By Baale Leilah
“As we work together to achieve demographic dividends in Uganda, Reproductive Health Uganda should conduct research on indigenous family planning methods,” Robert Rukahemura, Bunyoro Kingdom Social Affairs Officer, spoke at the PROMISE II project launch in Hoima district.
While committing to supporting the project, Rukahemura believes that family planning is necessary for the kingdom to have a healthy population and that Bunyoro Kingdom will support this at all levels.
The PROMISE II project, according to Robert Abenaitwe, CAO of Hoima district, comes at a time when people need to be reminded about better ways and approaches to positive living, and that the use of family planning and the fight against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is the way to go now.
“The project will go a long way toward resolving issues of family planning and sexual and gender-based violence for men and women in the Hoima district,” Abenaitwe said, adding that “pregnancy should be by choice, not by chance or force, as it is currently happening in the Hoima district.”
According to Jackson Chekweko, RHU Executive Director, women and young people face a variety of challenges as a result of not making the right choices about their bodies and sexual behavior, including unsafe abortions, fights, forced pregnancies, rape, maternal deaths, living on the streets, hunger, diseases, and school dropouts.
” We will take a wholistic approach to address these issues in a diverse manner for all at work, in communities, and at homes,” Chekweko said.
Badru Mugabe, Hoima Resident District Commissioner (RCC), urged all stakeholders and partners in the PROMISE II project to consider issues affecting young people who were born into this world by mistake and have not had the opportunity to receive sound advice on reproductive health and rights.
“Vulnerable youths are eager and ambitious to address issues of sexual reproductive health and rights.”
“They must be educated in order to avoid a population explosion that will have a negative impact on our environment, water, land, and forests in the Hoima district,” Mugabe said.
Rosemary Nsimenta, Hoima District Health Educator, says the mode of communication about SRHR issues among vulnerable and underserved populations should be more proactive, something which Katushabe Kubra, RHU Hoima branch Chairperson, agrees with.
“The SRHR information should reach out to a young person, woman, or man whose sexual reproductive health and rights are abused, and this will empower them to live better lives,” Katushabe and Nsimenta said.
According to Nazareth Kabagenyi, Hoima district ADHO, the district’s teen pregnancy rate is 26.2%. Last year, 51 mothers died while giving birth, and 30 babies die at birth every month. This and other issues should be addressed with the help of PROMISE II project partners. According to Richard Mugenyi, PROMISE II project Coordinator, the four-year project will focus on employment and inclusion, climate change, sexual and gender-based violence, SRHR, and youth and key population programming. The project will be implemented by a consortium of six civil society organizations (CSOs), which include RHU, CEHURD, RAHU, FUE, WWF, and HRAPF).
According to George Tamale, a Workplace Health Specialist at the Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE), the PROMISE II project is designed to address workplace health issues, particularly SRHR and SGBV.
We urge private-sector managers to “support and provide a conducive environment for employees during the implementation of the PROMISE II project for improved workplace productivity.” Tamale said.
The Lord Mayor of Hoima City, Brian Kaboyo, is optimistic that with improved health services, the people of Hoima City will live a better life as a result of the PROMISE III project.
The implementation will be largely executed in the Hoima district, with some extensions to Kagadi, Rubirizi, and Kasese districts for the climate change component. At the PROMISE II project launch held at Hoima Resort Hotel, the leadership of the Hoima district, including political and technical teams, CSOs, and cultural, religious, and other opinion leaders.