By Bazio Doreen.

Adjumani District Local Government in Partnership with Right to Play (RTP) have convened a leaders’ conference on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) in Gulu City.

The conference took place from Thursday 18^th to Friday 19^th September 2025 by Right to Play (RTP) an NGO implementing the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) project in the district.

The conference was convened to track progress, share challenges and make recommendations on the implementation of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) interventions in the district.

In his welcome remarks, Titus Tumusiime, the Right to Play Country Director, thanked the district leadership for creating an enabling and conducive working environment for the SHARE partners to implement SRHR interventions in the last 4 years.

“Adjumani has been very exemplary and supportive to this project. We want to appreciate all the stakeholders who have collaborated with us to implement this project. We are now seeing more boys embracing SRHR,” Tumusiime said.

In response, Hon. Anyama Ben, the District Chairperson – Adjumani, while making his opening remarks, thanked the SHARE partners for choosing Adjumani and for the fruitful collaboration over the years before pledging that the district would consolidate the project’s achievements after 2026.

“I want to appreciate the consortium for helping the district in Health System strengthening. As a district, we pledge to sustain the positive change created when the project closes in 2026. I hear that some of the mentorship groups have been turned into VSLAs. Thank you for empowering our people,” Hon. Anyama said.

The conference was attended by the: Ma’di Paramount Chief, Adjumani East Member of Parliament, Country Director Right to Play, District Chairperson – Adjumani, Deputy RDC – Adjumani, CAO – Adjumani, DCAO –Adjumani, PACAO – Adjumani, Resident State Attorney, DHO – Adjumani, DCDO – Adjumani, ADHO – MCH – Adjumani, DPC – Adjumani, CFPU in charge – Adjumani, selected education and heath staff, selected LC IIIs, selected SACAOs, selected head teachers, mentors, religious leaders, Cultural leaders, CSOs, SRHR Partners, representatives from UCRNN, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Sports, Parliamentary Forum and SHARE project staff from FAWE, WaterAid, FHI 360 and Right to Play.

The meeting agreed on many recommendations including: scaling up advocacy efforts through all community structures; fast tracking the approval of the Ma’di Traditional marriage by law; instituting an inter religious and inter cultural council; utilization of government hour for SRHR interventions; community policing targeting adolescents; intensify community sensitization; engaging potential groups of culprits in dialogues; and improved mapping and surveillance for child marriage and teenage pregnancies.

Sylvia Hope Masika, the Program Manager – Right to Play, said that she was excited and happy with the commitment of the local government and the various stakeholders towards resolving SRHR challenges.

She added that RTP is committed to continue supporting the young people and lobbying for more resources for additional interventions and consolidating what is being achieved.

So far, the SHARE project has: formed 65 school health clubs, trained 33 Social Behavioral Change mentors, trained 200 teachers, conducted 900 dialogues, trained 129 VHTs, supported 43 Health Centres, supported 08 secondary schools and formed 104 community groups that are now Village Loans and Savings group.

On his part, Ocen James Andrew, the Chief Administrative Officer, thanked RTP for committing resources to not only empower adolescents but also build the capacity of duty bearers that support SRHR interventions through the District Committee on Adolescent Health (DICAH).

“I want to appreciate the SHARE partners for working together with us and for convening this conference so as to enable us to reflect on our different mandates towards adolescents. I want to also thank Right to Play for supporting the DICAH,” Ocen said

In his closing remarks, Emmanuel Okware, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner – Adjumani, urged the duty bearers to ensure that the action discussed are implemented. He also noted that adolescents are future leaders and need to be supported to achieve just that.

“Let us turn these recommendations into tangible actions. We need to continue working together to create an environment that supports a good future for all adolescents in our communities,” Okware said.

BY 2026, with a focus on Ghana, Mozambique, and Uganda, the project will reach more than 325,000 adolescents and youth – 59% of which should be female. Active since 2022, the implementation is led by Right to Play in partnership with the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), and WaterAid, with technical support from FHI 360, and financial support from Global Affairs Canada.

Through the project, adolescents and young people between 10 – 24 years old can access mentorship groups that equip them with the skills and knowledge to advocate for their health-related rights, and promote gender equity within their personal lives and communities.

END.

By Bazio Doreen.

Adjumani District leaders have renewed their fight to end child marriage among South Sudanese refugees living in the area.

The commitment was made during a leaders conference convened in Gulu City from Thursday 18^th to Friday 19^th September 2025 by Right to Play (RTP) an NGO implementing the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) project in the district.

The conference was convened to track progress, share challenges and make recommendations on the implementation of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) interventions in the district.

The Challenge:

During a panel discussion, Abdul Ramathan, a Settlement Commandant, who represented the Refugee Desk Officer – Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Pakele, revealed that child marriage among the refugees is being facilitated by negative cultural norms.

“We must acknowledge that the South Sudanese refugees have different cultural norms and practices from us.  When a girl clocks 14 years and starts menstruation, there are cultural rituals done to indicate to the community that she is ripe for marriage. A white flag is put on top of their hut. This is done by a council of elders that are respected by refugee welfare councilors and yet these don’t report to OPM,” Abdul explained.

Abdul also notes that this is further worsened by economic challenges that many refugee teenage girls grapple with amidst poor parenting.

“The reduced food ration by World Food Program has made many families vulnerable with many girls being forced into early marriage or teenage pregnancies. Parents are selling their young girls quietly. They smuggle these girls to South Sudan and dowry is paid that side. They conceive and sometimes give birth while there. This makes it hard to track them when they return. The girls stay here while the men are left abroad,” Abdul noted.

However, this doesn’t affect the girls alone. Similarly, when a refugee boy clocks 14 years, a council of elders conduct some rituals to initiate them into what is termed as adulthood. Unfortunately, in response, boys now believe that they are “men” and start to engage in immoral behavior that most times leads to sex with their female peers and consequently unplanned pregnancies that some parents use as opportunities to ask for bride price thus child marriage.

