Tagged as: RHU

World Population Day 2023: “Unleashing the power of gender equality”

World Population Day 2023: Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities.

Women and girls make up 49.7% of the global population, yet they are often ignored in discussions on demographics, with their rights violated in population policies.

This pervasive injustice keeps women and girls out of school, the workforce and leadership positions; limits their agency and ability to make decisions about their health and sexual and reproductive lives; and heightens their vulnerability to violence, harmful practices and preventable maternal death, with a woman dying every two minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth.

We must advance gender equality to create a more just, resilient and sustainable world. The creativity, ingenuity, resources and power of women and girls are fundamental to addressing demographic and other challenges that threaten our future, including climate change and conflict.

When women and girls are empowered by societies to exert autonomy over their lives and bodies, they and their families thrive.

The First Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda Commends Reproductive Health Uganda Efforts to Improve Sexual Reproductive Health Access and Address Disparities

The First Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda and Minister for East African Community Affairs, the Rt. Hon Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, has applauded Reproductive Health Uganda for its efforts in improving access to sexual reproductive health services in Uganda, particularly among vulnerable and marginalised communities.

Speaking during the RHU 67th annual general meeting held in Kampala, Hon Kadaga lauded the organisation for its dedication to improving the health status of Ugandans through increased access to sexual reproductive health services.

The emeritus Speaker of the ninth and tenth Parliament of Uganda acknowledged RHU’s key role in providing vital services including HIV and STI testing and counseling, family planning, and maternal health care to millions of people across Uganda.

Despite the commendable efforts of RHU in providing key sexual and reproductive health services, Hon Kadaga acknowledged that there was still a considerable gap in the availability of these essential services to communities.

Her remarks highlighted an unfulfilled need among vulnerable and marginalised groups, underlining the continued importance of work towards expanding provision of such vital health services in Uganda.

“Data clearly show that we have a significant disparity in access to sexual and reproductive health services, with my home region of Busoga alone accounting for over seven percent of the overall national figures on teenage pregnancies,” Hon Kadaga said, before adding, “This is a sobering statistic, and it underscores the urgent need for greater access to the range of vital sexual reproductive and health services.”

“The frequency of these inequalities represents an alarming failure of our collective efforts to safeguard young Ugandans, with damaging consequences for both individuals and society at large,” she said.

Hon Kadaga, emphasised the need for a comprehensive approach to addressing such sexual and reproductive health-related challenges, with increased involvement of men and boys.

“Despite well-intentioned interventions and programmes aimed at promoting sexual and reproductive health, many fail to engage men and boys adequately, limiting the effectiveness and reach of these initiatives,” she said.

Hon Kadaga highlighted the vital role that men and boys must play in addressing these issues and advocated for the inclusion of effective outreach, education, and support programmes targeted not only women and girls but also men and boys.

She said, by ensuring the active involvement of both women and men in such initiatives, it would be possible to drive change and make tangible inroads towards addressing sexual and reproductive health-related challenges, promoting more positive and healthy outcomes for all of Uganda’s citizens.

“We need to broaden our approach because it is not only girls who need education and support around sexual reproductive health. We also need to engage boys and men to ensure they are prepared for the responsibilities that come with sexual relationships,” Hon Kadaga noted.

This could be done by adopting comprehensive and holistic approaches that include mindset change to promote safer, healthier relationships.

She emphasised the collective responsibility to ensure sexual health and wellbeing of all Ugandans, of which everyone needed to rise to the challenge.

In a meeting filled with key stakeholders and partners, RHU showcased its recent achievements, unveiling several new initiatives aimed at reaching the underserved and vulnerable communities in Uganda.

Hon Kadaga called upon other organisations to emulate RHU’s efforts and support the establishment of essential health service delivery points in order to guarantee access to such services among the marginalised and vulnerable communities.

She pledged continued government support to RHU and other similar organisations devoted to improving reproductive health of Ugandans.

RHU easily has become a force to reckon with when it comes to sexual reproductive health services, mobilising communities and elites alike to ensure no one is left behind regardless of their ability to pay for the services.

