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.