This is also usually because the boys now initiated into “men” abandon school and focus on what they think “men” are supposed to do which often times is early marriage and providing for a home. This is also often an opportunity to engage in alcohol abuse, drug abuse and having many sexual partners/girls.

On his part, Wamala Damon, the Executive Director – Uganda Child Rights NGO Network, noted that fighting child marriage needs a multisectoral approach and everyone needs to participate in it instead of expecting the government and duty bearers to shoulder it alone. Wamala also said that families must be taught that it is their role to protect their children before the government comes in.

“We need to stop calling them teenage mothers because it seems this has now been qualified to become okay. These are child mothers. When we say child mother, we will think about our child and help do something about this vice as the parents we are. We have handed over our children to the state and that is why any man comes and does what they want with them,” Wamala said.

What can be done?

In affirmation, Hon. Mamawi James, the Member of Parliament Adjumani East Constituency, noted that children should be sensitized on the laws that affect or related to them. He also added that other strategies need to be devised to ensure that this trend stops.

“Our children in the communities still don’t know the law we are discussing about, it is our responsibility to sensitize them. But we must also know that not everything needs the law. Unless deemed necessary, at our local setting, some of these issues can be solved at our fire places in the evenings,” Hon. Mamawi said.

On how to forge a way forward, Mawadri Ramathan, the District Community Development Officer, said that government and partners will now work together to intensify both surveillance and sensitization especially in sub counties that host refugees.

“There are a number of strategies we can employ to fight teenage pregnancies and child marriage. The first and foremost is community engagement. We must sensitize the community at all levels on the dangers of child marriage. We must also continue building the capacity of our key community structures right from the LC Is and VHTs. These issues come from the community and these are key resourceful persons,” Mawadri said.

Walter Owinja, the OPM Monitoring and Evaluation Officer based in Adjumani, also noted that there is a need for all the stakeholders to come together and engage the council of elders so as to come to a common ground.

“We need to engage this council of elders and listen from them but also deliberate with them on a way forward about these challenges and the consequences of their actions,” Walter said.

Meanwhile, the teenage pregnancy rate in refugee hosting sub counties in Adjumani stands at: Adjumani Town Council (12.3%), Pakele (16.9%), Ukusijoni (16%), Ciforo (15.7%), Dzaipi (15.3%), Pachara (14.5%), and Itirikwa (14.9%).  Generally, teenage pregnancy rate among refugees is 14% for those recorded but many are thought to be missed out due to the continued sneaking back of the girls to their home country, South Sudan.

In the financial year (FY) 2024/2025, among expectant mothers who attended their 1^st antennal visit, 2,351 out of 14,984 were adolescents; out of 13,572 deliveries conducted, 1,852 were adolescents; and among 49,146 family planning users, 2,255 were adolescents.

Cumulatively, as of March 2025, Adjumani and its partners had reached out to over 11,851 adolescents and young persons with SRHR information and referred them to the nearest health facilities according to records at the District Health Office.

Similarly, there is also a tremendous effort in the education sector. Between January and September 2025, about 325 pupils and 225 students were returned to Primary and Secondary schools respectively.  Adjumani has 155,361 in school adolescents and 104,984 out of school adolescents.

END.

By Bazio Doreen.

By Bazio Doreen.

Overcomers Women Activists (OWA) in partnership with the Ma’di Cultural Institution has drafted the first Ma’di traditional Marriage bylaw to streamline the tribe’s process of union between couples. The 10 page by law defines courtship, types of marriage, bride price, process of formalization of marriage, fines for rape and elopement, and marriage principles.

OWA is a Community Based Organization in Adjumani that advocates for the rights of women and girls while on the other hand the first substantial Ma’di Paramount Chief (Lopirigo) was voted in 2024 and is yet to be gazzeted by government. The Paramount Chief has however assumed full powers and is supporting chiefs to reorganize the Ma’di Cultural Institution.

The drafting of the bylaw that is to be approved by October 2025 is funded by Forum for Women Educationalists (FAWE), an NGO that is implementing the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) project in Uganda. 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.

Culture provides rules of sexual conduct between sexes which shape knowledge, beliefs, and practices regarding the sexuality of adolescent girls and influence Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR).

On why the bylaw was drafted, Olga Lindrio, the Executive Director – OWOA, says the by law will support the Ma’di Cultural Institution to advocate for elimination of negative cultural practices and norms that hinder adolescents and young girls from enjoying their Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights. Olga also says that the by law is expected to streamline and regulate the Ma’di marriage practices.

“We expect the bylaw to reduce both forced and child marriages that contribute to both teenage pregnancies and Gender Based Violence. If you notice, Ma’di bride price has also since changed. Sometimes it is over charged, sometimes it is under charged. We want to eliminate all bad cultural practices related to marriage,” Lindrio said.

In affirmation, Dipio Josephine, the Community Development Officer, Itirikwa Sub County, notes that during the payment of bride price commonly referred to as “Kasurube”, young girls are tasked to escort the bride and greet the in laws which usually creates an opportunity for them to be defiled or sexually harassed.

“During the payment of Kasurube, we still see our young girls, being given to in laws. That they should go and greet the in laws. And yet we have divorced women or returnees. Then we also have the issue of uniform removal (nji), we need to have regulations on school girls who get pregnant because it lures them into early/child marriage,” Dipio noted.

However, His Royal Highness, Opi Suru Simon Baru, the Ma’di Paramount Chief, now says with the bylaw in place, cultural leaders will now fight and discourage the practice of ‘uniform nji’ which means that a girl is removing a school uniform for marriage since they have conceived and this is usually accompanied by a cost paid to the bride’s parents.