Recruiting District Focal Persons

The Power To You(th) consortium partners are looking to identify 5 proactive, strategic, and open-minded youth to support programme implementation in Bukwo, Busia, Mbale, Isingiro, and Kalangala. The new team members will play the critical role of building and sustaining grassroots structures as well as systems that will support the Power To You(th) programme to realize the above ambitious goal.

• Job Title: Power to Youth District Focal Persons
• Programme: Power to Youth (PtY)
• Duty Station: Busia, Bukwo, Mbale, Kalangala and Isingiro
• Deadline: Wednesday 15th March: 5:00 pm East African Time.

If you are interested, Click here to download for more details 

CONSULTANCY FOR MIDTERM REVIEW OF POWER TO YOU(TH) PROGRAMME

Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) seeks to recruit a highly skilled and experienced consultant(s) to conduct a mid-term review of the Power to You(th) programme in Uganda.
Power to You(th) is a five-year programme funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has been running from 2021 and will end in 2025.
The overall objective of the PtY programme is to empower adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) to increase their agency, claim their rights, address gender inequalities, challenge gender norms, and advocate for inclusive decision-making.
The National consultant will  evaluate program approaches, document lessons learned, best practices, success and challenges for outcome sustainability, and future programming.
Key Dates:
Application Deadline: 23rd January 2023
Submission: by email with the title “Application- Power to Youth Evaluation” to; ekiggundu@rhu.or.ug , dnanyange@rhu.or.ug  and copy to; pibembe@rhu.or.ug .
Timeline for data collection: (between January to March 2023)
Evaluation period: 2021 – 2022 (2 years)
Mode of work: Hybrid – to work with Programme staff and Global consultant
Final report: 28th April 2023

Please click here to download the detailed Terms of Reference (Download PDF).

For questions about the application, please contact ekiggundu@rhu.or.ug , Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator – RHU.

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

RHU Launches Safe Hands App at ICFP 2022 in Thailand

The Youth Empowerment Digital Storytelling platforms for Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) were internationally launched today at the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2022 in Thailand.

The launch coincided with the official launch of the Safe Hands exhibition booth and the ICFP 2022 exhibition hall at the Royal Cliff hotel in Pattaya city, Thailand.

Jackson Chekweko, RHU Executive Director, revealed that the Safe Hands and ASK RHU platforms enabled young people to access information about their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) issues.

“Young people are empowered to tell their stories using digital platforms, these stories are then presented to policymakers to initiate or enhance debates,” Chekweko said.

Chekweko was in the company of Tomoko Fukuda, Regional Director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) for the East, South East Asia, and Oceania Region, and Erica Belanger from Safe Hands.

In her words, Tomoko Fukuda encouraged the use of digital platforms among young people to create awareness about SRHR through photographs, text, video, and sound, and the need for better care and parenthood from parents. She says that the platforms are user-friendly and easy to access, which is an advantage to the user, and others can learn from Uganda.

“Other countries and organizations, I believe, can learn from Uganda and use the same methods to share and receive SRHR messages for young people,” Tomoko said.

Erica Belanger from Safe Hands which supports RHU under the Knowledge and Information on Safe Sex (KISS) appreciated strides taken by RHU in creating, and innovating digital tools and ways to communicate SRHR messages to young people.

Nakanjako Babirye Aidah, KISS project, and RHU Communications Officer say the goal of the KISS digital storytelling project is to use these digital stories to raise awareness about the SRHR day-to-day social policy challenges, barriers to accessing SRHR services, budgets, and SRHR commodity needs, and aspirations of young people in Uganda. At the same time, adolescents are trained in basic interview, communication, and video recording techniques. They also learned how technology can be used to address social issues in communities and how they can play a role as change agents.

“Hundreds of boys and girls in Kabalore district have participated in this project, resulting in stories about topics including sexual & reproductive health challenges, social & economic challenges, voices of youth leaders, and youth & entrepreneurship. The videos can be viewed in the project’s Facebook group,” Nakanjako said.

