By Bazio Doreen.

The Crown Prince of Dubai, His Royal Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid AI Maktoum, has pledged to build schools, a specialized hospital, provide tricycles, and promote solar-powered technologies to empower the women, men, and youth in Adjumani District.

The pledge was presented by Dr. Jjingo Robinson, a Financial Coordinator at the United Arab Emirates, accompanied by the UN Women Country Representative in Uganda, Ms. Paulina Chiwangu, and Hon. Rosaline Rose Birungi Kamuli, a representative from the Office of the Ugandan President, while meeting district leaders during a courtesy meeting at the district headquarters as part of a monitoring visit organized by UN Women.

Concerns raised.

Hon. Kaijuka Richard Arthur, the District Vice Chairperson, informed Dr. Jjingo that Adjumani Hospital is currently grappling with the lack of a gynecologist, and thus the district leaders welcome the idea of partnering to construct a specialized hospital and that they shall avail land for this noble cause.

Mr. Taban Peter Data, the Resident District Commissioner, thanked UN Women for supporting and empowering women in Adjumani. He also observed that while building schools, especially a university, would be the most appropriate move, it is worth noting that in many schools across the district, there are inadequate teachers and facilities for pupils and students. He also observed that procuring tractors for refugee women groups would encourage many more to embrace commercial agriculture amidst the ever-dwindling food rations.

Mr. Abdul Ramathan, who represented the Refugee Desk Officer OPM-Pakele, noted that UN Women has supported women to embrace leadership, adding that 10 out of 19 Refugee Welfare Officer Chairpersons are women. He said that helping women improve their self-esteem and confidence has increased women’s participation in refugees’ political elections from 45% in 2016 to 63% in 2023. He, however, noted that these women still face the challenge of transport due to the long distances.

Response.

In response, Dr. Jjingo tasked the district to come up with a detailed proposal and concept paper on the ideas discussed within a week so that the United Arab Emirates can consolidate the long-term partnership through UN Women. In the meantime, Dr. Jjingo promised that the UAE is willing to provide tricycles and tractors to support farmer groups and motorcycles to ease mobilization by women leaders. He also said skilling refugee youth on solar-powered technologies would create employment opportunities and make them self-reliant.

About the project.

The trio was in the district to specially monitor the Leadership Empowerment Access and Protection (LEAP) Project that is being implemented by Overcomers Women Activists/Co-Act, Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative, and Refugee Law Project. The LEAP project has been supporting women in the thematic areas of: leadership skills, women’s rights, psychosocial support, peacebuilding, child protection, teenage pregnancies, agriculture, adult education, and GBV. 

The LEAP project has so far reached out to 23,493 beneficiaries, mainly women in Ayilo and Nyumanzi Refugee Settlements. The LEAP project has been running since December 2021 and ends in 2025. The UN Women has been operating in Uganda since 2012, mainly focusing on reducing gender inequality.

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By Bazio Doreen.

The Vice President of Uganda, H.E. Major (Rtd) Alupo Jessica, is set to visit Adjumani District in March 2025. Her Excellency will be visiting the district on the invitation of Miss Jewel Michaels, the 2024 Miss Teen Pearl of Africa, to launch the Jewel Michaels Foundation for Education in Adjumani.

During the visit, the VP will interact with pupils at Pakele Girls and Ofua Central Primary School and patients at Ofua HC III. The VP is also expected to meet with technical and political leaders from the West Nile region.

According to Queen Jewel, the main objective of setting up the foundation is to prevent teenage pregnancies and other factors that hinder mainly girls from going to, staying, and completing school. In Adjumani, teenage pregnancy stands at 15.7%. Between 2020 and 2024, Adjumani District reported 1,785 cases of teenage pregnancy and child marriage. According to the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), in the last decade, over 1.2 million children dropped out of school. In Adjumani, the school completion rate is only 48%.

Queen Jewel also says her foundation shall, among other causes: create a running scholarship scheme for underprivileged children to go, stay, and complete school; support small-scale household projects of chicken and goat rearing; as well as undertake cross-country study tours for children to learn from Uganda’s development site. 

Miss Jewel also represented Uganda at the Miss Teen Universe 2024 pageant in Delhi, India, where she was the second runner-up. Miss Jewel, 14, is the daughter of Major General (Rtd) Michael Ondoga and Lucy Batcher, a sister to VP Alupo. She is also a vocalist, guitarist, and sportswoman.

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By Bazio Doreen

Adjumani District has received 200 ICT devices from the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) and Ministry of ICT under the Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF), now known as the Uganda Communications Universal Service and Access Fund (UCUSAF) pilot project.

The devices were given to households and stakeholders in Aliababa Village, Subbe Parish, and Ofua Sub County, which the District Executive Committee chose following a request from UCC to select one village for the project. 

