards girls, boys, men, and women.

Sheik Musa Mabanja Atwooki, Hoima District Khadi, said religious leaders realized developments in creating an enabling environment for eliminating GBV through preaching and advocating for the enactment of laws such as the Domestic Act 2010, the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act 2009, the Penal Code Act Cap 120, and the FGM Act 2010, among others.

He added: “We want to ensure that we preach and advocate decision-makers to pass laws and policies and ensure that they are fully implemented.”Parliament established the Post Legislative Scrutiny Committee to ensure that the laws passed are implemented while also identifying gaps that need to be filled.

Approximately 650,000 teenage pregnancies were recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown in Uganda, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Figures from UNFPA show that since March 2020, when COVID-19 hit the world, an estimated 354,736 teenage pregnancies have been reported following the closure of all schools in the country for at least eight months.

An additional 290,219 pregnancies were reported between January and September 2021.

The above figures were highlighted during the 2022 commemoration of the 16 days of activism in Kampala, Bukwo, Isingiro, Rakai, and Hoima districts.

RHU did the activities in partnership with the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development (MGLSD), district local governments (DLGs), and under projects like PROMISE II, Power to Youth (PYT), Advance Family Planning (AFP), and Right Here, Right Now II.

Ruth Mwangangi, Chairperson of FUE, believes “there is no production when employees are sick or are abused at work.” we don’t need to marginalize them if we need good productivity,” and added that “I commit on behalf of this institution to ensuring that issues of gender-based violence, maternal rights, and sexual reproductive rights and services are incorporated in the 2023-2024 national budget by private employers.”

Gender-based violence, according to Kiiza Beatrice of Bugambe Tea, affects not only individual victims but also the development of the country’s workforce:

“so many are suffering from sexual harassment; please reach out and organizations put up anti-violence policies.”

Francis Eyilu, Hoima Sugar’s Human Resources Manager, thanked RHU, saying, “We partner with FUE and RHU to put in place policies to curb violence and harassment at work.” “Safety tools are important, but so are health safety tools too.”

Bwendero Darius Bainomugisha, Peer Educator: “We sensitize people about HIV/AIDS at workplaces.”

Joyce Katwesige, Miss Y+ Western Uganda, called for Ugandans to turn on the voices of marginalized people and advocate for their rights.

Violence against girls, boys, and women has recently taken new, more sophisticated forms. An increasing number of them are, for instance, reporting cyberbullying and abuse through social media and smartphones.

Nuliyati Nabiwande, Principal Labour Officer MGLSD said Gender Based Violence affects not only the individual victims but also the development of the country.

“To address Gender-Based Violence, we need to lay back and tackle the root causes of gender inequality. If we don’t address the root cause of violence, our efforts to eliminate it will be significantly less effective, the Principal Labor Officer said.

She also wants the Parliament and district local governments to advocate for and advertise shelters where women and girls facing violence can take refuge as they seek justice.

RHU put on the orange color and created “orange” virtual spaces, and communication methods e.g., drama by Tunaca Troupe, websites, social media accounts, etc., on November 25, 2022, and throughout the next 16 days until December 10, 2022.

The author Aldon Walukamba is the Media Advocacy and Documentation Coordinator at Reproductive Health Uganda

In Uganda, acceptance of family planning is increasing

“It’s preferable to have one child than many,” Nyekuch, 28, at the Pagirinya health Centre III family planning section in Adjumani district, explained.

This is the counsel she provides to both men and women, yet she has had a totally different experience.

She married at the age of 14 and gave birth to her first child a year later, before the war in Sudan forced her to Uganda as a refugee. Before then, she was not required, like many other child brides, to seek an education, thus she never learned to read or write. She now has five children, all of whom she wishes to have a totally different destiny than she had.

“I hope that when my daughter is at least 22 years old, she will make the correct decisions and become a mother,” Nyekuch remarked. “By then, she’ll have completed her university education.” All of my children, I hope, will be able to receive an education.”

Nyekuch embodies the plight of Uganda’s vulnerable village women in many ways. According to the 2020 State of World Population report, the country’s fertility rate is five (4.6) children per woman, and on average 25% of women give birth while still teens.

The maternal mortality rate in the country is high, in part because health risks increase as women have more pregnancies. According to a recent joint United Nations study, over 368 women die during giving birth for every 100,000 owing to pregnancy-related causes.

Contraceptives reduce the risk of maternal injury and death by lowering the number of unplanned pregnancies, which account for 43% of all pregnancies in Uganda. Couples can also determine the appropriate family size for their situation by using family planning. Despite this, many people are wary of using family planning.

“This is due to a lack of comprehensive information, inadequate counselling skills among health service providers, limited access to contraception, users’ fear of side effects, and misinterpretation of religious doctrine regarding family planning,” Dr. Peter Ibembe, Reproductive Health Uganda Director of Programs, explained.

Some cultural influences, such as the inclination and desire to have a big family, by some couples also play a key role.

Advance Family Planning (AFP) initiative is working closely with the Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU), Ministry of Health to ensure a reliable supply of contraceptives to government health facilities. RHU also trains health workers and provides technical support to health facilities, like the family planning units at health centers in Uganda, through its 20 clinics and branches spread across the country.

RHU, in partnership with AFP is also increasing the family planning choices available to women, but also executing out advocacy activities among policy makers, media and the community. At the centre in Uganda’s vulnerable communities, women are able to select from a variety of safe, reliable contraceptive methods, including condoms, pills, injections, implants and bi-tubal litigation or vasectomy.

Contraception is steadily gaining traction in this traditionally conservative society. According to a government survey, barely 30% of married Ugandan women employed contemporary techniques of family planning in 2016. As per Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA) reports, 40% of married women utilized contraception by 2020.

Most of the women Nyekuch knows take injections, implants, or tablets, according to her. “Only a handful couples I know employ alternative ways. I, too, utilize the injection “she stated

However, there is still considerable skepticism. Contraceptive implants, for example, are feared by many people, despite the fact that they are safe and provide long-term protection against unintended pregnancy. “People are reluctant to use them, and husbands won’t let them because they’re worried their wives won’t be able to have children again,” Rhoda Namukwana, a registered midwife at RHU Bwaise branch, stated.

Nkonanyi, was also visiting the RHU outreach family planning Centre in Kyangwali refugee camp. She was married at only 13, and her first baby was born the following year. Now, at age 25, she has two children and relies on family planning.

“We barely scrape by,” Nkonanyi explained, revealing that the family relies on her husband’s salary as a community digger to make ends meet. “If I send my son to school, we will want more funds for his school uniform, books, notebooks, and other necessities.” That’s something we can’t afford.”

She wants both of her children to expect more from life. For instance, she hopes her daughter will not get married until she is 20, and Nkonanyi herself wants to wait before having more children.

“I’d like to wait at least three years before having another child.”

Aldon Walukamba G, the author, is the RHU Media Advocacy and Documentation Coordinator.