“In the draft marriage by law, we have clearly stated that payment of uniform nji is not Ma’di Culture. You be assured that we shall no longer have this uniform nji practice. We don’t want it because it is encouraging the parents to advocate for it since they anticipate gain from it,” Opi Suru said.

Opi Suru adds that: “we have clearly stated in the by law that any girl below the age of 18 is not allowed to participate in any traditional marriage activity commonly referred to as introduction. This will help to curtail temptation of girls getting married early or being impregnated. When these young girls are given brown envelopes for their participation, the in-laws start looking for them or asking details about them and that is how it all begins to unfold.”

Opi Suru also says the bylaw clearly states that defilement is a criminal case and thus should never be resolved by cultural leaders.

“Defilement is a criminal case. For us as cultural leaders we don’t entertain defilement cases in our chiefdoms,” Opi Suru said.

On the other hand, Okot Michael, the Magistrate Grade One, observes a changing trend in the way defilement cases are registered adding that only a quarter of them are reported. He also says that out of about 480 cases criminal registered, 232 involve adolescents.

“Unlike before, now days they bring both the boy and the girl who have defiled themselves. Families only come to court when they disagree. The court is used as legal procedure to make the culprit to pay and when this happens, you will never see a witness in court again,” Okot explained.  

On his part, SP Masembe Herbert, the District Police Commander – Adjumani, notes that the by law will be of great help to the police because many parents are using unsuspecting men to trap them into allegations of defilement and forcing them to unfairly pay bride price.

“Sometimes as police we are very disappointed and our hands are tied to support further. One time we got a case where a man was accused of defilement and tasked to pay kasurube of shs 500,000/= and yet he was found on the road asking for directions to the neighboring Moyo District,” SP Masembe noted.

Meanwhile, the Ma’di Traditional bylaw recognizes both formal and informal Ma’di traditional marriage. The by law defines a formal marriage as one where bride price/bride wealth is paid and marriage certificate is issued to the couple by the area cultural leader. On the other hand, informal marriage refers to rape or elopement.

Punishment for eloping includes paying two heifers or Ugx 2,000,000/= in addition to expenses accrued by the family while looking for their daughter. If one elopes with a relative, a sheep is given for cleansing inaddtion to paying a bull, and a heifer. The by law also specifies requirements or items that are given to the family of the bride.

The drafting process involved 13 cultural leaders from Adjumani district including the Ma’di Paramount Chief and refugee leaders as well as 08 chiefs from Moyo District.

Before approval, the by law will be reviewed by a lawyer and other community leadership structures before it is translated into prominent local languages spoken in the Ma’di geographical area.

 END.

By Anzoo Evaline.

At just 17 years old, Anzoa Gertrude has already experienced the kind of hardship that could easily silence a young girl’s dreams. Eight months ago, she became a mother, an event that turned her life upside down and left her facing rejection from her own husband and family.

Once a bright pupil with ambitions of becoming a nurse, Gertrude’s world crumbled when she discovered she was pregnant while still in school. “I was in primary six staying with my grandmother since I was 10yrs because my mother left us and went to Juba but when I got pregnant so I felt my future was lost because since I was born, I don’t know who my father is and my uncles have refused to help us with my grandmother,” she recalls softly. “When we were dating, my boyfriend said that he loves me so and one day I asked him to buy for a sanitary pad because my grandmother doesn’t have money and so he bought and later after my menstruation he invite me to his home where he asked me to help him because he has taken some man power and we had sex which resulted to the pregnant,” Anzoa narrated.   

For months, she struggled with her friend. “When I tried to follow my boyfriend, his friend told me that he has ran to Juba and I even don’t know where his family members are staying, this has left me stranded with my baby because my uncles have now chased me away from their home and Iam now staying with my friend’s home with her parent,” Gertrude said.

But a coalition of partners and stakeholders under the SHARE project, including school administrator and education advocates, saw hope where others had turned away. Through different intervention including counselling sessions, they convinced Gertrude’s mother to support her and her baby and support her return to school.

“It was not easy,” admits Adjumani town council community development officer Akum Sarah who worked closely with school administration. “There was a lot of anger and disappointment, but we explained that punishing the girl would only hurt the child and the community. Education is the key to breaking this cycle.”

With the intervention, Train a girl Uganda a CBO based in Adjumani district has constructed wash facility with changing room in the school where Anzoa is studying with sewing machine my making reuseable pads. “We have constructed one wash facility that has a changing room and rest room and we have also rehabilitated their water source that has been connected up to the wash facility,” said the Mondua Brenda Executive Director Train a girl.

She added that “We have also trained a person in tailoring who is making reuseable pads within the school because we have bought one sewing machine in the school and doing this, we are looking forward to retain more girls in class during their menstruation period and also to improve their performance in class,” Mondua added. 

Today, dressed in her crisp school uniform, Gertrude walks through the school gate with her books in hand and a quiet determination in her eyes. “I want to be a nurse so I can help other mothers,” she says. “This second chance means everything to me.”

The deputy headteacher of Oligo primary school Alia Vivian Vicky said that she has returned with renewed focus and maturity. “Gertrude’s story is a powerful reminder that motherhood should not be the end of education, she is an example to other girls that it is never too late to pursue your dreams,” said the Deputy headteacher.

Asibazoyo Nancy a representative working with FAWE a consortium partner implementing the share projected described the intervention of the various stakeholders as a way of securing a future that was lost. “I want to appreciate the partners and other stakeholders for making sure Gertrude is back to class because what they have done can not be judge by human but God knows and he will reward them in his own time and as for us FAWE, we shall also see how we shall support her through her new life journey,” said Nancy.

The district Education officer of Adjumani district Mr. Dima Robert said, “Under the share project, we have benefited a lot as a district and their intervention has made as to achieve a great improvement in reducing the rate of teenage pregnancy to 15.7% compared to the previous years,” The DEO commended.