RHU desires to hear stories from young people themselves. In a bid to achieve this, efforts to establish a number of regionally based platforms to collect and disseminate SRHR information to and for young people, some in their native languages. This is ongoing in a number of Ugandan projects aimed at young people. A digital hub and toll-free line have already been put in place, particularly for young people to share, ask, and receive information about SRHR by RHU in Uganda.

The ICFP 2022 is ongoing under the theme: “Family Planning + Universal Health coverage: Innovate, collaborate, accelerate” at the Royal Cliff hotel in Pattaya city, Thailand.

The author of this article Aldon Walukamba is the RHU Media Advocacy and Documentation Coordinator

Read more about RHU digital platforms

Ask RHU launch in Uganda

Global Youth Connect Project Calls for Small Grants Applications

Introduction:

Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) under funding from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) on the Global Youth Connect project announces the call for applications of project proposals through the small grant scheme.

About the Global Youth Connect Project:

Global Youth Connect is a digital platform established by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and hosted by Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU). It is centered on empowering diverse young people with vast, accurate, and age-appropriate information on sexual and reproductive health hence improving their well-being. The platform, whose major strategy is meaningful and inclusive youth engagement/ participation takes on the form of an online information portal that features a website with vast interactive features and linkages with other IPPF youth communication channels.

The global youth connect platform performs explicitly three core functions:

• Collation, sharing, and debating youth participation practice (tools, standards, policies, ideas)
• Connecting and amplifying IPPF youth communications channels
• Scanning for and sharing opportunities to advance the IPPF youth agenda i.e. training, grants, advocacy forums, etc.

What does the small grants scheme seek to achieve?

The scheme seeks to support youth-driven initiatives and innovations that advance adolescents and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health across the federation.  We believe that young people have the ability to develop and implement solutions geared towards improving their own sexual and reproductive health and being provided with a financial stimulus, their capability would be accelerated.

Who should apply?  The scheme targets:

Young people (10-24years) within or attached to the IPPF Member associations are interested in designing and implementing interventions aimed at improving the SRHR of fellow young people.

Themes under which the application should be based:  Note: Your application can be directed in any of the themes listed below.

1. Creative Artistic Art or videos to promote SRHR for adolescents and young people
2. Strategies to increase SRHR for vulnerable populations, especially Persons with disabilities (PWDs), Young people LGBTQI+, Young people living with HIV, Young people living in poverty, young people using drugs, etc
3. Strategies/ideas to increase access to Comprehensive Sexuality Education for adolescents and young people
4. Using digital media to amplify youth networks and empower young people with SRHR information across the federation

Please note:

• Your proposal should be in pdf format
• Your submission should be shared in English
• Your proposal should include all the details included in the project proposal summary
• There should be no administration costs as per budget.
• Young people can apply either as individuals or groups. Only young people affiliated with IPPF associations are eligible.

Duration: 6 Months (December 2022 –May 2023)

Grant amount: $5,000

Deadline: 20^th November 2022

Download the PDF's below

Call- English, French, Spanish

Call- Arabic

Proposal summary template

Budget template_GYC

All proposals should be sent to info@youthsconnect.org. Please also keep in copy rhu@rhu.or.ug

In Uganda safe spaces, toll free line offers SRHR information for young people

Uganda – “We’ve been told that our clinics bear peace – the clinic and what is offered in it,” said Demeter Margaret Namuyobo. She is the Medical Coordinator at Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU), where we present a safe space for women and young people in Uganda, to access sexual reproductive health services and information (SRHI).

Over the past 65 years, millions of marginalized and underserved people have entered Uganda, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, young people, and migrants fleeing economic and political instability in Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, and Rwanda.

New Patient care Centres in all 19 static RHU clinics and a toll-free line (0800299003), assist new arrivals in gaining access to SRHI services and information, as well as addressing urgent needs such as protection, shelter, food, and counseling.

