By Bazio Doreen.

Authorities in Adjumani District are concerned about the rising cases of HIV infections among young people especially adolescents. Records at the District Health Office reveal a concerning rise in new HIV infections among the population in Adjumani District from 2021 to 2024 with young people disproportionately affected.

New HIV cases among the population in Adjumani district increased from 327 in 2021 to 437 in 2024, marking a 33.6% rise over four years. The young people in Adjumani district account for over 40% of the new HIV infections.

Worse still, according to records District Health Office captured between January and March 2025, six new HIV infections among adolescents (10-19 years) were registered with one yet to be linked to HIV care. This underscores the urgent need for intensified Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) interventions to curb this trend. 

According to Inyani Mane Dolorence, the District HIV Focal Person, several factors contribute to the rising HIV incidence among youth in the district including: limited access to comprehensive SRHR education; inadequate youth-friendly health services; and socio-economic challenges such as poverty and unemployment increase vulnerability.

He also adds that stigma and misconceptions around HIV and sexual health discourage young people from seeking testing and treatment services.

“Adjumani’s youthful population, coupled with many vulnerabilities, creates a critical environment where HIV transmission can escalate if not addressed promptly. The increase in new HIV infections highlights the gaps in effective outreach, counselling, and provision of preventive tools such as condoms and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PEP),” Inyani observed.

Indeed some of the Adolescent Friendly corners at some health facilities are dilapidated and now other rooms/space is being improvised to encourage young people to access SRHR services. This is concerning because teenage pregnancies in Adjumani increased by 1% in March 2025.

The Teenage pregnancy rate among nationals increased from 15.6% in financial year 2023/2024 to 16.3% in financial year 2024/2025. Data at the District Health Office also indicates that the teenage pregnancy rate in financial year 2020/2021 was 14.4%.

Irama Steven Leku, an Enrolled Nurse and Adolescent Focal Person at Pagirinya I HC III, says that the Adolescent Friendly Corner has become so dilapidated that it can’t accommodate patients and fulfil their needs.

“Our Adolescent Corner has since become so open. It is now the poles that are remaining. There is no privacy. People can see whoever has come in and even sometimes predict what might have brought them to the facility. For now we are improvising the breast feeding corner but this is not sustainable. Most of our clients are refugees. Their culture doesn’t shun teenage pregnancy but they need protection from stigma that can be exerted by the host communities,” Leku explained.

In affirmation, Dipio Frances, Senior Social Welfare and Probation Officer, also observes that having a comfortable space for an Adolescent Friendly Corner is key because many young people are still afraid to speak up about their SRHR problems.

“Many young expectant mothers find it difficult to open up when they are in OPD. They prefer corners. Unfortunately, World Food Program has stopped its NutriCash program, it used to map even those who fear to come to the health facility so as to receive the supplementary feeding support. We are aware that many now have aborted due the halt,” Dipio observed.

The increase in HIV is also being linked to Gender Based Violence (GBV). This is worrying because Sexual violence can lead to HIV infection directly, as trauma increases the risk of transmission. More importantly, GBV increases HIV risk indirectly. Victims of childhood sexual abuse are more likely to be HIV positive, and to have high risk behaviors. This sometimes is due to the SRHR challenges faced by health facilities.

Meanwhile, the district finds it hard to harmonize GBV data. This is because of the multisectoral duty bearers involved; different reporting lines for partners and conflicting GBV registers at the health facility.

Steven Tako, Ofua HC III Facility In charge, says that some implementing partners want the health facilities to capture GBV data in separate registers other than the one provided by government as as a result, some cases remain unresolved.

“We have conflicting registers at the health facility. The partners need to adopt the one of government so that we harmonize our reporting system. It is also worth noting that a lot of GBV cases that are reported to police are not resolved,” Tako explained.

However efforts have been made to streamline interventions on SRHR. The District recently commissioned a 20 member Committee for Adolescent Health (DICAH).  This is in line with a District Local Action plan (2025 -2030) that seeks to reduce GBV from 27% to 17% within the next five years targeting 9,135 beneficiaries. However, the DICAH is also charged with resolving all SRHR issues.

For adolescents and young people specially, some capacity building trainings have been done between January to March 2025. However, the targets are yet to be met. Only 12 out of 60 Primary School teachers trained, 8 out of 21 Secondary School teachers trained, 40 out of 44 Health In charges trained, 40 out of 120 senior men/women teachers trained, 720 out of 1800 in school peer educators trained, and 110 out of 592 out of school peer educators trained. Through these efforts, over 11,851 adolescents and young persons have been reached with SRHR information and referred to the nearest health facilities.

Although this is encouraging, Inyani, observes that the district and its SRHR partners still have more to do to empower young people through socio –economic programs that can help them overcome risky behaviors.

“We must create an enabling environment where young people feel supported and informed to make safer sexual health choices. We need to strengthen youth-friendly health services to offer confidential, stigma-free HIV testing, counselling, and treatment,” said Inyani.