As for Gertrude, every day back in class is a step toward the future she once feared was lost. “My baby gives me strength,” she says, smiling. “I want her to know that her mother never gave up.”

By Anzoo Evaline

Over 5,200 farmers in the West Nile Region are still awaiting inputs following the exit of the Agriculture Cluster Development Program (ACDP) a year ago.

The program was launched in 2017 as a transformative initiative to boost Uganda’s agricultural productivity, with an expected end date of March 2022. However, it was later extended to September 2023 to recover the time lost during the COVID-19 lockdown. The program was worth USD 150 million and targeted 57 districts nationwide. Its objectives included increasing production, improving productivity, and enhancing market linkages through value chain interventions clustered into 12 major sectors. About 55% of the funds approximately USD 82million was allocated for agro-inputs, while the remaining amount supported matching grants for farmer associations to upgrade storage facilities, machinery, and operations. 

Despite ambitious expectations to transform the livelihoods of 450,000 farmers including 180,000 maize producers, 110,000 coffee growers, 95,000 bean farmers, 40,000 rice farmers, and 25,000 cassava farmers these goals remain largely unmet. The project also aimed to facilitate the formation of 300 Area-Based Community Cooperative Enterprises and support 3,000 rural producers.

An electronic voucher system (E-Voucher) was awarded to United Bank for Africa (UBA) to facilitate the cashless distribution of vouchers to smallholders and subsistence farmers to assist them in accessing high quality agricultural input. The e-voucher is electronically delivered typically via SMS or e-mail containing unique code sometimes a PIN for verification and the farmers can deliver the e-voucher online at the retailer’s website during checkout and he or she provides the e-voucher code to detect the value from their purchase total, which is automatically applied to the balance or deducted from the purchase.  The inputs farmers are supposed to receive include inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, agrochemicals, tractor hire services, and seeds according to their requests. Under the program’s priority sectors, West Nile was grouped into Cluster 12, focusing on cassava and coffee enterprises.

Despite these arrangements, farmers enrolled through UBA, each paying 148,000 shillings for inputs, failed to access their supplies by the end of the project. This situation affected approximately 2,614,000 farmers across the 76 districts, according to project records.

In 2018, the Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries, Vincent Ssempijja, commissioned the E-Voucher Management System during the launch of the ACDP in Lukaya, Kalungu District. This system was intended to promote commercial production of maize, beans, cassava, rice, and coffee across 42 districts. The government contracted UBA to supply, install, and manage the E-Voucher platform, with the National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U) responsible for registering participating farmers, while a few agro-input dealers were engaged to supply inputs.

However, farmer frustrations grew as access to inputs remained elusive even after payments were made, extending beyond the project period. Many farmer groups disintegrated, and some began threatening legal action against local governments especially those who paid for inputs that were never delivered.

In districts from Nebbi to Maracha, a total of 5,276 farmers are distressed after being duped in the cost-sharing deal. Farmers were expected to pay 148,000 shillings for inputs, with the government covering the remainder. For example, at Aryek Cooperative Union in Nebbi, farmers are demanding 165 million shillings for undelivered inputs. Its chairman, Powell Ongey, lamented, “We have been following up on these funds, but the service provider (UBA) has remained silent despite several follow-ups. We’ve handed the matter to the district authorities. This situation has caused mistrust among members and leaders, and we hope the government will help us recover these losses.”

Joyce Piwa, Nebbi District Agricultural Officer, added that UBA had pledged to refund the farmers’ contributions through the E-Voucher system. “I believed all 3,783 farmers had been cleared. I will follow up,” she said.

Efforts have been made to reach out to the Uganda Bank of Africa (UBA) through phone calls and emails by the agriculture officer of Nebbi district but no feedback was given.

Farmers speak up:

Aryek Cooperative Union is among five local cooperative societies in Nebbi that received Shs 3 billion for cassava factory construction, part of the Shs 34 billion in funds the government received from the World Bank (WB). This funding aimed to support 118 farmer organizations across 24 pilot districts, focusing on value addition to produce before market.

The situation in Nebbi mirrors that of Arua district, where only 200 out of 2,040 farmers have received inputs two years after the program’s conclusion. Stephen Candia, a farmer in Awika Village, Arivu Sub-county, expressed his frustration: “It’s hard to trace the contractors since they were introduced to us by the district. I wish the district would intervene and help recover our money because, since I paid 148,000 shillings, I haven’t seen any return. I ordered fertilizers, gumboots, and tractor services to open up my land, but none of these have materialized.”

Based on the 2023 Engineering audit conducted by the Office of the Auditor General, several issues were identified concerning the rehabilitation of community access roads, E-voucher program faced challenge of beneficiary identification, benefiting districts lacked fund for maintaining the constructed roads, delay in procurement. Specifically, projects worth Shs 63 billion remain incomplete, with works only at 20% completion by the end of the project period in each local government. Additionally, 14 projects valued at Shs 73 billion had not yet commenced. These projects focused on restoring community access roads to improve market linkages and were managed through high-breed procurement mechanisms.

Arua District Chairman Alfred Okuonzi criticized the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries, and Fisheries (MAAIF) for a lack of transparency in managing projects aimed at transforming farmers and, ultimately, the country’s economy. He stated that “corruption within MAAIF has reached unprecedented levels, with staff acting with impunity and without accountability.” Out of frustration, Okuonzi emphasized the need for a thorough audit of these projects to ensure value for money.

He further condemned the contractor, United Bank for Africa, noting that costs incurred amount to billions of shillings, yet farmers remain impoverished. “MAAIF should stop implementing projects like witchdoctors working from Kampala offices without proper monitoring or engagement with local governments,” he added.

