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This programme addresses critical challenges faced by young women around sexual health and sexuality. It has produced a range of advocacy, education and informational materials to support research, awareness-raising, advocacy and service delivery.    Girls Decide is about the sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women. Around the world, girls aged 10 to 19 account for 23% of all disease associated with pregnancy and childbirth. An estimated 2.5 million have unsafe abortions every year. Worldwide, young women account for 60% of the 5.5 million young people living with HIV and/or AIDS. Girls Decide has produced a range of advocacy, education and informational materials to support work to improve sexual health and rights for girls and young women. These include a series of films on sexual and reproductive health decisions faced by 6 young women in 6 different countries. The films won the prestigious International Video and Communications Award (IVCA). When girls and young women have access to critical lifesaving services and information, and when they are able to make meaningful choices about their life path, they are empowered. Their quality of life improves, as does the well-being of their families and the communities in which they live. Their collective ability to achieve internationally agreed development goals is strengthened. Almost all IPPF Member Associations provide services to young people and 1 in every 3 clients is a young person below the age of 25. All young women and girls are rights-holders and are entitled to sexual and reproductive rights. As a matter of principle, the IPPF Secretariat and Member Associations stand by girls by respecting and fulfilling their right to high quality services; they stand up for girls by supporting them in making their own decisions related to sexuality and pregnancy; they stand for sexual and reproductive rights by addressing the challenges faced by young women and girls at local, national and international levels.

Bukulu Abubaker is a 25-year-old Population Studies graduate from Makerere University in Uganda. He has been a volunteer with Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) for three years now, participating in hundreds of community mobilization activities. In this post, Bukulu talks about how COVID-19 restrictions have affected young people, and how he has continued to engage in volunteer opportunities during this time. “When the COVID-19 restrictions were imposed in our country, it left many young people stranded about where to get their regular information and services on sexual reproductive health and rights. Before this, many young people could easily walk into youth-friendly health facilities such as those at Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) and get a wide range of services tailored to their needs. However, following the restrictions, some young people ended up being ‘locked down’ with their abusers, and which contributed to the increased cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), child marriages and teenage pregnancies. As a result of this, you will find that many young girls may not be able to go back to school once the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. During this period of the pandemic, as a volunteer I’ve still been able to contribute significantly to RHU. I have participated in several e-conferences and webinars on youth and SRHR during crisis times, which have increased my understanding on the topic. I have then shared this new information on different social media platforms. I have also been involved in developing messages for social media dissemination that have reached many Ugandan youth and empowered them to make healthy choices.   When some of the lockdown measures were eased following the Ministry of Health Standard Operating Procedures, I was part of the team of young people who mobilized youth in Jinja to seek services from the health camps that were organized by various organizations, among them RHU which was offering SRH services. Currently, I’m working with the RHU COVID-19 task force team to prevent the spread of the virus among the clients we serve. I’m charged with undertaking communication campaigns, and this includes developing posters and messages for social media publication.” For more information about the work of IPPF Africa Region, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Women sexual and reproductive health (SRH) champions in Uganda are leading efforts to protect women and girls from sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. As women leaders, they are uniquely placed to be agents change – working to break the silence and stigma around SGBV; changing harmful attitudes and behaviour; and promoting women’s and children’s rights. They are also well known and respected in their respective communities in Hoima (western region), Arua (northern region) and Kapchorwa (western region), so victims of abuse and domestic violence feel comfortable and safe turning to them for help. As in many other countries across the continent, Uganda has seen a significant rise in incidences of rape, defilement, and intimate partner violence since the government issued strict lockdown measures to contain the outbreak of COVID-19. The issue attracted national attention, when at the height of the lockdown in early May, President Yoweri Museveni in a televised address expressed his dismay at the increasing cases of domestic violence against women and children. The 113 SRH champions who include women pressure group leaders and peer educators were trained by IPPF’s member association in Uganda -Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU), on SGBV, women’s and children’s rights and how to support survivors in their communities. Through their networks, the champions identify and reach out to women and girls encountering physical, sexual and psychological violence, and support them by linking them to health facilities for care, counselling and psychosocial support, as well as to the police and legal services for redress. RHU provides the champions with airtime for their phones so that they can keep in touch and follow-up with the survivors of abuse and help them in their healing process. They also receive SMS and distress calls from victims of abuse at night, and many have had to provide them with temporary accommodation as they tried to resolve the conflicts in their relationships. The member association also facilitates talks shows with local radio stations – Radio Hoima (in Hoima), Elgon FM Radio 94.5 (in Kapchorwa) and Access Broadcasting FM (in Arua) where the champions engage in discussions around strategies for preventing domestic violence in their communities. They discuss the root causes of SGBV, its harmful consequences and the importance of promoting women’s and children’s rights. They also emphasize the crucial role of involving men in preventing GBV and the need for positive role models for men and boys in the community. Some of common topics covered during the radio shows include:  gender roles and division of labour in the home during the lockdown; the needs and rights of children; where to access GBV services during the pandemic; family planning and where they can get sexual reproductive health services during the lockdown. The talk shows are participatory and very popular with the audiences dialing in and asking questions. For more information about the work of IPPF Africa Region, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Olgah Daphynne Namukuza is a young volunteer with our Member Association in Uganda - Reproductive Health Uganda. She also holds various leadership positions within IPPF; she is the youth representative in the IPPF Africa Region Executive Committee, and is also an IPPF Governing Council member. What inspired Olgah to become a volunteer? What has she gained from being a volunteer? What have been her contributions as a young leader? What is her encouragement to other young people who wish to have meaningful impact in their community? In this video, Olgah tells it all. If you are young person and would like to join the Youth Action Movement, see where we work and get in touch. You can also reach us through @YAM Africa Story by Maryanne W. Waweru, Governance and Compliance Officer, IPPF Africa Region