The DICAH was commissioned with support from Right to Play (RTP) under the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) program. Funded by Global Affairs Canada, the SHARE project is being implemented by a consortium led by Right to Play, in partnership with WaterAid, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and FHI 360. The 5 year program ending in March 2026 seeks to empower 325,000 adolescents and youth aged 10-24, particularly girls and young women, both in and out of school, to demand better sexual and reproductive health care through a gender-transformative and rights-based approach.

In Adjumani, the SHARE Project is being implemented in 66 Primary schools, 8 Secondary Schools, 43 Health Centres and through four 30 member mentorship cohorts. These all target young people between 10 -24 years.

END.

Access to medical care at Arua Main Prison Health Center III is now being hampered by the increased security measures at Arua Main Prison.

The Arua Main Prison Health Center III has long offered vital medical services, having been established as a public health center to assist both prisoners and the local population soon after Arua Main Prison was built in 1930.

However, regular security measures, a lack of public knowledge of the facility’s existence, and other circumstances have led to the public’s underutilization of it.

Authorities implemented stricter security measures throughout the prison grounds in response to growing concerns about smuggling and disturbances. These included heightened patrols, stringent limitations on movement, and thorough security inspections at every point of entry.

Although these precautions were taken to keep the staff and prisoners safe, they unintentionally interfered with the health center’s regular operations because they are housed in the same property.

According to conversations with medical staff at Arua Main Prison Health Center III, the facility is completely functional, stocked with enough medications, and outfitted with diagnostic equipment for conditions like diabetes, HIV, TB, malaria, ulcers, and more. The usage is still low in spite of this.

According to Sharon Munduru, who at the time of writing brought her child with a fever, cough, and illness, the facility’s services are quick and easy to access, and the medical staff is friendly and accommodating to patients.

Because we live close to prisons, Munduru explained, “you find a lot of people at Police Health Center III. For us, we just come here and it’s just a matter of carrying your national ID to enter from the gate. Their services are very fast, easy, and you can’t go without having your medication.”

Records from the facility reveal that, on average, about 700 patients with various illnesses are registered weekly. Of these, approximately 100 patients come from outside the prison community this is primarily due to fears related to data collection and security checks conducted by security personnel.

The most common ailments seen at the outpatient department include respiratory tract infections, peptic ulcers, tuberculosis, malaria, and diabetes.

Hellen Dejang, Enrolled Nurse at the facility they conduct variety of services including immunization campaigns, Nutritional assessments, General body checkups Antenatal Serveries though they don’t conduct deliveries due to inadequate space, other services including Family planning and Reproductive Health services, Maternal Child Health services and emergency care.

The facility receives supplies from National Medical Stores, Joint Medical Stores and equally from General stores of Uganda Prisons Services in Luzira. It has variety of equipments in the laboratory including the Gene expert Machines, SD4 count Machines, Microscopes, Diabetes Machine, Afino Machine with exception of the CBC-Complete Blood Count Machine and Chemical Analysis Machine whose services are sort from either Oli Health Center III or Arua Regional Referral Hospital.

SP Herbert Muhangi, the Officer in Charge of Arua Main Prison, stated that the security protocols are designed to maintain order and safety, given that the health facility is situated within a secure installation.

“The nature of the Health Facility is situated under a Security institution, so perhaps you have to adhere to the security protocols that are in place, we only require proper identification,, and we register you, usher you in, and serve you. The challenge we have is when you ask some people about their national Identity Cards for identification, they don’t just turn away any other identification, so we get challenged on how to really manage security and this person who is a stranger. If the general public could carry any form of identification, we are good to go.” Muhangi said

The facility is staffed by 16 personnel and primarily serves the catchment areas of Kenya and Awindiri Wards in Arua City.

By Bazio Doreen.

About 85 selected health workers in Adjumani District have been trained on a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) improvement tool for Health Facilities.

The training was to enhance the knowledge and skills of the health workers to effectively collect, analyze, manage and utilize infection, prevention and control (IPC) data to identify trends and assess the efficacy of interventions to make informed decisions to contribute to enhancing public health and safety through improved WASH.

The training featured 2 health workers from each of the 44 health facilities in Adjumani and took place at Dubai Resort from Monday 28^th July 2025 to Friday 8^th August 2025. Each weekly cohort had at least 40 health workers – a move that was done so as to minimize Human Resource gaps at the Health Centres during the training period. The health workers included: Facility in charges, nurses, Clinical Officers, Doctors, mid wives, Health Assistants and Health Inspectors.  

Participants are now expected to bi-annually assess, identify and evaluate WASH gaps at their facilities and thereafter develop or update their WASH improvement plans until such a time when all the gaps have been fixed.

According to Onen David Livingstone, the SHARE Project Officer – WaterAid, the facilities are supported to categorize their gaps according to risk and resolve them conclusively and sustainably in the long run.