There is also evident frustration within local governments. In Maracha District, at least 1,208 farmers have yet to receive their funds or inputs, raising concerns about project execution by contractors, ministry officials, and district authorities. Stephen Obitre, the district chairman, explained that he brought this issue to the attention of the Minister of State for Agriculture, Bwino Fred Kyakulaga, during his visit earlier this year. The Minister directed that the contractor should refund all farmers whose funds were misappropriated through the Electronic Voucher system, as the contractor failed to supply inputs. Obitre lamented that most components of the Agriculture Cluster Development Program (ACDP) had collapsed before implementation.

He expressed disappointment, stating, “We expected farmers to access inputs at reduced costs, markets through rehabilitated roads, and add value to their products. However, nothing tangible has materialized, value-addition facilities are non-functional, road works are only 20% complete, and inputs have not been supplied. This is a disaster, and the officers involved in implementing the ACDP should be held accountable.”

In response, Dr. Henry Nakelet Opolot, the Commissioner of Agricultural Extension and Skills Management and Project Coordinator for ACDP, reported in 2021 that the project had achieved a 74% disbursement rate as of May 2021. He declined further comment when contacted but referred to the project implementation report, which indicated that both government and farmers contributed a total of UGX 84 billion, UGX 54 billion by the government and UGX 27 billion by farmers across 57 districts.

The report also stated that out of an estimated 450,000 targeted farmers, 416,518 enrolled in the e-voucher subsidy program, with 277,990 ordering inputs and 200,984 receiving them; the reasons for the remaining farmers not receiving inputs remain unspecified.

Efforts to obtain comments from United Bank of Africa proved unsuccessful, as their known phone lines were unavailable.

Key Facts:

During the 2015/16 financial year, MAAIF borrowed US$ 150 million from the World Bank to fund the Agriculture Cluster Development Project (ACDP). The main objectives were to increase productivity, production, and commercialization of selected agricultural commodities across 57 districts in Uganda. The project officially ended in 2023 after several extensions. It comprised four components: Agricultural Inputs (seeds, planting materials, fertilizers, pesticides) – US$ 65 million, Agricultural Water Management – US$ 36 million, Post-harvest Handling, Storage, Value Addition, and Market Linkages – US$ 34 million, Project Management and Regulations  US$ 15 million.

Regrettably, most of the project components were effectively halted before full implementation in many beneficiary districts.

With a recognition of the widespread failures and continued frustrations surrounding the management and implementation of Uganda’s agricultural development projects amid significant funds borrowed from the World Bank and substantial investments, critical components such as road rehabilitations, input provision, and market linkages remain incomplete or ineffective. The ongoing issues, including the theft of farmer funds, delayed project activities, and collapsed infrastructure, underscore a pattern of mismanagement that has undermined the initial ambitions to transform farmers’ livelihoods. Moving forward, there is a clarion call for comprehensive audits, stringent oversight, and accountability measures to ensure that the scarce resources are utilized effectively to realize the intended economic and social benefits for Ugandan farmers.

By Bazio Doreen.

Adjumani has been nominated as a model district for teenage pregnancy surveillance and response in the financial year 2024/2025 in a zoom meeting convened by the Ministry of Health.

The early morning zoom meeting was held on Friday 19^th September 2025 in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Sports under the theme: “Strengthening multi sectoral approaches towards reducing teenage pregnancy.”

Previously, Adjumani was also recognized as the best district in Adolescent programing during the 2024 Safe Motherhood conference. 

As of June 2025, the teenage pregnancy rate in Adjumani stood at 15.7% against a national target of 24%. This means that in Uganda, one out of four girls aged 15 – 19 years is already pregnant or has a child.

However, in Adjumani, the coverage of adolescents and young people in Sexual and Reproductive Health related care is quite commendable. In the financial year (FY) 2024/2025, among expectant mothers who attended their 1^st antennal visit, 2,351 out of 14,984 were adolescents; out of 13,572 deliveries conducted, 1,852 were adolescents; and among 49,146 family planning users, 2,255 were adolescents.

Similarly, there is also a tremendous effort in the education sector. Between January and September 2025, about 325 pupils and 225 students were returned to Primary and Secondary schools respectively.  Adjumani has 155,361 in school adolescents and 104,984 out of school adolescents.

In his presentation, Lulu Henry Leku, the Assistant District Health Officer in charge of Maternal and Child Health, said one of the best practices of the multi sectoral approach is utilizing the adolescent mentors to take services to where the adolescents are instead of expecting them to all come to the Adolescent/Youth Friendly Corner.

“We are now confident that the 7 well trained Adolescent mentors and 153 health workers trained on SRHR will provide a well-coordinated and collaborative responsive and surveillance even after all implementing partners leave the district. They help us to use a multisectoral approach by building synergies between government and all the partners implementing SRHR interventions,” Lulu confidently boosted.    

Lulu also said that in Adjumani all stakeholders acknowledge that teenage pregnancy is a reality and different platforms needs to be utilized because it is costly not to do so.

“We recognize that adolescents are actively involving in sex and thus teenage pregnancy is not only a reality but inevitable. Between 2012 and 2024, about 1,735,792 children are estimated to have dropped out in due course of transition from primary one to senior six. Our country loses about 645 billion due to school dropout with teenage pregnancy being one of the drivers,” Lulu said. 

Lulu further added that the recognition is relieving for Adjumani because the worst 23 districts with the highest teenage pregnancy burden are expected to share response progress reports to the Ministry of Health every Friday and also attend sessions online where the best performing districts share good practices.

Some of the best Sexual and Reproductive Health response practices by Adjumani related to adolescents also include: capacity building of all stakeholders for provision of adolescent responsive SRHR services and Gender Based Violence prevention, creating a safe and gender responsive learning environment, sensitization on existing education policies, roll out of prevention and management of teenage pregnancy guidelines, mentor child mothers for school re-entry, and functionalization of the District Committee on Adolescent Health.

