CSOs call for strong families and education to curb early marriages in West Nile.
Adolescents, especially young women and girls in West Nile, face a cluster of issues related to SRHR and GBV, such as high rates of teenage pregnancies, child marriages, as well as limited youth-friendly services.
On October 3rd, community leaders, government officials, cultural and religious leaders, and youth convened in Yumbe District for an intergenerational dialogue to address teenage pregnancy, early marriage, and school dropout rates in the West Nile region.
The meeting with the theme “Voices Unite: Faith, Culture, and Youth for a Healthy West Nile” was a project by the Protect SRHR project funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda and implemented by a consortium of partners including Reach A Hand Uganda, International Rescue Committee (IRC), World Vision Uganda, and Humanity and Inclusion.
The PROTECT SRHR is a four-year disability-inclusive project funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda that seeks to improve access to and utilisation of quality Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) services, including information, among adolescents, women, girls and vulnerable populations, including persons with disabilities, in 06 districts of the West Nile Region of Uganda. These include Nebbi, Pakwach, Terego, Maracaha, Yumbe, and Koboko in West Nile, with activities implemented in consortium partnership with organisations such as IRC, HI, RAHU, and Open Capital Advisors.
The Yumbe District LCV Chairperson urged parents to focus on sending girls to school: “We all want children at home who are friendly. Parents at home should be friendly to children because when there is peace at home, children do not look for love outside. Parents should send girls to school because they are abused more when left at home. We need to protect our children today,” she asserted.
The Chief Guest, the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Yumbe, also emphasised the necessity for co-parenting: “We must not leave parenting to one side. When mothers and fathers parent together, boys learn respect and girls grow up with confidence. That is a basic requirement for a good nation.”
Research presented by Jjumba Quarish Wasswa, the Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at the Ministry of Education and Sports, highlighted the extent of the crisis. Teenage pregnancy is at 37% in West Nile—considerably higher than the national average of 24%. In addition, 60% of children in Yumbe do not complete primary school as a result of early marriages, children living at home headed by children, or economic problems.
“Research shows that literacy and numeracy in children in upper primary school are poor, and when children drop out early, these deficits are never addressed, which locks out young people from opportunities in the future,” Wasswa continued.
Source: https://www.independent.co.ug/csos-call-for-strong-families-and-education-to-curb-early-marriages-in-west-nile/