“We want them to have a WASH improvement plan with a clear strategy showing those that pose either high or low risk. Some of the issues can be easily resolved using PHC or RBF dependent on capacity. We support the facilities to track progress and consolidate sustainability of their prevention and control measures,” Onen explained.

Onen also said that this is done to ensure that patients get the highest possible quality of care and an enabling environment for recovering when they visit health facilities. Onen also said that WASH is not only critical in Infection Prevention and Control but also health care in general including Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR).

 “When you go to a health facility and there is no water, as a client, you will run away. We want the right holders like Adolescent to feel comfortable when they visit the medical facility. For example a girl should be able to comfortably change her sanitary towel,” Onen explained.

The WASH improvement tool focuses on seven domains of: water, hand hygiene, management, sanitation, energy, waste management, and environment. Participants in each cohort visited selected 8 health facilities chosen on random, which were used as reference points for making draft WASH improvement plans and group presentations.

In his presentation, Dima Felix, the Health In charge at Ajugopi HC II, also observed that some of his counter parts were just acting negligent as some of the gaps or challenges didn’t need a training or a meeting to resolve.

“At some of our facilities, we have these WASH equipment but we are reluctant to utilize them. Some of the challenges don’t need a lot of money to resolve for example lighting in our WASH facilities, installing mosquito nets, cleaning our toilets and doing peer to peer training,” Dima advised his fellow participants.

In affirmation, Okia Bosco, the Public Health Inspector at the Ministry of Health, who was the lead trainer, urged the participants to constitute a WASH Facility Improvement Team so that the task becomes a shared responsibility.

“It shouldn’t be business as usual. This is serious. We have identified our own challenges and we should commit to resolve them. 80% of the challenges we have identified don’t even require money. You just need to have in place a WASH FIT team that is clear of their roles and responsibilities,” Bosco said.  

On his part, Edema Richard Draciri, the Principal Chief Administrative Officer, emphasized disease prevention observing that it is more sustainable than cure/treatment. He explained that the medical supplies and drugs given by the Ministry of Health are inadequate and thus rallied the Health Inspectors and Health Assistants to double their efforts.

“What the Ministry of Health gives us is just a drop in the ocean. People now think that health workers steal drugs because of the frequent drug stock outs and high disease burden. So prevention is more sustainable. We need to reduce the number of people lining up for medicines. It is unfortunate that we have recruited more health assistants but the performance of WASH keeps deteriorating,” Edema observed.

Edema also informed the participants that resources to local governments are now allocated based the annual National Assessment by the Office of the Prime Minister adding that under Health, the WASH component is assessed and facilities to be visited are selected on random.  

Meanwhile, Onen, was concerned that most of the motorized water systems constructed with funding from UNICEF are now non-functional. He urged the district leadership to carry out a comprehensive assessment on the challenges and together with partners resolve them as some of them are beyond the capacity of the health facility managers.

The training also had the following recommendations: participants should mentor other staff and sensitize the Health Unit Management Committee on the WASH Facility Improvement Tool; integrate WASH and IPC committee for joint interventions; and task the District Health Team to use the tool in their periodic monitoring and support supervision.   

WaterAid is currently implementing the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) project in Uganda, with support from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) play a critical role in achieving Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) for women and girls, especially as it relates to personal health.

The five-year SHARE project that ends in 2026 seeks to advance gender equality and increase the enjoyment of health-related human rights by vulnerable right-holders, particularly adolescent girls and young women. Through SHARE, WaterAid has been partnering with the district to rehabilitate WASH systems in healthcare facilities including: installing hand washing units to prevent the spread of disease; restructuring sanitation facilities to ensure that toilets are inclusive and gender sensitive; training healthcare workers in healthcare facilities and in the community on WASH infection prevention and control; installing safe waste disposal systems; and training healthcare workers on proper waste management. 

END.

By Bazio Doreen.

Stakeholders in Adjumani District have tasked the District Leadership to reinforce Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) programs in schools to improve social behavioral change campaigns focusing on Adolescents.

The call was made during the Quarter 3 FY 2024/2025 Adolescent Health Coordination meeting at the District Council Hall on 3^rd July 2025 convened by the District leadership in Partnership with Right to Play, an NGO operating in the District.

The meeting was attended by district political and technical officers, representatives from Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and Area Managers of NGOs/partners implementing SRHR projects like Lutheran World Federation (LWF), CEFORD, Reach a Hand Uganda (RAHU), and Naguru Teenage Centre (NTC).

Where is the problem?

While addressing the meeting, Dima Robert, the District Education Officer, thanked the SHARE project partners for their interventions in schools especially on life skills and menstrual hygiene. He however added that while this has created some positive impact, there is a lot that still needs to be done because the knowledge gained was being misused especially in refugees’ schools in what he termed as “Hidden Curriculum”.

