The Japanese Ambassador Kazuki Kameda and Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations, and Chief of the Consulate of Japan in Geneva Mitsuko Shino visited Adjumani refugee settlement, September 6-7.

The Ambassador and his entourage visited projects funded by the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) in Arua and Adjumani districts. In Adjumani, site visits were made to a rice plantation ran by the refugee and host community.  The Ambassadors also visited Dzaipi Secondary School where JICA funded construction of a science laboratory. Present were staff of various agencies working in the humanitarian sector including UNHCR, UNDP, WFP, JICA UNFPA and ACORD.

Giving remarks at Dzaipi Secondary School in Pagirinya Refugee settlement, His Excellency Kazuki Kameda commended the youth group for using drama to send a powerful message on preventing gender based violence and teenage pregnancies. This was after One Heart Pagirinya Group performed a drama on ending teenage pregnancies, with the plot being a female student impregnated and infected with HIV by a teacher.

Through partner ACORD, UNFPA provides support to One Heart Pagirinya Group, consisting of thirteen young people aged 10-14 years.  The group uses community drama as one of the channels through which messages on prevention of gender-based violence and associated consequences are disseminated.

 In humanitarian settings, due to increased exposure to forced sex, increased risk taking and reduced availability and sensitivity of adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) services, risks of pregnancy and HIV infection are high among adolescents.

Family and social structures are often disrupted, and educational and social services are discontinued. Adolescents can become sexually active when few protective services are available, and girls especially are vulnerable to sexual assault and exploitation. Such risks increase their vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion.

In 2016, UNFPA supported the establishment of 17 youth spaces in refugee settlements across Uganda. Here, 131 peer educators were trained in gender-based violence prevention and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights; these  in turn reached over 100,000 young people with information.