Background
High levels of teenage pregnancies and early marriages indicate a lack of reproductive health information and services for adolescents in the community of Nakasozi-Budo, in Wakiso district in Uganda. Existing reproductive health services target adults and married couples, excluding many young people and making them reluctant to seek help for fear of being judged.

About the project
This project was created to provide reproductive health information, contraceptives and services to adolescents aged 10-19 in Nakasozi-Budo village over a period of one year. The project team trained health providers, teachers and local leaders on the importance of reproductive health services for adolescents and how to provide these in a friendly, non-judgemental environment. Existing health facilities were re-organized to create rooms for counselling, family planning and treatment for adolescents and necessary equipment was secured.

Results
By the end of the project in 2007, 35 adolescents had visited the facility and 100 condoms had been supplied. The most common reasons for their visits included accessing contraceptive pills, treatment for sexually transmitted infections and to get sexual and reproductive health information. In 2011, the services still continued, but had been expanded and included a wider range of contraceptive methods. Due to the increased awareness of sexual and reproductive health and rights, the project team have noticed a decline in pregnancy among girls below the age of 18. The facility now gets 8 pregnant girls/month, compared to 15 in the project’s earlier stages.