SEXUAL REPRODUCTIVE AND HEALTH RIGHTS
Pamoja Afya (Health) Initiative Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights program enhance awareness of reproductive health rights and services to youth and women in the reproductive age group.
Objectives of PAI SRH Program
Our program aim at:-
1-Improved behavioral change with particular regard to decisions about early and unprotected sex, STDs and HIV/AIDS prevention and management and the use family planning services.
2-Increased knowledge in marketing family planning products among VHTs, private and public health services providers.
3.. Improved access and increased demand and utilization of adolescent friendly Reproductive Health Services
OUR STRATEGY
The program therefore promotion of Family Planning, antenatal and postnatal services , prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections among others. The program disseminate reproductive health knowledge among rural communities surrounding national parks in Uganda targeting majorly adolescent girls and women in the reproductive age group to support demystification of Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) myths, misconceptions, and increase awareness of Reproductive Health rights and services.
The SRH Program conducts community sensitization meetings. It also provides information on healthy timing and the needs and benefits of spacing of pregnancies among child bearing mothers. Disseminate SRH information through peer to peer approach, conduct sex education at the community level through group sessions, recreational activities (Health festivals, cultural events) and distribute IEC materials that promote Sexual reproductive health
The program also support the development of spaces for discussion and or debates between young people (in and out of school) themselves with the community (in and out of school youth, parents teachers, health staff, community authorities) on SRH issues aimed at identifying the problems, including existing community norms related to sexual risk behavior and the needs and solutions related to SRHs of young people and women.
OUR APPROACHES
Community Outreaches using a peer to Peer Approach
Pamoja Afya (Health) Initiative conducts Community based outreaches done by Youth Peer Educators to create an effective network of care in the community. During outreaches, YPEs engage in mobilization and dissemination of RH information using demonstrations, discussions and distribution of IEC materials. YPEs also distribute both female and male condoms
Our Youth Peer Educators employ a peer-to-peer approach in disseminating SRH information. Youth Peer Educators (YPEs) are selected and trained in the rights based approach to SRH service delivery. As well as sexual behavior change, and tasked to pass on the acquired knowledge to fellow youth. YPEs offer periodic and continuous counseling to other young people in their communities, they support and advise fellow youth on how to access SRH information and services, and engage health workers to advocate for quality reproductive health services on behalf of the youth
Use of Film and Health Education Talks:
PAI promotes sex education in schools through health talks and film shows. Students are educating on the consequences of early pregnancy and engaging in unsafe sex. The film shows are good mobilization tools that motivate youth to participate
Use of table talks ( Ebimeza)
PAI use table talks to engage youth in open RH discussions, disseminate RH information, eliminate sexual myths as well as provide an open forum for young people’s questions to be answered. The table-talk discussions facilitate the youth to voice out their RH challenges and acquire clarification on condom use. In addition, the table talks contribute to building self-esteem, communication skills and confidence among peer educators and participants.
Adult-centered learning techniques
In our training sessions, combinations of interactive adult-center experiential learning techniques is what we use . Our training approach is highly participatory. Pre-training tools are administered to assess participants’ knowledge in SRH prior to delivering the trainings. At the end of each training, participants are supplied with post training tools. This is to ascertain knowledge acquired on a particular RH subject.
GEM ( Girl Education Movement (GEM)
Pamoja Afya (Health) Initiative’s promotes the GEM which is an Adolescent peer-led school-based awareness. Creation on existing child protection risks, gender concerns including adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) concerns. The program establishes Girls Education Movement (GEM) clubs to help in combating the multiple gender-based barriers to girls’ education. GEM clubs are trained to raise comprehensive awareness on sexuality education.
This is in line with the National Sexuality Education Framework (2018), covering sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), protection and gender-based violence and response, pregnancy, and forced marriage. Furthermore, GEM club members reach out to other boys and girls and raise awareness on the importance of education and to discuss barriers to education for children, especially girls and encourage out of school children to re-enrol.
GEM club members reach out to others through awareness sessions, putting on dramas and music shows held at schools and in community spaces where they share key messages. Information Education and Communication materials like . T-shirts, banners, compound messages or ‘talking walls’ in schools) are produced and distributed in schools