“Recently, we conducted a monitoring exercise together with the Ministry of Education and Sports and we were disappointed. Children are now having their own curriculum outside the classroom. When you enter the school toilets, you will find writings and drawings on the wall illustrating sex. Our children’s minds are now on sex even when in the classroom,” Dima revealed.

Dima is also worried that the writings don’t stay in the toilets alone but children go on to put the knowledge into practice.

“In some nearby bushes, you will find condoms. Some of them say it is the teachers that use them but we know that our teachers can do better than that,” Dima said in a worried tone.

The toilets don’t only have the ‘Hidden Curriculum’ but are largely dirty with some of them closed. This alone affects SRHR. But what then causes such errant behavior.

According to Lulu Henry Leku, the Assistant District Health Officer in charge of Maternal and Child Health, the errant behavior and vices are mainly due to drug abuse.

“We were told that young people these days use some medicine called ‘Sawu’. I hear that you may not need to smoke it. You can just put it in your socks and you get high,” Leku said in portraying shock and disbelief.

On the other hand, Idia Pauline, the District Focal Person for Reproductive Health, also observed that focus group discussions for the SRHR school programs have become irrelevant and there is a need to promote individual talks with each pupil or student.

“When you talk to the Adolescents in a group. They never pay attention. Some students think that the health clubs are for promoting sex. When you talk to them, they only ask questions related to sex,” Idia revealed.

What can be done?

Dr. Nabwiire Justine, who represented the Ministry of Health, rallied all the stakeholders to play their part because issues of adolescents and young people are multi sectoral in nature and need everyone’s input. She also noted that many families desist to report defilement and rape because they want to protect their family reputation. She also added that providing contraceptives is not enough, health education must always be given and in an appropriate manner.

“We receive Adolescents when things have gone so bad. There is a pregnancy, Gender Based Violence, abortion, rape or defilement. So it takes a lot of boldness to speak up about such things. Many families are never ready for the challenge. Schools are under the Ministry of Education and therefore the District Education Office needs to do more. It is not enough to provide contraceptives. You must educate the young people on not just how to use them and why to use them but the consequences of doing so just like any other user,” Dr. Nabwiire said.

On his part, Dennis Kibwola, the SHARE Project Technical Advisor from FHI 360, said there is a need to strengthen the District Committee on Adolescent Health and partners need to commit resources to address the challenges. At school level, Dennis said there is a need to limit what is discussed in biology class and integrate it with SRHR and teachers must also be empowered to address psychosocial needs of teenagers. He also tasked the District Education Officer to write to all schools about the findings and the recommendations of the meeting.

Stakeholders also agreed that support supervision, inspection and monitoring in schools should be strengthened, and the out dated Education ordinance reviewed to achieve the required positive shift in social behavior of young people especially those in school.

The meeting was convened under the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) program, funded by Global Affairs Canada, and being implemented by a consortium led by Right to Play, in partnership with WaterAid, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and FHI 360. The 5 year program ending in March 2026 seeks to empower 325,000 adolescents and youth aged 10-24, particularly girls and young women, both in and out of school, to demand better sexual and reproductive health care through a gender-transformative and rights-based approach.

In Adjumani, the SHARE Project is being implemented in 66 Primary schools, 8 Secondary Schools, 43 Health Centres and through four 30 member mentorship cohorts. These all target young people between 10 -24 years.

END.

By Bazio Doreen.

Adjumani District in partnership with Right to Play (RTP) has commissioned a District Committee on Adolescent Health (DICAH) to strengthen coordination and collaboration between stakeholders and partners/NGOs implementing Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) programs in the district.

The committee was commissioned on 3^rd July 2025 during the Adolescent Health Quarterly Coordination meeting at the District Council Hall convened by the District leadership in Partnership with Right to Play, an NGO operating in the District.

While commissioning the 20 member committee, Hon. Irene Adrupio Appi, the Secretary for Finance who represented the District Chairperson, appreciated RTP for supporting the district to set up and commission the DICAH which will strengthen the sustainability of SRHR interventions they are carrying out in the community and 66 Primary Schools. 

“Thank you Right to Play for helping the district to handle issues of adolescents. This committee is going to help us to do better monitoring and consolidation of how issues of adolescents are being handled,” Hon. Appi said.

On why the DICAH was formed, Atama Yunus, the District Biostatician, explained that there was a decline in the number of Adolescents seeking care at health centres. He said that while 11,851 adolescents were reached with SRHR information: Out Patient Department (OPD) attendance had reduced from 41,384 (July to September 2024) to 30,299 (January to March 2025); and visit of adolescent friendly corner reduced from 24,478 (July to September 2024), to 9,320 (January to March 2025). Of 3,084 adolescents tested for HIV/AIDs between July 2024 to July 2025, 6 were found to be positive.

Mane Dolorence, the District HIV Focal Person, observed that the DICAH needs to intervene that HIV outreaches targeting Adolescents and young people are strengthened. HIV new infections rose from 327 in FY 2021/2022 to 437 in FY 2024/25.

