KAMPALA, Uganda, 06 December, 2022: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, through the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Uganda and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Uganda have today signed an agreement to the tune of
The three-year project is called “My Body, My Life, My World-Empowering Young girls and women to decide over their own bodies and to ensure universal access to comprehensive adolescent and youth friendly SRHR information and services”. Termed ‘EYE universal SRHR’, the project will be implemented by UNFPA together with Marie Stopes Uganda and CARE International in two high-SRHR burdened districts of Kamuli and Mayuge in Eastern Uganda.
The primary target beneficiaries are in- and out-of-school young people aged 10-24 years, comprising about 70 percent female and 30 percent male. The secondary target beneficiaries include the people and structures that directly or indirectly influence the lives of the targeted young people, including parents, caregivers, community health volunteers, political, religious, cultural and community leaders, health care providers, teachers, district sectoral leads and policy makers.
“The project’s goal is to ensure that every adolescent and youth in the selected districts, especially those left furthest behind, have access to integrated sexual and reproductive health and rights information and services and exercise reproductive rights, free of coercion, discrimination, and violence. This will positively impact on reducing unintended pregnancies, teenage pregnancies, HIV infections and maternal deaths. This will also empower adolescents and young people to make informed sexual and reproductive health choices,” said UNFPA Representative Dr. Otieno.
The EYE universal SRHR will collaborate with strategic government partners such as the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Sports, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and other strategic partners.
H.E Elin Østebo Johansen, the Norwegian Ambassador said, “Many young people in Uganda lack the knowledge they need to make responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. It makes them vulnerable to violence, child marriage and unplanned teenage pregnancy. Norway is committed to supporting Uganda to achieve its goals of reducing child marriage and teenage pregnancies through access to SRHR services.”
In Uganda, teenage pregnancies occur among one quarter of adolescents, half of which are unintended. Up to 27 percent of teenage girls aged 15-19 in rural areas have begun childbearing, compared to 19 percent in urban areas, mainly driven by child marriages and inequitable access to family planning information and services. These high levels of teenage pregnancy correlate strongly with the high rates of child marriage, defilement, commercial sexual exploitation, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS, and high fertility and rapid population growth. Addressing these challenges is one way to ensuring the rights and choices of girls and young people.
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About UNFPA
UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled and expand the possibilities for women and young people to live healthy and productive lives.
About Marie Stopes Uganda (MSU)
MSU has worked in Uganda for over 30 years to provide high-quality contraception, family planning and sexual reproductive health services for every client that walks through our doors. Our focus is on ensuring all women and men, regardless of their background, can choose to have children when they want. Operational in Uganda since 1999, MSU Uganda is an affiliate of Marie Stopes International (MSI).
About CARE International
CARE International’s vision is to seek a world of hope, inclusion, and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and all people live in dignity and security. Our mission is to work around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty, and achieve social justice.
For media and interview enquiries:
UNFPA UGANDA: Evelyn Matsamura Kiapi, Programme Analyst Communications and Media, Tel: +256 772 516818. Email: kiapi@unfpa.org
EMBASSY OF NORWAY IN UG