While congratulating the district on the zoom call attended by over 200 stakeholders from other districts, Dr. Irene Mwenyango, Assistant Commissioner Adolescent and Sexual Health – Ministry of Health, thanked Adjumani for being a model district even as they grapple with hosting refugees. She also thanked the partners in Adjumani for choosing to support the communities to reduce teenage pregnancies by promoting sexual and reproductive health rights for adolescents. 

“I want to thank the leadership of Adjumani for ensuring that the district is a role model for teenage pregnancy surveillance and response. While the Ministry is looking at the target of 15% teenage pregnancy by 2030, I am glad that Adjumani is already tending towards it. I urge the rest of the districts on the call to pick the good practices,” Dr. Irene said. 

Henry Ssemakula, the Assistant Commissioner School health at the Ministry of Education and Sports, who was moderating the discussion also congratulated Adjumani for being one of the best performing districts in responding to teenage pregnancies and urged other districts to emulate the best practices. 

“You can imagine that 200 people are on the call to learn from you. We want to hear from you how Adjumani has for many year tried to maintain a low teenage pregnancy rate amidst many challenges like COVID-19 and hosting a large number of refugees,” Ssemakula said.

Similarly, Jovine Atima, Program Officer Adolescent and School Health Division – Ministry of Health, appreciated the district leadership saying that their achievement is unique to other districts with many non-governmental organizations. She also expressed gratitude to the district for putting in place a district committee on adolescent health before their other counterparts.

“I want to extend my gratitude to the district leadership. I have heard some people say that the success is because of many SRHR partners but we have seen districts where they have similar funding and many partners and yet they are not performing well,” Atima Said.

In affirmation, Annah Muhawe, a Senior Medical Officer at Right to Play, said that Adjumani has a very supportive leadership that has made it easy to not only implement interventions but also have strong and fruitful collaborations and coordination.

“We implement in many districts but Adjumani is unique. They have a unique sense of cooperation. They make it easy for the SHARE partners to implement, support and work together with government structures,” Annah said.

Indeed the biggest contributor to this success has been the 4 year long interventions under the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) project. Active since 2022, the implementation is led by Right To Play in partnership with the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), and WaterAid, with technical support from FHI 360, and financial support from Global Affairs Canada.

Through the project, adolescents and young people between 10 – 24 years old and can access mentorship groups that equip them with the skills and knowledge to advocate for their health-related rights, and promote gender equity within their personal lives and communities.

So far, the SHARE project has: formed 65 school health clubs, trained 33 Social Behavioral Change mentors, trained 200 teachers, conducted 900 dialogues, trained 129 VHTs, supported 43 Health Centres, supported 08 secondary schools and formed 104 community groups that are now Village Loans and Savings group.

Cumulatively, as of March 2025, Adjumani and its partners had reached out to over 11,851 adolescents and young persons with SRHR information and referred them to the nearest health facilities according to records at the District Health Office.

Meanwhile, the statistics in Adjumani still need more efforts from all stakeholders as some of the sub counties have a high teenage pregnancy rate. The teenage pregnancy rate in Adjumani stands at: Adropi (21.8%), Ofua (20%), Arinyapi (19.6%), Pakele Sub County (16.9%), Pakele Town Council (16.6%), Ukusijoni (16%), Ciforo (15.7%), Dzaipi (15.3%), Itirikwa (14.9%), Pachara (14.5%), and Adjumani Town Council (12.3%).

The estimated population of Adjumani according to National Population and Housing Census 2024, is about 452,648 with 240,000 as nationals and 212,648 as refuges. Adjumani has 52 health centres with 40 of them government aided, 3 non for profit, and 9 privately owned. The district also has 383 schools with 171 nursery centres, 180 for primary level, 24 for secondary level and 8 tertiary institutions.

END.

By Anzoo Evaline

Adjumani – In a bid to improve adolescent access and utilization of health services, Right to Play in partnership with WaterAid and FHI360 under the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) project have distributed sports materials to all the 43 health facilities across Adjumani district.

The intervention follows growing concerns over low revisit rates by adolescents to health facilities, largely attributed to the absence of adolescent-friendly corners that make health centres welcoming to young people.

Speaking during the handover, Othman Bagonizi the project officer working with right to play has emphasized the purpose of the materials and citied that the aim of the sport materials is to keep the adolescents busy when they visit the health facilities

“Under the SRHR Project, Right to Play in particular has provided the sports materials that’s football, netballs, volleyballs and volleyball nets that will be given to all the health centre facilities across the district to support adolescent to easily reach or seek for services from the health centres as they engage in sports activities”, said the project officer Othman.

The package of sports materials delivered includes footballs, netballs, volleyball and volleyball net to enhance peer-to-peer engagement among youth during health facility visits.

The District Assistant health officer in charge of maternal health care Dr. Lulu Henry Leku welcomed the donation and said that it has been a challenge to them since the revisit of the health facility by the adolescents.

“These particular materials that we have received are going to be used in all the health facilities in the district, we have witnessed increased OPD attendance by the Adolescent accessing our services. Our biggest challenge has been the revisit many young people don’t go back and one of the feedback we have got is that they do not have any service that can keep them at the facility”, The DHO stressed.

The deputy RDC Emmanuel Okwere commended the effort, and pledged proper monitoring by his office to ensure proper utilization. “I want to commend the good work our partners are doing in the district in ensuring improved standard of living, and I want to pledged we as a government monitors in the district, we are going to play our part in ensuring that this sports equipment we are receiving here today are properly utilized”, said Deputy RDC.

With the new approach, stakeholders are optimistic that revisit rates among adolescents will improve significantly, ensuring they receive continuous care and support in areas of sexual reproductive and health rights.

By Anzoo Evaline

Adjumani District has received adolescent health materials from Naguru Teenage Information and Health Centre with funding from the Danish Embassy to strengthen youth-friendly services across the West Nile and Acholi sub-regions. The handover ceremony took place at the district headquarters, with leaders and health workers commending the initiative as a timely boost to adolescent health and rights.