Amid the noise, crowds, and queues at community outreaches and the static clinics, there is a door marked with the words

“This is the RHU safe space” – a place where young people and survivors of gender-based violence can come for guidance, care, and referrals to local networks of public services as well as resources on sexual and reproductive health.

“The people who come here have SRHI issues that require urgent attention, in most cases privately. They don’t understand most of the dialects spoken in Uganda, they haven’t eaten properly for a while, they hitchhiked – they are anxious and distressed,”. Namuyobo explained.

New arrivals, particularly women and young people, are welcomed into the safe space at the end of often long and difficult journeys.

While comprehensive data are unavailable, research and news reports have indicated women and young people face threats of gender-based violence and a lack of SRHI as they seek out better lives in the country.

To address these rights violations, RHU maintains 19 safe spaces across the country and the toll-free line (0800299003), where staff offer SRHI and work to identify instances of gender-based violence, offer case-management support, and refer survivors to corresponding public services. Teams also work with survivors to access health services, build safety plans, and monitor cases until resolution.

“RHU’s toll-free line and humanitarian response in Uganda is important to guarantee the health rights of marginalized and underserved people, especially young people, women, and girls,” said Tom Kulumba, who heads the RHU Gender and Youth department in Uganda.

In addition to sexual and reproductive health advice and gender-based violence support, each space accommodates breastfeeding mothers, and infant beds and provides free condoms and educational videos and games. Everyone is welcome, and the door is always open.

“Hundreds of vulnerable and underserved people have benefited from calling the RHU toll-free line,” Talent Emily, RHU toll-free line officer said. She contends that the callers are interested in family planning, infertility management, HIV, location of RU clinics, making appointments, and sexually transmitted infections (STI) management.

For some, this makes all the difference. “During an appointment, one woman mentioned her desire to use family planning,” Demeter Namuyobo recalled. “She put both hands on the table and said, ‘You are the first person so far who has looked at me, so I felt safe to open up – I think this is what sets us apart.”

As Ugandans face ongoing threats to their SRHI safety in some places – from a lack of essentials such as spaces, toll free lines, and medicine to political and socioeconomic crisis – RHU will continue its critical work of providing marginalized and vulnerable persons in their diversity a safe place to rest and recover.

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

CONSULTANCY NEEDED FOR DEVELOPING RHU STRATEGIC PLAN (2023 – 2028)

Office of Executive Director

TERMS OF REFERENCE

FOR DEVELOPING RHU STRATEGIC PLAN (2023 – 2028)

1.- Background

Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) is a Member Association of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and its core mandate is to champion, provide and enable universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) information and services to vulnerable and underserved communities, especially young people. The Association has over 150 members of staff and over 4000 volunteers working with and for communities and individuals. RHU is also committed to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by contributing to the achievement of equitable access to life-saving, quality sexual and reproductive health care for all, including to the most marginalized and hard-to-reach population groups.

At all levels, RHU strives to respect and protect the rights of women and girls, promotes gender equality, and works to redress unequal power imbalances between women and men. However, RHU also deliberately targets other segments of the population, including the relatively well to do, with the objective of offering services, but also generating additional resources to cater to its core mission of supporting the vulnerable and poor (social enterprise).

RHU’s values include: i) Rights-Based, ii) Results-Oriented, iii) Choice, iv). Voluntarism and v). Integrity

It currently operates 18 branches spread in all the sub-regions of Uganda. RHU has made a significant contribution in the area of Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).

RHU is currently in the process of developing a new strategic plan for a period of 6 years (2023 – 2028), aligned with the IPPF strategy 2028 and RHU Business plan 2023-2025. Therefore, RHU seeks to hire a consultant that can assist in developing the strategic plan.

 RHU’s vision:

RHU envisages a Ugandan society where everyone has access to sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and services they need and in which their SRHR choices are respected.