“HIV is now taking an Adolescent Face. We need to scale up SRHR interventions in places where adolescents are likely to have limited access to both services and knowledge,” Mane said.

However, Idia Pauline, the District Focal Person for Reproductive Health, said that health facilities and other stakeholders are now changing the way they handle issues of adolescents and this may see a positive shift in the statistics.

“We have now started making the IEC materials to have Adolescent Friendly language. We have also started improvising and designating Adolescent Friendly corners and agreeing with the clients on which days and the time we should attend to them,” Idia revealed.

Between January to March 2025, records at the District Health Office show that: 128 adolescents abused alcohol; 36 abused tobacco; 77 experienced Gender Based Violence; 73 did abortions and 1,231 accessed Family Planning methods.

The meeting was convened under the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) program, funded by Global Affairs Canada, and being implemented by a consortium led by Right to Play, in partnership with WaterAid, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and FHI 360. The 5 year program ending in March 2026 seeks to empower 325,000 adolescents and youth aged 10-24, particularly girls and young women, both in and out of school, to demand better sexual and reproductive health care through a gender-transformative and rights-based approach.

In Adjumani, the SHARE Project is being implemented in 66 Primary schools, 8 Secondary Schools, 43 Health Centres and through four 30 member mentorship cohorts. These all target young people between 10 -24 years.

END.

By Bazio Doreen—Adjumani District.

The Adjumani Water Supply and Sanitation Project is expected to revolutionize access to safe water and improve water and sanitation coverage in Adjumani Town Council, its surrounding sub-counties, and selected nearby refugee settlements.

The Project targets domestic use beneficiaries from the 2 Town Councils of Pakele and Adjumani, the 2 sub-counties of Pachara and Dzaipi, and the 3 refugee settlements of Nyumanzi, Olua, and Pagirinya, as well as selected institutions.

Funded by the World Bank, the project, which currently stands at 50% completion, is spearheaded by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) and forms an essential part of the Integrated Water Management and Development Project (IWMDP). The project is being executed by China Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC) at a cost of UGX 59.8 billion and is expected to end by September 2025.

The project encompasses the construction of a raw water intake of capacity 12,000 cubic meters per day on the River Nile; 8.8 km of Distribution Network with raw water transmission to the Mijale Water treatment plant; construction of a water treatment plant of capacity 4,000 cubic meters per day expandable to 8,000 cubic meters per day; 22 km of Distribution Network with transmission to the Mokolo master Balancing reservoir; drilling and developing 3 motorized boreholes in the refugee settlements of Nyumanzi, Olua, and Pagirinya; construction of a fecal sludge treatment plant of capacity 3.6 cubic meters per day in Amelo; and construction of 7 sanitation blocks across public places in Adjumani.

Izakare Richard Kareode, the District Water Officer, says that the project is going to increase the water coverage in Adjumani Town Council and other target locations from 95% to 100%. He also added that the water coverage and sanitation coverage across the district are likely to improve with the construction of the sanitation facilities, boreholes, and reservoirs in the target locations. 

“There is going to be a constant supply of water because the River Nile is surface water. We are currently depending on groundwater, which is affected by changes in the weather and makes pumping it difficult. This is also going to be good for those who have a tap but no tank. Even adding new members on the distribution network will now not affect supply to existing users,” Izakare explained. 

Indeed, Chandia Rose Mary, a resident of Adjumani Town Council, says that for a long time, there has been high demand for water, and yet the supply has been low, which is attributed to an increasing number of new users on the distribution network.

“Water supply in Adjumani Town has been inconsistent. There are moments where some parts even take days or weeks before they are connected back. This is because water sometimes becomes insufficient,” Chandia observed.

Izakare also observes that the project will improve sanitation and hygiene in homes as well as reduce transmission of waterborne diseases. According to records at the District Health Office, out of 50,373 households, 9,829 have no latrines, only 18,590 have improved latrines, 27,010 haven’t attained Open Defecation Free Status (ODF), and 4,665 still lack access to safe drinking water.

On his part, Jogo Titus, the Refugee Desk Officer—Office of the Prime Minister, Pakele, says that the rapid increase in the refugee population has placed immense pressure on the existing water infrastructure. He observed that the project will find a lasting solution and reduce reliance on unsafe water or distant water sources.

“The demand has outstripped supply. The systems we have put in place were not designed for such big numbers. Trekking long distances is not sustainable. Some people are forced to consume unsafe water because of the challenges in access to clean, safe water,” Jogo noted.

Meanwhile, according to Martin Orwiny, the NWSC Project Engineer, the boreholes are solar powered and high yielding, and also NWSC will provide security for the infrastructure they are putting in place to avoid any contamination or sabotage. Orwiny also says that the underground tunnels or pipes are safe and similar to those used in Europe.

“We are going to ensure that the pipes are safe and the water supply remains undisrupted. Imagine the insecurity that would be posed by exposing these pipes. NWSC will contract a private security company to guard all the facilities we are putting in place,” Orwiny revealed. 

