PROBLEM
Over 78% of Ugandan population under the age of 30, many of these young people are at risk or are already struggling with the consequences of unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortion or a sexually transmitted infection (STI) including HIV/AIDS.
Reproductive health (SRH/SRHR) is a human right. Reproductive health education is also important for adults and young people helping to raise awareness about puberty, sexual violence, sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, family planning, and maternal health. It empowers women and men to make informed decisions about their bodies, improve general health and wellbeing and overcoming inequality – it helps people to break the vicious cycles of poverty.
SOLUTION
PARC-Uganda employs a rights-based approach that emphasizes full, free, and informed choice regarding all aspects of sexuality and reproduction. We are linking Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) to reducing poverty and social injustice, through;-
School-based programs: All our interventions focus on and emphasizes behavioral change and integrating menstrual hygiene management (MHM) in WASH programming. We provide comprehensive SRHR Education including menstrual hygiene management to adolescents. Our programs focus on topics such as body autonomy, safety, and honest conversations around early sex and unprotected sex.
We build gender separate latrines (girls’ only toilets) with change rooms to ensure privacy and dignity among girls, and distribute sanitary pads to girls. These helps create a safe and private space within schools for girls to manage their periods
Community engagement programs: We engage with community leaders, parents, and young people to promote SRHR awareness and education. All our reproductive health interventions focus on and emphasizes behavioral change and cover topics such as Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management, sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including HIV/AIDS, urinary tract infections (UTIs), and Child Marriage (teenage pregnancy, early and forced marriages).
We also promote awareness and advocacy through celebrating the on the 28th May each year as the International Menstrual Hygiene Day and International Day of Action for Women’s Health.
Center-based programs: Through our clinic, we distribute condoms and provide STI testing and treatment, HIV testing and counseling to youth, and working with village health teams (VHTs) as referral links for youth to public health facilities to access to SRHR services, including Family Planning information.
Safe spaces: We create convenient places where girls and women can meet to comfortably talk about menstruation, seek guidance and seek support from trained counselors.
We plan to expand these places into safe houses to provide temporary shelter to abused women and children coming from challenging communities – victims of various injustices including child abused, sexual harassment and defilement, and domestic violence, to access to medical, economic and psycho-social support.