Friday, June 22, 2012

ACFODE OPENS A CHAPTER IN KISORO

On the 14th of June 2012, ACFODE officially launched a regional field office in western Uganda. The office, located in the town council of Kisoro district was formally opened by Mr. Aheebwa Godfrey - the Deputy Resident District Commission in Kisoro.


Among the distinguished guests at the launch were; the District Chairperson Mr. Bazanye Milton, the District Internal Security Officer – Mr. Babishenga, and the District Speaker Mr. Hakizimana Amos.



Guests at the launch

Several other representatives from local government and the private sector including civil society actors, representatives from the academia as well as the media, the police and from the community were in attendance.


In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Bazanye noted that, 'I really appreciate ACFODE for bringing her presence closer in this region, and mostly importantly to the people of Kisoro. For us, this is a dream come true given the fact that gender inequality and violence against women continues to be a formidable force in the region. Here in Kisoro, it is a common phenomenon to learn about, or hear about incidences of rape, defilement, and forced marriages. It is therefore important that at least we have a referral to give to victims and survivors of VAW, which has not been the case in the past. Therefore on behalf of government, I plague our support in all your endeavors."



Cultural dancers entertaining guests


The office is being supported by EIRENE, one of ACFODE's development partners. Among other services, it will be offering psycho-social counseling to women and girls who have fallen victim to sexualized violence, legal advice, and community sensitization on women's rights. The office will also undertake and facilitate community-led advocacy initiatives. These services fall under the EIRENE supported project titled: Prevention and Handling of Cases of Sexual Violence against Women and Girls – which seeks to advocate for women and girls' rights so that they are socially and culturally empowered to demand for what is rightfully theirs, and to also suffer less from violence.


The Deputy RDC signing in the visitors book


Other projects that ACFODE is currently implementing in the western region and particularly in Kisoro district include; Action for Strengthening Good Governance and Accountability in Uganda, and Enhancing Effective Youth and Women Participation in Politics and Decision Making.


Sandra Nassali

Public Relations & Communications Officer

Action For Development

Email: snassali@acfode.org

 





Thursday, June 21, 2012

ACFODE rolls out new project: Building and Amplifying women’s voices in Economic and Political Development.

With funding from the Netherlands government,ACFODE in partnership with DIAKONIA has rolled out a new project titled: Building and amplifying women's voices in economic and political development. This project is under a bigger grant programme by the Netherlands government in particular the Ministry of foreign affairs of Funding Leadership and Opportunities for Women (FLOW). The overall aim of the programme is to improve the position of women and girls especially their participation and benefitfrom the economic and political spheres.The programmes overarching policy aim is to contribute to structural poverty reduction by improving gender equality and empowerment of women.




Partners during the Inception Meeting in Nairobi


The project whose duration is three years will be implemented in the districts of Namutumba, Dokollo and Pader.While there is wide acknowledgement of the increased numbers of women in political and public spaces, the numbers do not match the demographic gender representation in which women constitute 51% of Uganda's population. Economically, the increased focus on macro-economic stability has not translated in women gaining so much as anticipated. They still face a range of impediments to their progress and growth in this sphere and still remain poorer than men in every aspect.


The focal areas of the project are: - Promotion of economic self-reliance of households in particular women through giving them knowledge and skills in food security and rights to food advocacy and the participation and representation of women in politics and public administration.


This project therefore seeks to improve household food security especially of the female headed households as well as enhance women's participation in politics and public institutions at local and national levels. Through advocacy and sensitization on the right to food issues together with trainings on skills and knowledge on nutrition, among other key areas to be tackled, we hope food secure households will be created and the myths associated with malnutrition in some of the operational districts will be demystified.


Similarly through dialogue meetings with women leaders & those in public administrative positions; training of women leaders and those aspiring to be in leadership and management and subsequently advocacy of issues arising, we are optimistic that more gender responsive polices and legislation will be passed, the number of women involved in politics at the local government levels will increase, and also the number of women holding public administrative positions at local government and national levels will continue to rise.


All these aspirations resonate with ACFODE'S core purpose of advocacy for gender equality and equity but also DIAKONIA's mission of working towards changing structures that cause poverty,oppression and violence.