As of May 30^th 2025, according to the Uganda Water Supply Atlas, Adjumani has 1,113 domestic water points. 46 of them have been non-functional for the last 5 years and are considered abandoned. Only 87% of water points in Adjumani Town Council are functional. Many of the water points are non-functional because of low yield, technical breakdown, poor water quality, nearby alternatives, and vandalism.

The raw water extraction point in Arra Village near River Nile

By Bazio Doreen—Adjumani District.

Adjumani District Local government has approved a UGX 49,372,995,000 budget for Financial Year 2025/2026 during its sixth ordinary council sitting held on Thursday, 29^th May 2025, at the District Council Hall.

This is down from the UGX 50,599,454,000/= budget for Financial Year 2024/2025 that ends on June 30th, 2025. The budget for the next financial year is based on the theme ‘Full monetization of Uganda’s economy through commercial agriculture, industrialization, expanding and broadening services, digital transformation, and market access.”

The sitting was chaired by Hon. Oloya Jackson Otim, the District Speaker, who reminded the Honorable District Councilors that the budget would be approved in line with the priorities in the District Development Plan IV.

“This is a mandatory meeting. I don’t expect a lot of debate and arguments because the budget is in line with what the district has prioritized in the next five years. I have been informed that the first draft of the DDP IV has been submitted to NPA,” Hon. Oloya informed the Honorable Councilors.

While presenting the budget estimates, Hon. Adrupio Irene Appi, the Secretary for Finance, informed the Honorable councilors that the Education and Health sectors will take a lion’s share in the budget. She highlighted the budget estimates for the departments as UGX 17,235,859,847/= for Education, UGX 17,147,219,823/= for Health, UGX 6,317,961,637/= for Administration, UGX 530,925,700/= for Finance, UGX 756,349,677/= for Council and Statutory Bodies, UGX 2,362,606,707/= for Production and Marketing, UGX 1,729,145,000/= for Roads and Engineering, UGX 685,125,239/= for Water, UGX 698,570,742/=, UGX 976,333,639/= for Community Based Services, UGX 677,353,913/= for Planning, UGX 109,360,698/= for Internal Audit, and UGX 146,188,340/= for Trade, Industry, and Local Economic Development. The district also plans to utilize UGX 3,087,554,487/= to recruit staff to fill 166 positions

Hon. Adrupio also said that the total budget would be financed through UGX 2,647,558,000/= from Locally Raised Revenues, UGX 3,958,787,000/= from discretionary government transfers, UGX 37,954,950,000/= from conditional government transfers, UGX 941,537,000/= from other government transfers, and UGX 3,870,163,000/= from external financing. She further noted that the resource envelope was mainly attributed to a reduction in external financing.

“Mr. Speaker, our budget has mainly been reduced due to the closure of projects like DRDIP, and USMID-AF. UNHCR has also reduced its budget to the district by 20%,” Hon. Adrupio said.

On his part, Hon. Anyama Ben, the District Chairperson, refuted claims that the district wouldn’t benefit from USMID-AF II, because of delays in the road construction in Adjumani Town Council by Rock Trust Contractors Limited.

“The USMID-AF road in Adjumani Town Council is progressing well and will be completed soon. The last option is already being worked on. Let me see what else you will say when the road is complete and phase II commences,” Hon. Anyama said.

Hon. Anyama also informed the Speaker that the district leadership is investigating claims that roadblocks have been set up in Itirikwa, Ukusijoni, and Pakele Sub Counties by the UPDF who are not only collecting illegal taxes from the movement of goods, animals, and services but also defiling and raping young girls.

On the other hand, Hon. Mau Gabriel Kodili, the Chairperson of the Finance Standing Committee, also informed the august house that in a joint committee meeting for scrutinizing the budget, it was resolved that the council hall be decorated with a wall of fame with the portraits of notable personalities from the district and District Local Councilors for the regime 2021-2026. 

“We want to do something unique during our term of office. We want the people in the future to remember us and those that have done a lot for the progress and growth of this district,” Hon. Kodili explained.

However, while making his concluding remarks, Okware Emmanuel, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner, warned the councilors against campaigning before the Electoral Commission permits them to do so as per the election road map.

“I implore you to remain calm. There is no need for unnecessary processions before campaigns are launched. You saw what happened in the Kawempe North by-election. Don’t do things that will make you lose your seat prematurely,” Okware warned.

On the roadblocks by UPDF, Okware noted that these will be discussed in the next District Security Committee meeting together with the Presidential directive to evict balaalos from West Nile.

The Speaker and the Clerk to Council

By Bazio Doreen—Adjumani District.

In Adjumani District, the National Identity Card renewal exercise was launched on Monday, May 26th 2025 at both the district headquarters and the Office of the Resident District Commissioner, where civil servants and public servants were given an opportunity to renew their National Identity Cards. Adjumani received 28 kits, with 2 kits placed in each subcounty and the rest at government institutions.

While addressing the gathering, the District Chairperson of Adjumani, Hon. Anyama Ben, rallied the leaders to mobilize their communities to take part in the exercise, observing that the National Identity Card as become an integral part of assessing many critical services both within and outside the country.

“There are people who travel a lot. You can use the National ID to travel within East Africa. I call upon everyone to embrace this exercise because in the future having an ID will be a mandatory requirement for accessing critical services like Health just as the bank and other sectors are already implementing it,” Hon. Anyama observed.

Hon. Anyama also tasked the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) to utilize local leaders like Local Council I Chairpersons (LCIs) in refugee host sub-counties to enable registration assistants to differentiate between refugees and nationals so as to avoid disrupting the peaceful co-existence milestones already achieved by these communities.

“We have refugees who also belong to the Ma’di, Kakwa, Kuku, and Acholi tribes. This similarity could easily lead to misidentification or fraud,” Hon. Anyama said.

In response, the NIRA District Registration Officer, Balaba Fred, revealed that NIRA had put in place measures to help registration assistants verify details of individuals before enrolling them in the renewal process. The new IDs are expected to remain valid for ten years.

“First-time applicants are required to present an LCI letter with their personal details, and this should also be endorsed by the District Internal Security Officer (DISO),” Balaba assured the district leaders.

NIRA has deployed 5,300 biometric registration machines across the country, with the exercise expected to be extended up to the parish level. The authority has also additionally formed verification committees in each district chaired by the Resident District Commissioners (RDCs). About Ugx 666.85 billion has been allocated for the exercise targeting 15.8 million IDs for eligible Ugandans.

Balaba Fred, the Adjumani NIRA District Registration Officer, is enrolling the CAO-Adjumani on the system.

By Bazio Doreen.

Security officials in Adjumani District, led by the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), have sensitized migrant cattle keepers, commonly known as ‘Balaalos,’ on the recent Presidential Order Number 03 that said they should be evicted from Northern Uganda.

The eviction announcement had earlier been made by the State Minister for Northern Uganda, Dr. Kenneth Omona, who gave them a 14-day ultimatum ending on June 5^th, 2025. This followed a May 19^th 2025, meeting of security leaders from Northern Uganda with His Excellency, President Yoweri Museveni.

In a District Security Meeting held at the RDC’s office on Monday, June 2^nd, 2025, where the leaders of the Balaalos in Adjumani were in attendance, the RDC, Taban Peter Data, explained that although a similar directive issued earlier on May 23^rd was temporarily halted due to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) quarantine, many of the Balaalos didn’t meet the guidelines earlier set for them.

“We recently did an inspection and moved in all the bushes with a team from the State House. Unfortunately, many of you didn’t meet the standards except for 5 people. You must now prepare to leave. Your animals have been destroying crops in the community, and their cries have now reached the president,” Taban explained.

The balaalos had been told to have a land agreement in place for where to put their animals; every one acre should only hold 2 and ½ cows, the area should be fenced with 4 layers of barbed wire, and it should have running water. The District Veterinary Officer (DVO) is also expected to inspect the animals before they are put in the secured kraal.

Taban also informed the balaalos that security officials in the district were ready to enforce the directive but that this would follow some guidelines.

“We are going to ask everyone to bring the documents for the land to be verified before we accept you to settle because some of you could have bought air. However, landlords, I urge you to respect the agreements if they bought it genuinely and don’t claim their animals. We know all the animals that entered and where they are located,” Taban warned.

Taban also assured the landlords that smaller meetings would be held with them to discuss case-by-case issues to ensure that the process is efficient and that both parties aren’t affected by the prompt eviction.

Similarly, the commanding officer of the 5th Infantry Battalion at Bibia Military Barracks, Maj. Mutungi Maxwell, tasked the sub-county leaders to have hoarding grounds for the animals to make verification easy. He also said that the remaining animals will be auctioned if not claimed.

“We ask all sub-counties to have a hoarding ground. We have profiled all the cows and know their owners. All districts will be doing the same across Northern Uganda. We have also agreed that all of you use the Karuma Bridge to take your animals,” Mutungi said.

On his part, the District Police Commander, SSP Dickson Ayesigomwe, cautioned the balaalos to be mindful of their safety and that of their cattle because some criminals could leverage the opportunity being created by the transition to commit crime.

“Among you there are dealers. A lot of crime is going to happen. We don’t want to hear that your cows have been stolen. Desist from any sort of crime from you or others. Some landlords may also want to reclaim their land after selling it to you. You should be very careful,” Ayesigomwe warned.

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Balaalos in Adjumani, Batereza Peter, appreciated the government for laying out such procedures to protect them from fraud by the landlords. He also thanked the government for allowing them to retain their land.

“Let us cooperate with the security officials. Let us be grateful that the government has allowed us to use our land. We can use it for agriculture. Let us be confident that the land will remain ours,” Batereza appreciated.

