Background
Young people in Uganda face a wide range of sexual and reproductive health challenges, including teenage pregnancies, unsafe abortions, gender-based violence, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. Despite Uganda having a predominantly young population, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services remain limited and don’t address the full needs of young people.

About the project
This project was created to empower youth to access SRHR information and services in Kamwokya slum, where poverty rates are high and public health facilities absent. The purpose of the project was to provide adolescents with SRHR education, appropriate referrals and to advocate for SRHR services for youth in the area. Trainings were held with a selection young people from Kamwokya slum – including youth leaders, pupils from a number of schools and peer educators. In addition to this, staff from an adolescent clinic and a teenage centre were trained and equipped with skills to advocate for SRHR services in the area.

Results
482 young people from Kamwokya slum and surrounding communities were empowered with accurate SRHR information during the project period. 213 adolescents were referred to SRHR-related services and 10 teachers and 24 care givers from the youth centres were trained, both on SRHR in general and on SRHR service advocacy. By the end of the project, youth from Kamwokya were represented in the adolescent health working group on a national level, meaning they now have a platform where they can participate in discussions and claim their rights.

After the project ended, the youth engagements have continued and the SRHR education programme has been scaled to another slum area in Kampala, targeting youth and sex workers.