 

Yossa Daisy Immaculate

Project Officer:

Building and amplifying women's voices in economic and political development

Action For Development

Email: yossa@acfode.org

 






Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Weekly News Round Up

THE UNTOLD STORIES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN


"You don't need to go far, it is all around us," said Robert Dijksterhuis, head of the gender division in the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to a room mostly full of women. "Up to one in three women around the world has been abused in some way – most often by someone she knows," he added, quoting UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) numbers. The audience, a group of committed women – and men -, had gathered in Rome to discuss this widespread emergency and the role media have in relation to it in a conference organised by the IPS news agency and supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the city of Rome. The U.N.


Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) reports in the paper "Violence against women worldwide" that up to 70 percent of women experience physical or sexual violence from men in their lifetime – the majority from husbands, partners or someone they know. Among women aged 15–44, acts of violence cause more death and disability than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined. And violence against women is pervasive. In South Africa, a woman is killed every six hours by someone she knows; in Guatemala, two women are murdered, on average, each day. In São Paulo, Brazil, a woman is assaulted every 15 seconds. Rape of women is widespread in armed conflicts such as those of Colombia and Darfur, Sudan. During the conference, IPS launched the handbook "Reporting Gender-Based Violence". Read more

http://www.ipsnews.net/2009/11/media-the-untold-stories-of-violence-against-women/


UGANDA REGISTERS 300,000 ABORTIONS ANNUALLY-WHO


A report by the World Health Organization has shown 300,000 abortion cases are registered in the country very year. However, the report does not show whether these abortions are safe or unsafe. But what is clear in the report is that 7.5 billion shillings is spent and 85,000 women treated every year to treat abortion related complications. Experts have always complained that many women die every year in the process of getting rid of unwanted pregnancies.

They have used this evidence to advocate for the legalization of the practice to save the women's lives. Almost all the abortions in Uganda are as a result of unwanted pregnancies which is reason and an expression of the need for the legalization of abortion. This revelation comes at a critical time when Uganda has suspended the recruitment of health workers due to lack of funds to meet the salary requirements. Read more

http://www.ugpulse.com/uganda-news/health/uganda-registers-300-000-abortions-annually-who/25821.aspx


ABORTIONS CLAIM 68,000 WOMEN IN AFRICA ANNUALLY

Uganda spends sh7.5bn each year treating complications resulting from unsafe abortion, a new study reveals.The World Health Organization guidance on abortion-related services reveals that in Uganda, about 300,000 abortions are carried out every year. "Abortion related complications are one of the leading causes of admissions to gynaecological wards in hospitals across the country," Professor Florence Mirembe, an associate professor at the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at Mulago hospital said last week.

She was speaking at a three day national conference on reducing maternal mortality from unsafe abortion that brought together different participants in government and the private sector. Dr. Charles Kiggundu, a consultant gynecologist and obstetrician says many women, especially youth die from complications of unsafe abortion in Uganda.  "There is evidence that whatever the law or restrictions attached to abortion, the practice only goes underground and kills more women," Kiggundu says. Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/631950-abortions-claim-68-000-women-in-africa-annually.html



UGANDAN CIVIL ORGANIZATIONS ASK SUPREME COURT TO DECLARE DEATH THAT WOMEN'S RIGHTS ARE VIOLATED WHEN 


THEY DIE IN CHILD BIRTH


In an effort to lower the maternal mortality rate in Uganda, activists from more than 50 civil service organizations on Tuesday asked the country's Supreme 

Court "to declare that women's rights are violated when they die in childbirth," which could help make the government put more resources toward maternal health care and lower the rate of maternal deaths, currently about 100 per week, the Associated Press/Fox Newsreports.


"All we want is a declaration that when women die during childbirth it is a violation of their rights," Noor Musisi of the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development in Kampala said, according to the news agency. Uganda's Constitutional Court last week declined to make such a statement and "said the matter was for the country's political leaders to handle," the AP notes. In February, while visiting Uganda, Lois Quam, head of the U.S. Global Health Initiative, "said she had asked Ugandan officials to take 'greater ownership' of maternal health care and avoid sinking deeper into dependency on foreign benefactors," according to the news agency Read more

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120615/Ugandan-civil-organizations-ask-Supreme-Court-to-declare-death-during-childbirth-violates-womens-rights.aspx


MOTHER RE - UNITED WITH HER KIDNAPPED CHILDREN


After a two-month hunt; the police have rescued two baby boys and arrested a woman kidnapper in Kawanda in Wakiso district.  Sylvia Nakanwagi, in her late 20s kidnapped two children, 4-year Simon Kaizuka, a pupil of Kibuye Nursery School and his young brother, Prince who was one month at the time. 