Olgah Daphynne Namukuza is a young volunteer with our Member Association in Uganda - Reproductive Health Uganda. She also holds various leadership positions within IPPF; she is the youth representative in the IPPF Africa Region Executive Committee, and is also an IPPF Governing Council member. What inspired Olgah to become a volunteer? What has she gained from being a volunteer? What have been her contributions as a young leader? What is her encouragement to other young people who wish to have meaningful impact in their community? In this video, Olgah tells it all. If you are young person and would like to join the Youth Action Movement, see where we work and get in touch. You can also reach us through @YAM Africa Story by Maryanne W. Waweru, Governance and Compliance Officer, IPPF Africa Region

23-year-old Ambrose Akanyihayo is a university student and the Youth Action Movement (YAM) Chairperson in our Member Association in Uganda. YAM is the youth arm of IPPF Africa Region’s volunteer body based within the Member Associations (MAs). In this article, Ambrose sheds light on his experiences as a youth volunteer with Reproductive Health Uganda.  "I joined the Youth Action Movement (YAM) in 2014. At that time, I was a Senior 6 student undertaking a volunteer internship program at Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU). During that period, I got to learn a lot about RHU’s work with young people, including how the organization, through its clinics and outreach programs, provides sexual reproductive health information and services to them. I was impressed by how these services were provided in such a friendly manner, which made us (young people) feel comfortable. At RHU, I got to learn more about the role that youth peer educators play in creating impact in the communities they serve. This they did by being members of the Youth Action Movement (YAM). During my internship, I was involved in writing articles for a youth magazine. While researching on the articles -which included interviewing adolescents and young people, I noted that there was so much that RHU volunteer peer educators were doing in the local neighborhoods. They would take their outreaches to schools, churches, sports grounds and other places where young people frequently hang out. I noticed that the volunteer peer educators were so passionate about what they were doing. It was so refreshing to see how committed they were in helping other young people gain information about their reproductive health. Inspired by their work, I decided to be a part of this winning team. That is when I joined YAM. Being a YAM member entails helping fellow youth gain the necessary information to help them make decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. It is about referring them for youth-friendly health services, with the assurance that they will be well-attended to. I am happy that all RHU clinics across the country offer youth-friendly services. What Volunteering with RHU Means to Me Being a YAM member is giving of oneself to helping other young people stay healthy. It is about service to my community. It is also about being a role model to fellow youth; inspiring them to change their behavior. For me, voluntarism, through YAM, is about creating change in the community especially among young people. It motivates me to know that a young person's life can change for the better just by the information we give them. Being a youth volunteer is also about being the voice of the voiceless; speaking on behalf of those who cannot speak. I have learnt about advocacy by virtue of being in YAM.  My network has also grown, as being in YAM has helped me meet and closely interact with hundreds of other youth -both in and out of Uganda. We are all committed to a common goal as we share our diverse experiences and learn a lot from each other. We are all determined to be changemakers in our communities. You will be amazed at how fellow peers can build you! I have found that being a YAM member also means learning something new everyday. We learn a lot about different aspects of reproductive health, including about new information on HIV and AIDS. RHU is committed to building our skills as young people and continues to offer us various capacity building opportunities with this regard.  My engagement as a volunteer and the experiences I continue to gain are invaluable to me as a young person looking to shape the future of my country. YAM, is indeed, a worthwhile initiative and I am glad to be a young volunteer with Reproductive Health Uganda. I encourage all other young people to join the movement as well!" Story by Maryanne W. Waweru, Governance and Compliance Officer, IPPF Africa Region. If you are young person and would like to join the Youth Action Movement, see where we work and get in touch. You can also connect through @YAM Africa Connect with Reproductive Health Uganda through the following platforms: Website: www.rhu.or.ug Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhuganda Twitter: https://twitter.com/RHUganda For more information about the work of IPPF Africa Region, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. 