The materials delivered include “wheels of knowledge,” board games, television sets, policy guidelines, flash disks containing educational films, and demonstration kits, all aimed at improving the delivery of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) information and services. These resources will be distributed to 18 health facilities in the district, where they are expected to play a vital role in engaging young people.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, the Executive Director of Naguru Teenage Centre Dr. Rogers Ampuera said that, the intervention is part of their broader mission to empower adolescents with accurate health information while making health facilities more youth.

“This program is called the say program which is in five districts in West Nile and Acholi sub-region.

The main aim is to strengthen access to health services by adolescent girls and young women, but also taking into care of the young boys and men to have a comprehensive access to sexual productive health, but also address gender-based violence within those five districts.

We are doing this to make sure that we have safe spaces for young people through what we call youth friendly corners. So, as Naguru Teenage Centre, our commitment is to make sure that we support uh districts to be in position to deliver uh youth-friendly services in a comprehensive manner,” said Dr, Rogers.

 Adjumani district Assistant health officer Dr. Lulu Henry Leku welcomed the donation, stressing that it will go a long way in addressing gaps in adolescent health service delivery.

“We have observed increasing the number of adolescent and young people getting aware of their sexual reproductive health needs and number of them holding us accountable and demanding for these services. And arising from this, they have requested us to ensure we have facilities that can keep them at the health center. Facilities that can help them so that they can initiate conversation around SRS and TBV. So, it is on that basis that this facility will be able to attract, retain, motivate, but also more importantly contribute to the empowerment.

of our adolescents and young people on issues of sexual reproductive health and GBV while getting care in our healthcare care facilities”, Said the Assistant DHO Dr. Lulu Henry.

The secretary for Health Adjumani district Hon. Sabuni John, applauded Naguru Teenage Centre for the initiative and pledged their total support in utilizing the materials for its intended use.

“I want appreciate Naguru teenage and information centre for this support which is very crucial to our young girls and boys and I want assure you that we are going to make sure this equipment is well utilize”, said Sabuni John.

Apio Sharon Ruth Baru the assistant RDC of Adjumani appreciated the partners and the health workers for their recommendable effort in ensuring that the young people remain healthy and in school and urged the health workers to display the material in an open place for easy access by the adolescents.

“I am very grateful for this initiative in ensuring that Adolescents girls and boys are kept safe. I want to say that under the SRHR project, our young people have really benefited in different ways so I want to appealed to the health workers to make sure this materials are display in an open space”, Said Apio Ruth Baru.

The materials have totalled up to 152 million shillings targeting 71 health facilities in West Nile and Acholi sub-regions supported by the SAY project to empower the adolescents and youths in the districts of Adjumani, Obongi, Moyo, Lamwo and Kitgum.

By Anzoo Evaline

The health sector in Adjumani District has registered tremendous progress in maternal and child health, attributed to the ongoing interventions under the SHARE Project. District health officials have revealed that between July 2024 and May 24, 2025, the district recorded only two maternal mortality deaths out of 13,577 deliveries, signaling a significant improvement in safe motherhood.

Dr. Lulu Henry Leku, the District Health Officer in charge of Child and Maternal Health, described the outcome as a milestone. He explained that of the 13,577 deliveries, 13,575 were safe, reflecting a drop in maternal deaths from 41 per 100,000 live births to 15 per 100,000 live births, now aligning with the national standard.

“We have seen progressive reduction in our institution of maternal mortality ratio. From the last financial year, 41 per 100,000 life birth to the current 15 per 100,000 life birth. To put that into perspective, from the month of July up to the 24th of May 2025, we lost two mothers out of 13,577 mothers that came for delivery. And that means the 13,575 were saved. All of them had safe delivery. And that shows the kind of progress we have made as a district because of the collective effort including the contribution of the share project towards this indicator”, The DHO emphasized.

The share project is a sexual health and reproductive education project. it’s a five-year project which on a broader perspective is being implemented in three countries in Africa. Uganda is one of the countries., Ghana and then Mozambique. In Uganda, Right to play is the lead partner of the project, forum for African women educationalist (FAWE), WaterAid and then Family Health International 360 degrees.

The project is looking at a total target of 44,671 beneficiaries of young women and 29,825 young men out of school. 14,769 girls and 9,846 boys in school. So, the project targeted adolescence in school and adolescence out of school.

Adjumani District currently has 43 health care facilities, all of which have benefited from the SHARE Project. “And so, through this initiative, we have established 43 health facilities that is able to appropriately respond to the needs of adults and girls and young women and all women of reproductive age. So, we want to report to the public that Since then, we have seen improvement in access and utilization of adolescent health services”, said Dr. Lulu Henry.

These initiatives have not only improved maternal outcomes but also boosted outpatient attendance among adolescents, leading to a notable decline in teenage pregnancies, which now stand at 15.7%. “We have also seen improvement in our key adolescent health indicators, our teenage pregnancies as well be at 15.7% compared to the national average of 24%”, He added.

Dribareo Agnes one of the VHTs from ciforo sub county whose capacity has been built under the project explained that. “ Before our capacity have not been built, we have being doing things anyhow, we don’t care whether we shall conduct infections because for us we don’t bother to use the gloves when treating a patient but after the training by Water and other partners, we are now doing well, on 20th , June 2025, I even referred on mother to the hospital when she was in labour pain” Dribareo explained.

A representative working with WaterAid based in Adjumani district particularly implementing the WASH project under SHARE project that focuses much in the 43 three health care facilities said that.

