By Joshua Mirondo.

For the past seven years, the SRHR Alliance Uganda (Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights) convenes an annual event called the Alliance Week. It is a week-long activity geared towards bridging the SRHR knowledge gap and bringing youth-friendly SRH-related services closer to communities across Uganda. A different district is selected each year, where partners gather in support of improving SRHR rights for all.

Focusing on youth rights to reproductive health and rights is critical to have a healthy and sustainable population, in Uganda and all over the world.

This year, the event happened in the Kabarole district, in the city of Fort Portal. The theme was “Empowered Choices, Brighter Futures: Linking SRHR and Youth Livelihood.” Alliance Week kicked off on August 12th with an International Youth Day commemoration dialogue at the Nyabukara Youth Center. The dialogue brought together young people, district officials, cultural, and religious leaders to discuss youth participation in decision-making processes related to SRHR.

The event also aimed to engage policymakers and stakeholders in improving SRHR policies and services for youth in the district.   While giving her remarks during the dialogue, Olgah Daphynne Namukuza, the Country Director of SRHR Alliance, said that Kabarole was chosen due to its high rates of teenage pregnancies, while Fort Portal, a city popular with tourism, exposes youth to SRHR risks. “We are dedicated to empowering all youth, encouraging them to keep dreaming and staying focused,” she added.

During the week, SRHR Alliance partners, in collaboration with school leadership and different youth groups, mobilized young people and conducted in-school sexuality education sessions for students. These also included skilling sessions with an emphasis on making reusable sanitary towels for both boys and girls. Additionally, school debates and SRHR quizzes were held in some of the schools to assess whether the young people have learned from previous engagements. Three primary and seven secondary schools with a total of 2,824 were reached with information.

Just like the youth that are currently in school, young people out of school also face challenges such as teenage pregnancies and lack of SRHR information. It’s crucial to support them through livelihood projects and empowerment to contribute to the country’s growth. To ensure this is fulfilled, Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) launched the Kabarole Youth Corner on August 14th. This will be a platform championing meaningful youth participation by providing a safe space for out-of-school young people to showcase their achievements and share how the project enhanced their skills and transformed their lives.

Integrated SRHR camps were held at various health centers across the Kabarole district, offering a comprehensive range of services including HIV testing and counseling, blood donation, legal aid, STI screening and treatment, family planning services (short-term and long-term methods), engaging SRHR-related games and activities, ultimately reaching a total of 761 clients with family planning services across 8 health centers and empowering them to make informed decisions about their reproductive health and well-being.

SRHR Alliance Week 2024 helped to bridge the gap between service provision and access to accurate information among the people of Kabarole and Fort Portal City.

 The Alliance Week was a successful event that unleashed the influence of youth, mobilized public support for young people’s access to SRHR information, and improved services. It also strengthened collaborations, leading to significant strides in preventing teenage pregnancies and child marriages, laying the ground for a better future for young people in Uganda, which is turn is a win-win for people and the planet.

Joshua Mirondo is a program associate with Transition Earth, based in Uganda.