The uptake of family planning campaigns in Uganda have been affected by various factors, as highlighted in this news item by NTV Uganda.

My name is Enid Kajura from Karago, Bukuku in Uganda. I am 46 years old. For a long time, I had been experiencing irregular vaginal bleeding, discharge and lower abdominal pains which greatly worried me. I then decided to go to a local health center where the nurse suggested that I undergo a screening test for cervical cancer, which I did. I cannot begin to explain how I felt when I was informed that the tests were positive. I almost collapsed, thinking that I now had to have my uterus removed. The uterus is the essense of a woman’s being, so I didn’t know what would become of me if it was removed. I was then referred to Mulago Hospital for further treatment, but this only compounded my problems because I did not have any money to get there from my home. All I could do was cry and pray. Two days later, and after composing myself, I decided to go to Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) because I had heard that they offere cervical cancer treatment. There, I met helpful nurses who took me through some treatment regimen. They asked me to return after six weeks, which I did. By this time, the discharge I had been experiencing before had stopped, and this made me very hopeful. When the nurses confirmed to me that my health was indeed improving, I went through mixed emotions. I wasn’t sure whether to cry, laugh or just stare at the nurse. For some reason, I found it hard to believe that I was getting better. This is because I had heard of women who had died of cancer even after they had accessed treatment in big hospitals, so at at the back of my mind I had been fearing that my days were numbered too.  But the nurses at RHU counselled me and told me that I was lucky because I had sought treatment at an early stage. The nurses told me that most of the cases of people who succumb to cancer are those whose cancers were detected at a late stage when it was already too late –even for the best of treatments. The nurses told me to make sure I told my friends back home about the importance of cervical cancer screening for women –regardless of whether they are feeling sick or not, as this would help detect any precancourous cells and consequently help them access treatment and eventually save their lives.   The nurses gave me an appointment for one year later and by the time I went, the vaginal bleeding and lower abdominal pains had stopped long before then. I was now living a comfortable life as a woman. When the nurses told me that I was well, I was overjoyed and I have since been spreading the gospel of early detection through cervical screening. But you know what is even better? The fact that my uterus is still intact!   Thank you RHU!

Gertrude Mugala is a teacher in Fort Portal town, western Uganda. While Gertrude considered herself fairly knowledgable about cancer, she had never thought of taking a screening test or imagined herself ever having the disease. That was until she one day chanced on a radio announcement urging women to go for cervical cancer screening at a Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) clinic. “The radio presenter was talking about cervical cancer and in her message, she encouraged all women to get screened. I decided to go and try it out,” she says. Gertrude then made her way to RHU's Fort Portal Branch clinic for the free cervical cancer screening. There, she met Ms. Irene Kugonza, an RHU service provider. Together with other women, Ms. Kugonza educated them about cervical cancer and the importance of routine screening. The women then took the cervical cancer test. But Gertrude's results were not as she expected. The news was not good. Gertrude was found to have pre-cancerous cells in her cervix. The good news however was that it was at the pre-cancerous cell stage, and with the right intervention, it did not have to develop into cancer. Cervcial cancer is treatable if detected early and appropriate medical interventions undertaken. “I was so shaken when I was told I had pre-cancerous cells. I did not know what was happening and I didn’t believe what I was hearing. I had no idea that along, while I thought I was healthy, I was actually harbouring a potential killer disease in me. What would have happened if I didn’t go for the screening? If I hadn't heard the radio announcement?” Gertrude was then referred for cryotherapy, which is a treatment for precancerous lesions. This method involves freezing abnormal tissues with a probe - cooled by liquid nitrous oxide or carbondioxide. It has an overall effectiveness rate of 80-90 percent in women with suitable lesions. Cryotherapy is inexpensive, does not require electricity, and is practical for low-resource settings. It has been safely performed by nurses and other non-physicians in low level facilities and at the primary care level. “Following cryotherapy, I am now in the process of healing, and I am supposed to go back for review after three months,” Gertrude says. Today, Gertrude advocates cervical cancer screening in her community. She talks to women about cancer, especially cancer of the cervix at her workplace, at the market, in meetings and any other opportunity she gets. “I decided to let women know that cervical cancer is real and it is here with us, and that it kills. At the moment those are the platforms I have and I will continue educating women about cancer and encourage them to go for routine testing. I am also happy that I was near my radio that day, where I heard that announcment encouraging all women to get tested for cervical cancer. It might be because of that radio announcement that I am here today,” she says. Cervical cancer is one of the two most common causes of cancer-related deaths in Uganda. According to Uganda’s health ministry, more than 3,500 women are diagnosed each year with cancer, with more than 2,400 dying from a disease that is preventable and curable when detected early. RHU has accelerated access to services such as cervical cancer screens in response to this growing need. Story by RHU and Maryanne W. Waweru, IPPF Africa Region