“In Maijji B Health Centre 2, we rehabilitated their only surviving sanitation facility which was in a very horrible state., we went ahead to support them with a motorized water supply system and in Ofua but Ofua had a bigger challenge than Maijji B because their only sanitation blocks which were there were already full and they are non-drainable So we give them two more block of sanitation facility. Each block has the washroom attached to them. Then we also got for them a permanent hand washing facility. The maternity ward was not in a very bad state. The ceiling was almost falling. The cracks were too much. So, we rehabilitated the ceiling for that ward, but we realized the entire ceiling was not done well. So, we did the entire block. This is to ensure that we eliminate the challenges of our inpatient having no where to bath from. That’s number one. Number two, to support our adolescent girls and young women. When they come to get health care services and they are into their period. They will need to clean themselves. They will need to change their pads. So, where would they do it? That’s why constructed those facilities”, He said.

Uthman Bagonza the project manager working with right to play also said that. “as Right to Play, we are the lead partner as far as the share project is concern and focused much in ensuring that the Adolescent girls and boys have access to services like education, health though we much focused in the primary school sector as FAWE deals with the secondary schools but also under health we  have managed to supply sport materials to all the 43 health centres to improve on the re visit of the facilities by the adolescents”, said Uthman.

With this progress, Adjumani District is positioning itself as a model for maternal and child health improvement in Uganda. Authorities say the focus will remain on strengthening health systems, expanding adolescent-friendly services, and enhancing community awareness to reduce preventable deaths and health risks further.

By Bazio Doreen.

Most Ugandan women attend Antenatal Care (ANC) late, at five months of pregnancy on average, and do not complete all four visits recommended. Inadequate ANC usage contributes significantly to Uganda’s persistently high maternal and newborn death rates which stands at 189 per 100,000 live births, with a one (1) in 66 lifetime risk of maternal death.

However, for Ofua HC III, this is now history. With support from WaterAid, one of the partners implementing the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) project in Adjumani District, the facility renovated the maternity ward which has increased the antennal coverage from 83% to 98%. Ofua HC III is located in Ofua Sub County, Adjumani District.

This intervention is key for Ofua because it is one of the sub counties with the highest Teenage Pregnancy rate of 20% against a district average of 15.7%. Of the 226 mothers delivered in the financial year (FY) 2024/2025, 33 were teenagers. Also, out of 3,936 Family planning users in Ofua in the same FY, 187 were teenagers.

According to Mindra Hellen Tilli, the Senior Assistant Chief Administrative Officer – Ofua Sub County, the high teenage pregnancy rate in the area is facilitated by poor parenting and stereotypes on child marriage.

“We have many child headed facilities that is worsened by poor parenting. It is believed in Ofua that people should get married when they are very young and active so as to have a fruitful marriage and grow together with their children,” Mindra says.

Tako Stephen, the Health Facility In charge Ofua HC III, now says that the renovation of the maternity ward has not only helped to create a safe environment for antennal, deliveries and post natal but also encouraged more teenage expectant mothers to come to the health facility.

“Before the intervention by WaterAid, we had a collapsing ceiling board in the maternity ward. This created fear to both the patients and the mid wives because they felt it would collapse any time. The renovation has now created comfort for the mothers. It has also helped to reduce stigma for teenage mother because they are now attended to easily and they leave,” Tako revealed.

Indeed, Iziku Juliet, 17, one of the teenage mothers who has received antennal care at the facility says that now she feels comfortable coming to the facility because the nurses and midwives are more motivated to work.

“Before the renovation, I feared to come here because the nurses would work on us slowly. The queues were very slow and we felt uncomfortable getting glaring eyes from the older women. But also I was afraid that the ceiling could collapse on us anytime,” Iziku said.

Similarly, David Livingston Onen, the SHARE Project Officer – WaterAid based in Adjumani, indeed affirms the maternity ward was in a dilapidated and worrying state which was not only affecting service delivery but access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights services and information.

“The maternity ward was in a very bad state. The ceiling was almost falling. The cracks were too much. So, we rehabilitated the ceiling for that ward, but we realized the entire ceiling was not done well. So, we had to renovate the entire block,” Onen explained.

Indeed the problem was far from over. A lot more was still at stake. The placenta pit was also renovated and concrete work surfaces/tops constructed in the laboratory and maternity ward. These work surfaces include: water points like sinks and cabinets for storing medical equipment.

These provide a safe working space for midwives and laboratory personnel which prevent infections opposed to wooden tables. The cabinets also improved storage of medical samples and equipment which has created an improved quality and accurate diagnosis.

Under the SHARE project support, WaterAid also constructed an 8 stances of drainable latrine, and 8 bathrooms including those for persons with disabilities.  

Onen says that while the initial plan of WaterAid was to renovate the maternity ward alone, they discovered that the WASH situation at the health facility was equally worrying.

“We found out that the only sanitation block of the health facility were already full and yet they are non-drainable. So, we decided to give them two more blocks of sanitation facility. This is to ensure that we eliminate the challenges of our inpatients/adolescents and young women having nowhere to bath during their period,” Onen explained.

Onen added “They will need to clean themselves. They will need to change their pads. So, where would they do it?”

In a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) assessment done by WaterAid between January to March 2025, the health facility scored 78% with the worst score being in health care waste management. Ofua HC III serves a catchment population of 7,330 and treats about 1,800 – 2,400 patients on average each month.

Tako also says they plan to improve their WASH performance in this financial year 2025/2026 through: facility based training; procurement of bins; printing and displaying Standard rules of procedure for waste management; monthly mock assessments and recruitment of volunteers.

The health facility developed a WASH improvement plan which has become an advocacy tool. The plan is now enabling the facility employ 4 volunteers who are paid shs 100,000/= each every quarter. These are helping the facility improve their WASH since they only have one cleaner. While cleanliness and infection control at the facility is paramount, health assistants and inspectors need to equally ensure that communities adhere to basic disease prevention mechanisms.  

As explained by Edema Richard Draciri, the Principal Chief Administrative Officer, medical supplies and drugs given by the Ministry of Health are inadequate and thus many times drug stock out is inevitable.

“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 observes.

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. 

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.