RHU’s Mission:

RHU is committed to promoting high quality, high impact and gender-sensitive sexual and reproductive health and rights information and services for vulnerable and most at-risk population of young people (15-30 years) in Uganda through capacity building, specialized service delivery, issue-specific advocacy, and strategic partnerships

RHU services at different levels:

      (i)  At the community level:

• Strengthening community‐based health systems, creating demand for and ensuring the provision of SRHR information and services, which are integrated and of appropriate quality
• Working to influence social norms or barriers that deny the SRH rights of young people and women access to care, and related behaviors
• Improving accountability of local health and community leaders for key SRHR services and for health outcomes, and strengthening the resilience and emergency refugee response capacity

 (ii) At the district level:

• Working with public and private health structures and improving health leaders’ capacity for evidence‐based planning, budgeting, supervision, and monitoring of priority interventions for youth, men, and women;
• Strengthening integration with community‐based systems, and better coordination with other sectors (Community Development, gender, security and law enforcement, education, etc.)

 (iii) At the national level:

• Leveraging national, regional, and international resources, and linking with RHU’s contributions especially women and youth SRH, increased social inclusion, and education, and contributing to evidence‐based and equitable plans and policies for mainly young people’s and women’s health, through strengthened use of evidence, (in collaboration with sister CSOs, government and development partners)

2.0 Purpose of the consultancy:

The overall objective of this consultancy is to develop a six-year strategic plan (2023 – 2028) for RHU that is aligned with IPPF strategy 2028

3.0 Scope of work:

The scope of work for the consultant will include but not be limited to the following:

• Review the vision and mission based on RHU mandate
• Review IPPF Strategy 2028
• Undertake a local and global stakeholder mapping and analysis
• Undertake a situational analysis of RHU operations to date
• Through a consultative process and application of an appropriate tool of analysis, identify focus areas and develop strategic objectives and key results areas for the same
• Plan and facilitate workshop(s) to prioritize strategic directions
• Propose a strategy for achieving the strategic objectives and key results
• Develop a monitoring & evaluation plan for the strategy
• Hold stakeholder meeting(s) to validate the draft strategic plan
• Finalize strategic plan for submission to IPPFARO

4.0 Proposed Methodology

 The consultant is responsible for recommending an appropriate methodology which may include employing analytical methods, review of documents, and consultative approaches as indicated below:

• Review of documents:

Relevant documents to be reviewed will be identified and shared with the consultant. Some of the documents to be reviewed may include RHU Business Plan, IPPF Strategy 2028, RHU Annual report 2021, RHU Strategic Plan 2016-2022, RHU M&E Plan 2016-2022. The consultant is also expected to review other resources relevant to SRHR service provision.

• Conducting interviews:

The consultant may conduct interviews among key stakeholders or resourceful RHU staff to inform the strategic plan development process and to get more insight on the RHU’s focus areas that are in line with IPPF strategy 2028.  A list of persons to be interviewed at the Head-quarter may include the Directors, the respective thematic managers and Coordinators or Project officers. At branch level, service providers could be interviewed. Among institutions and development partners to be interviewed are the Ministry of Health, MoGLSD, as well as UNFPA and IPPF.

5.0 Deliverables:

• Inception report
• Situational analysis
• Strategic Plan 2023-2028
• M&E Plan 2023 – 2028

6.0 Time frame

The consultancy is estimated to take 22 working days starting from 26^th September to 25^th Oct 2022. The 1^st draft(s) of the Strategic Plan and M&E Plan are expected by 25^th Oct 2022 and a post-feedback final draft(s) by mid-November 2022.

7.0 Qualifications and Experience of consultant

 At least a master’s degree in a relevant field such as planning, Social Sciences, Development studies, Reproductive Health, Demography, Statistics, M&E, or any other related field

• Excellent skills in Strategic Planning document preparation
• Excellent skills in formulating M&E plans
• Sufficient expertise in handling situational analysis
• Strong knowledge on participatory approaches or assessments and facilitating strategic planning processes
• Over 5 years professional experience in reviewing and developing strategic plan documents

8.0. Liaison of consultant:

The consultant will liaise with Director of Programmes (Dr. Peter Ibembe) and RHU M&E Manager (Mr. Lawrence Muhangi).