The Speaker of the Balaalos, Kalanzi Charles Otafiire, also requested the government to give them more time to organize themselves, as some of them had sold everything from where they were before resettling in Northern Uganda.

Adjumani has 1,300 balaalos who have animals in 21 kraals. These are located in sub-counties of Pachara, Pakele, Dzaipi, Itirikwa, and Ukusijoni. On the other hand, West Nile, Acholi, and Lango have approximately 757 herdsmen and an estimated 92,000 herds of cattle, according to the army.

Security Officials pose for a group photo with the leaders of the balaalos

By Bazio Doreen.

District leaders in Adjumani district have been tasked to strengthen Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) outreaches in rural communities so as to respond to the increasing number of teenage pregnancies and child marriage.

The call was made during a stakeholder’s meeting organized by Forum for African Educationalists (FAWE) at Dubai Country Resort on 11^th June 2025 to disseminate the Re-entry Guidelines and National Strategy to End Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy.

While, data at the District Health Office, states that the average teenage pregnancy in Adjumani stands at 15% as of June 2025; in rural sub counties likes Adropi and Ofua it stands at 20% each. Apart from Adjumani Town Council whose rate stands at 12%, the rest of the sub counties are equally worrying as follows:  Arinyapi (18%), Pakele Sub County (17%), Ukusijoni (16%), Pachara (15%), Ciforo (15%), Dzaipi (15%), Itirikwa (14%), and Pakele Town Council (13%).

Goloba Rodgers, the Senior Probation and Social Welfare Officer, Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development, said that the high teenage pregnancy rates in the sub counties means that many adolescent girls are out of school and the risk of Sexually Transmitted Infections and Reproductive Health challenges. This, he observed needed a multisectoral approach especially at the village level because 23% of the school dropouts in Adjumani are because of Teenage pregnancies.

“We encourage and expect all the stakeholders to cascade the knowledge up to the village level. We need to work in and with the local communities to implement this strategy,” Goloba cautioned. 

According to data at the District Education Office, between 2020 and 2024, Adjumani registered 1,092 child marriages and 693 teenage pregnancies from in school adolescents.

Lulu Henry Leku, the Assistant District Health Officer In charge of Maternal and Child Health, observed that many SRHR programs and interventions are carried out in urban areas where services are easily accessible which leaves the rural communities sidelined. He also noted that teenagers in the urban areas are likely to access good parenting and knowledge on SRHR than those in villages.

“In the town centre, Children are more exposed to SRHR knowledge and services because their parents are more vigilant. Children in urban centres are also likely to sleep under the same roof with their parents which makes monitoring of their behavior and habits easier,” Leku noted.

Leku also noted that implementing the National Strategy on Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy would reduce maternal and prenatal mortality. He added that 28% of maternal deaths are contributed by teenage pregnancies.

“Many expectant young mothers still seek the help of birth attendants due to fear and stigma. This poses a risk since adolescents have bodies that haven’t fully developed to carry a baby to preterm. This is even made worse by the fact that they conceive without consent,” Leku explained.

The National Strategy on Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy (NSCM&TP) is a holistic, comprehensive framework that reflects the commitment of the Ugandan government to end the practice of child marriage and other forms of violence against girls including teenage pregnancy as a consequence of child marriage. The key strategic focus areas are; improved policy and legal environment to protect children and promotion of the girl child’s rights; improved access to quality sexual and reproductive health services, education, child protection services and other opportunities; changing dominant thinking and social norms related to child marriage in the communities; empowerment of both girls and boys with correct information to enable them recognize child marriage and early pregnancy as a gross violation of their rights and take mitigating action; and coordination, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for the implementation effective of the strategy.

On her part, Hon. Ondoa Korina Ewakodra, the DLC Female Pakele Sub County, where Teenage pregnancy stands at 17%, called for improved parenting and scale up of mindset campaigns in rural areas to ensure that such unplanned pregnancies are not only avoided but also young mothers are supported by their families to receive good health care. 

“Parents need to protect their children during adolescent stage because they need a lot of monitoring. Many parents neglect their duties. They are not aware whether their children are at home or not. But being at home is not enough, in this dot.com era, a child can even be home but misbehaving online,” Hon. Korina noted.

The stakeholders meeting was attended by both technical and political leaders from Adjumani, and representatives from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and Ministry of Education and Sports.

The meeting was convened under the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) program, funded by Global Affairs Canada, and being implemented by a consortium led by Right to Play, in partnership with WaterAid, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and FHI 360. The 5 year program ending in March 2026 seeks to empower 325,000 adolescents and youth aged 10-24, particularly girls and young women, both in and out of school, to demand better sexual and reproductive health care through a gender-transformative and rights-based approach.

In Adjumani, the SHARE Project is being implemented in 66 Primary schools, 8 Secondary Schools, 43 Health Centres and through four 30 member mentorship cohorts. These all target young people between 10 -24 years.

END.