RIGHT TO PLAY, ADJUMANI LEADERS HOST CONFERENCE ON SRHR IN GULU.
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 18th to Friday 19th 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.