RHU AND PARTNERS HOST A STUDY TOUR FOR THE UK ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP ON POPULATION, DEVELOPMENT & REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
By Fortunate Kagumaho
A snap shot of the visit: LR; Jackson Chekweko attending to the head of the delegation. In the middle, Baroness at an RHU outreach. Hon Mp Luwero speaking to the Boda Boda men at the outreach
Earlier this month, Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) and partners (Mariestopes and UNFPA) hosted the UK all party parliamentary group for a study tour. The team had an opportunity to visit the Uganda parliament, Ministry of Health and also some of our implementation sites
The visiting team was represented by Baroness Sugg. Baroness, a UK Parliamentarian, House of Lords and leader of the UK Parliamentarians delegation, said both Uganda and the UK need to support issues of women and girls, for the growth and development of both countries.
Baroness shared a tweet about her visit to the RHU outreach site
“We visited a busy UKAid supported RHU-WISH2ACTION clinic in rural Luwero. They run multiple education sessions every day – designed for youth, women only, men only, couples and general health education” Reported Baroness on her verified twitter handle.
She noted that the UK had developed an international development strategy, which among other highlights commitment made on programs on global health.
“We need to support their (women and girls) empowerment, prevent violence against women and girls and also help to educate girls. Our foreign secretary has made a commitment for more funding towards women and girls especially on issues of child marriages and female genital mutilation,” Baroness said.
Dr. Charles Ayume, the chairperson Parliamentary committee on health, told the meeting that there is need to invest in quality and healthy population for the development and growth of respective economies.
In response about the impact of COVID19 on the projects and how RHU handled, Dr Annet Nagudi (Project Director –WISH2ACTION) said,
“We experienced reduction in the number of clients at static service delivery points at the beginning of the lockdown. Team Resilience and positivity kept the project team going.” Said Dr Nagudi. “Travel clearances thanks to great collaboration with Ministry of Health -Uganda and the Districts, made our work even easier.” She added
“Our RHU team integrated COVID I9 in SBCC messaging and Budget adaptation thanks to donor flexibility which facilitated smooth continuity. We also RHU set up COVID 19 response team that guided continuity of services. We adopted National SOPs and disseminated these to all service delivery points. Community Outreach services and training of VHTs to deliver DMPA-SC facilitated continued access to Services.” Dr Nagudi said
Women’s Integrated Sexual Health Lot 2 Project (WISH2ACTION) is IPPFs flagship project aiming to transform the lives of millions of women and girls. Funded by The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), WISH2ACTION seeks to provide integrated and holistic reproductive healthcare to 2.2M additional users of contraception across 15 countries in Africa and South Asia from 2018 to 2022.
In Uganda, the project is implemented through its 6 consortium partners (Reproductive Health Uganda IPPF’s Member Association in Uganda, Marie Stopes International Uganda, International Rescue Committee, Development Media International, Humanity and Inclusion and Options working in 77 districts of Uganda aims to increase access to family planning services of the most marginalized including young people, people living in poverty and people with disabilities.
In collaboration with the Reproductive Health Directorate and other stakeholders such as community leaders, policy maker and CSOs the programme works towards enhancing a supportive legal, financial and policy framework for sustainable family planning and a conducive environment for SRHR for all women and girls so that they face fewer risks during pregnancy and childbirth.
Fortunate Kagumaho is the Communications Coordinator at Reproductive Health Uganda