According to Mr. Matsiko Emmanuel, the UCC Gulu Regional Manager, the UCUSAF was majorly set up to contribute to the realization of universality in access and use of communications services in Uganda through the establishment of communications projects in areas that are left unserved or underserved by the market operations.

UCUSAF has since evolved to have a broader mission of achieving digital inclusivity beyond rural and urban demographics. UCUSAF is currently implementing its 4th strategic cycle under the strategy to achieve “Digital Inclusivity through Sustainable Interventions and Impactful Collaborations.” The gadget comes with two solar panels, one behind the device and another small one that can be erected in the compound of the beneficiary.

While flagging off the exercise, Mr. Taban Peter Data, the Resident District Commissioner, appreciated UCC for considering Adjumani among the 38 districts under phase IV of the project. He, however, rallied the beneficiaries to jealously guard the devices against thieves.

Mr. Emmanuel, however, told beneficiaries that UCC had already locked the device to prevent it from being stolen. He, however, said that the commission shall frequently visit the households to check the progress of usage. He added that the main objective of the pilot project is to enhance the usage of digital devices and services.

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By Bazio Doreen.

Adjumani District leadership has convened a meeting with all health facilities in charges in the district to strategize how to maintain service delivery amidst the halting of funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This follows an executive order by H.E. Donald Trump, President of the United States, directing that all funding through USAID should be halted.

Hon. Anyama Ben, the District Chairperson, says the need to re-strategize is critical to evade the collapse of the health system set in place, avoidable deaths, and bridging the funding gap. While providing a temporary solution, Chairman Anyama offered fuel for six months for the transportation of samples to Kampala.

Impact in Adjumani.

According to Mane Dolorence, the HIV focal person, immediate re-alignment of programming is key because the withdrawal of the funding support will affect: 28 staff at Adjumani Hospital, Mungula HC IV, Pakele HCIII, and Dzaipi HCIII; operation of the ART Clinic, male circumcision, and outreaches; delivery of ARVs, condoms, and lubricants in isolated critical areas; HIV prevalence among young people (2 new infections per day); data compilation on HIV/AIDS, Leprosy, and Tuberculosis (TB); monitoring of viral load for HIV patients; delays in TB diagnosis and transportation of 83 TB drug-resistant drugs to Arua for monthly review.

Recommendations.

Dr. Drametu Dominic, the District Health Officer, says that the Ministry of Health has already met with all his counterparts countrywide, and it was agreed that the withdrawn services should be integrated into routine government programming and encourage the affected staff to mentor government workers on the skills required for continuity of service delivery during the 3 months the United States will be reviewing their support to developing countries under the USAID. 

The meeting also suggested other interventions like: fast-track the recommendation/resolution passed by the Uganda AIDs Commission directing local governments to allocate 0.5% of their total budgets to finance interventions towards HIV/AIDS prevention; lobbying support from other donors; allocating funds to maintain one hub rider (transporting samples); encouraging patients of the affected interventions to contribute towards continuity of the services; encouraging health facilities to commit/contribute resources in a pool (District Health Office) for continuity of critical services; and encouraging health facilities to redistribute resources according to emerging priorities.

General challenge.

In the health sector, USAID funding has been instrumental in combating infectious diseases, improving maternal and child health, and strengthening health systems. Programs like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) provide antiretroviral therapy (ART) to thousands of HIV-positive individuals. The withdrawal of funding will lead to interruptions in treatment, putting patients at risk of drug resistance and increased mortality. There are currently more than 1,416,800 people on ARV treatment across 2,051 health facilities. The suspension of services will mean immediate disruptions in care for thousands of individuals dependent on consistent medication.

Among the most affected are pregnant women living with HIV, who rely on PEPFAR for treatment to protect their health and prevent mother-to-child transmission. In Uganda alone, 41 newborns are estimated to contract HIV every day during the stoppage. Over 90 days, this could lead to more than 3,690 babies being born with HIV, many of whom will also go undiagnosed due to the suspension of infant HIV testing services. These infants face a significantly higher risk of mortality if they do not receive immediate treatment.

Beyond direct beneficiaries, Uganda’s healthcare workforce is also severely impacted. The country has 20,809 PEPFAR-supported healthcare providers, including 923 doctors, 1,622 nurses and midwives, 756 laboratory staff, and 12,551 community health workers. With stop-work orders in effect, many facilities will be left understaffed, making it difficult to provide even basic medical care. This will not only affect HIV services but also disrupt the broader healthcare system, straining already limited resources

USAID has supported immunization, malaria, and TB campaigns. Rural clinics will likely face shortages of vaccines, essential medicines, and health care staffing, resulting in a resurgence of preventable diseases. Maternal and child health services also face disruptions, potentially increasing maternal mortality rates.

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