WAVE-WELL BEING AND VITALITY IN EDUCATION PROGRAM
Pamoja Afya Initiative’s Wave-(Well Being and Vitality in Education) Program aims at integrating mental, emotional, and physical health into learning environments among schools and communities surrounding national parks and tourist destinations in Uganda to ensure that learners and educators thrive holistically. The WAVE program is critical in reducing stress, increasing mindfulness, improving physical health and fostering emotional resilience among both youth and adults.
This program empowers schools and community structures to cultivate a culture of inclusivity, positivity and support among their institutions where youth and other community members can feel safe and valued which reduces. The program specifically focuses on four main thematic areas which includes:-
A–Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Program
Due to high rates of teenage pregnancies, maternal mortality, gender-based violence, and limited access to family planning services. Pamoja Afya Initiative improves SRHR services among the youth and communities members surrounding national parks and tourist destinations in Uganda. Our SRHR Program therefore concentrates on promotion of:-
- Maternal and Reproductive Health
Under this program, Pamoja Afya Initiative realizes the high maternal mortality rate among teenage girls and young women especially those from rural areas of Uganda which currently stands at 336 deaths per 100,000 live births. Our program therefore promotes community education by mobilizing teenage pregnant adolescents and young women to produce at health facilities, assist vulnerable teenage pregnant girls seek antenatal and post natal services and mama kits during child birth. Empower them with accurate information on proper hygiene and sanitation during pregnancy as well as sensitizing them to adopt good nutrition practices during pregnancy. The program as well sensitize the youth about the dangers of abortion and the importance of husbands giving support to their pregnant wives to help them reduce depression and stress during the pregnancy period.
- Family Planning and Contraception
This program empowers adolescents and youth with accurate information on different methods of family planning which enable them to prevent teenage pregnancies which automatically result into child marriages. Pamoja Afya Initiative therefore creates demand for contraceptives in the community and work hand in hand with health facilities to administer these services to youth . The program also create youth friendly safe spaces which give them an opportunity to share information and from each other.
- Adolescent Sexual Health
Pamoja Afya Initiative recognizes that the poor life choices among youth result into involvement in cross generation sex in exchange for material gains like money, clothes, phones, vaselines, perfumes yet these girls and boys have poor bargaining power for safer sex and limited access to accurate information on HIV prevention with expose youth to HIV, STIs infections and unintended pregnancies to an extent that Two thirds of all new HIV infections are found among adolescent girls in Uganda and yet only 30 per cent of Adolescent Girls receive HIV testing Services (HTS) (UPHIA 2019). Specifically, Pamoja Afya Initiative recognizes that the HIV prevalence among adolescents aged 15-19 years, 25% of Ugandan teenagers become pregnant before age 17, and close to 50% are married before celebrating their 18th birthday (UNCEF;2021). This program therefore profile, map and mobilize high risk youth for index testing and uptake of HIV services. Youth are empowered through home visits and One on One discussion with information on HIV and STI prevention and treatment, importance of HIV testing, benefits of screening for STIs, TB and Hepatitis C , STI signs and symptoms plus their treatment. Safe male circumcision and its benefits. teenage pregnancies prevention and proper management, benefits of starting ART during the initial stages of discovering the virus which includes suppressing the virus before it becomes worse and visiting healthy facilities for ART services. Our PAI social workers also share information on the importance of Oral quick self-testing method for individuals who do not have time to visit the health facility for HIV testing services as well as giving families information on Family planning, PEP, PrEP, and TB prevention
- Gender and sexual Based Violence (GBV) Prevention
Pamoja Afya (health) Initiative recognizes that in Uganda 56% of married women experience some form of violence. Unfortunately due to cultural norms, religious beliefs that promotions male dominance, there is a high tolerance to gender based violence among rural communities that results into child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM)