Reproductive Health Services
Reproductive Health Services country statistics indicate that young people aged 15-24 years represent a quarter of sexually active and reproductive population; almost half of them have sexually transmitted infections; 65% are in high school level; 1 in 5 young people have more than four sexual partners (CDC) this put them at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases/infection and unplanned pregnancies and this is comes with social and economic cost on the mother, child, family and community. There are high incidences of unplanned pregnancies and its prevalence in Uganda is at 25%; average teenage girls childbearing is 35% and 25% of girls have had an abortion or baby (UNFPA). Adolescent child bearing is at 27 % in rural areas compared to 19% in Urban (UDHS 2016), girls get married before age of 18 years and studies indicate that teenage pregnancy is dangerous for the child; deaths during the first months of life are between 50- 100% that is the young the mother the higher the risk, the rate of premature birth and low birth weight are higher, increased chances of future health problems for the baby, mothers are at risk of anemia and post-natal depression and this is socially detrimental to young people, their families and communities at large (Rutgers 2014). Therefore EYDI focus on;
- Reproductive Health Services that focus on improved SHR Services/ Provision of high quality Youth Friendly SRH Services,
- Sex Education; comprehensive and informed sexuality education that the youth can rely on,
- SRHR Advocacy that aims at combating / fighting Sexual and Gender-Based Violence among Youth and Society at large.
- SRHR information that is removing barriers in accessing the information and services young people needed.
EYDI SRHR is engaging all stakeholders at all levels to promote and advocate for Sexual Reproductive Health Services and rights. Our efforts are towards seeing society of young people empowered in adolescent sexual reproductive health and rights.
EYDI team empowering young people on their sexual reproductive health issues at Kiwenda Cell 2016
We target young people, parents, and youth-serving adults in your communities through engaging them by:
- empowering young people to make healthy decisions;
- providing parents or trusted adults the resources they need to be the primary educators to their children about love, sex, and relationships; and
- Educating community leaders about the importance of quality, evidence-based approaches to teen pregnancy prevention.
This is done through workshops, performances followed by group discussions, and talks with guest speakers and health professionals from the community, monthly community and school outreaches which brings together young people from the entire community is such an opportunity that we are tapping into to promote sexual Reproductive Health Services and rights. Our staff and volunteers actively participate in these outreaches with theme focused on empowering the young people, parents and their leaders on behavioral change, making informed decisions about their sexuality. It also focused on building a more conscientious, responsible and productive society. This was done through collaborating with key stakeholders who routinely provide key services during the outreaches. The outreach is thus organized with a theme of “Empowering young for sustainable development”
The EYDI team employs Youth friendly approaches to pass on Sexual Reproductive Health Services and rights information to the young people. Group discussions, role plays and Question and answer sessions are utilized appropriately. These sessions stimulates the young people to freely interact and open up to the EYDI team.