9.0. Application Process

Interested persons should submit their technical and financial proposals to Executive Director, Reproductive Health Uganda, at rhu@rhu.or.ug and copy to lmuhangi@rhu.or.ug or hand deliver in person to RHU head office, plot 2, Katego Road, Kamwokya by close of business on Friday, 16^th September, 2022 before 5:00pm.

[ Click here to download details PDF  ]

RHU will contact eligible persons.

Menstrual health needs surge among vulnerable people in Uganda

Uganda – The 2021 outbreak of violence in the Equatorial region of South Sudan has displaced inside South Sudan, nearly two million people while outside the country there are now over two million South Sudanese refugees, mainly in Ethiopia, Sudan, and Uganda. Many have fears of imminent attack or struggle with food insecurity, sexual reproductive health issues, trauma, and menstrual health among young girls and women. People were forced by over 35,000 to flee to Uganda, roughly 75 percent of refugees from South Sudan are women and children.

Women and girls displaced by conflict face extraordinary hardships in most refugee camps and urban areas of Uganda. Many endure grave risks, including gender-based violence, which can escalate in humanitarian settings. Most are thrust into poverty – cut off from education and life-saving health services, including menstrual health.

Displacement exacts another huge toll on women and girls. In the refugee camps and Uganda’s urban areas, their most intimate and taboo health needs are often overlooked, to devastating effect.

“I had my first period here at the settlement,” said Joyce Tabaria, 12, whose family now lives in the Ayillo II settlement, home to over 39,000 refugees. “I had no idea what was happening. For me, that day was sad and shameful.”

Stigmas surrounding menstruation have existed across cultures in Uganda, also affecting indigenous people and history has it that most people in the community neglect or don’t care about issues of menstrual hygiene. And it’s not uncommon for women and girls to internalize these destructive myths.

A report published by International Rescue Committee (IRC) earlier this year details the extent to which lack of menstrual care, period shame, and misinformation reinforce gender discrimination, rendering women and girls vulnerable to poverty, violence, and harmful practices.

The IRC report reads, “Out of the 79% women and girls that indicate experiencing menstrual pain, only 28% have access to pain killers. While right and adequate menstrual health hygiene (MHH) information are limited. For school girls, a major source of information is schools (61%), peers (45%), workmates (37%), and CSOs/NGOs (27%)”.

In Uganda, the idea that menstruating women and girls are unclean contributes to their exclusion not only from family life but also from education and employment.

Dr. Peter Ibembe, Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) Director of Programs says that in some places, isolation and expulsion from the home can be dangerous, exposing women and girls to extreme weather and sexual violence.

“In others, the onset of menstruation is associated with child marriage, which heightens the risk of adolescent pregnancy and life-threatening complications before, during, and after childbirth” says Dr Ibembe.

According to some vulnerable refugees and displaced people in Uganda, displacement magnifies these conditions.

“When I’m menstruating, I usually use strips of absorbent cloth, but in the settlement, it is difficult to get this cloth,” Hellen Aleyo in Kasese told RHU.

The unmet needs for sexual and reproductive health services intensify for women and girls in exile. Refugees need to receive adequate care and access to dignity kits in the settlements.

Harmful conditions in evacuation sites can wreak havoc on women’s sexual and reproductive health, while lack of access to hygiene supplies limits their mobility and heightens their vulnerability to sexual violence. Girls who do not have the ability to manage their menstrual health are also at greater risk of missing school or dropping out entirely.

Hellen Furaha, is the recipient of one of the sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR), menstrual health training, and dignity kits distributed to women and girls in the Muhookya internally displaced people’s settlement in the Kasese district. The kits contain essential hygiene items such as sanitary pads, underclothes, soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.

As we celebrate menstrual health month 2022, it is important to note that RHU works with partners SRHR Alliance with support from Rutgers to deliver dignity kits to women and girls around Uganda in schools and in women’s and girls’ safe spaces. These safe spaces provide more than sexual and reproductive health services.

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