Prince was found wrapped with some fetishes, allegedly given by a native doctor to Nakanwagi to help her prevent her arrest. Police said Nakanwagi was a neighbor to the parents, Kenneth Kaizuka and Mariam Babirye of Nabisaalu zone in Makindye.


She allegedly hired a girl, one Phiona Nassozi who posed as a nanny looking for a job to kidnap the the children. The children's mother owned a restaurant in Nabisaalu zone in Kampala and as she kept busy serving her customers, Nassozi was busy planning to steal the babies. Nassozi was arrested and confessed to the offence. Babirye screamed for help when she returned from serving food and did not find her babies. But she did not have an idea as to who the girl who kidnapped the babies was. Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/632108-mother-re-united-with-her-kidnapped-children.html 


GOVT ISSUES NEW RULES ON CHILD ADOPTION TO CHECK TRAFFICKING


Government has issued new guidelines for adopting children as a measure to stop increasing child trafficking as the country joined the rest of the world to mark the Day of the African Child on Friday. According to the new guidelines, government is going to set up District Alternative parents at all districts in the country to vet documents of obtaining an adoption certificate before obtaining the certificate from court. "Smooth operators manage to rush the process in courts to get certificates and get children for trafficking," Mr Mortz Magall, the head of Orphans and Vulnerable Children National Implementation unit at the gender ministry said in Entebbe.


He said they will also set up national panels for alternative care to follow up children who will be adopted to reduce cases of child trafficking in Uganda. Ugandan children are trafficked within the country, as well as to Canada, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia for forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation according to reports. Unicef puts the number of children trafficked internally and externally at 1.2 million. Government released crime statistics for 2007, which indicated that child trafficking crimes had increased over the previous year with 54 children kidnapped, abducted, or stolen during the year. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Govt+issues+new+rules+on+child+adoption+to+check+trafficking/-/688334/1430280/-/icbg2yz/-/index.html

SUSPECTED HUMAN TRAFFICKER ARRESTED


A boss of a marketing firm in Bwaise, a Kampala suburb, was arrested last week for allegedly being involved in human trafficking, police say. The suspect was arrested on June 13 for allegedly recruiting and extorting a number of unemployed hopefuls – through what authorities say was a front business that lured Ugandans in with the false promises of jobs abroad. "It is mixed with legitimate business, so we cannot always tell," Mr Umar Mutuya, the police officer in-charge of trafficking in persons at the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), said.  Police say the accused extorted a number of victims from millions of shillings to pay their transport to non-existent jobs abroad. Many were left penniless along the way and at risk of death.


At least five are reportedly stranded in Swaziland, one is in detention in Zimbabwe prison and an untold number still unaccounted for, authorities say. The suspect acted as the managing director of a company that currently publishes at least two newsletters – both of which feature foreign job adverts prominently. Job listings in their publications range from English teachers in Rwanda to security guards in Iraq to babysitters in Canada. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Suspected+human+trafficker+arrested/-/688334/1430468/-/94xb9qz/-/index.html

UGANDAN WOMEN GO TO COURT OVER MATERNAL MORTALITY


More than 100 women die during childbirth each week in Uganda, a heartbreaking statistic that has energized activists to go to the Supreme Court in a bid to force the government to put more resources toward maternal health care to prevent the wave of deaths. The activists say they want the country's top judges to declare that women's rights are violated when they die in childbirth, the kind of statement a lower court declined to give last week. In rejecting the petition, the Constitutional Court said the matter was for the country's political leaders to handle. The country's top judges have a serious role to play:


A declaration favoring the women activists would shame the government into action that drastically reduces mortality among childbearing women in Uganda, activists say. "All we want is a declaration that when women die during childbirth it is a violation of their rights," said Noor Musisi of the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development, a Kampala-based group that is championing the legal push. The groups presented the bid to the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Uganda loses 16 women in childbirth daily, a figure some activists boldly emphasize on placards during regular marches in the streets of the Ugandan capital. Read more

 http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/18777164/ugandan-women-go-to-court-over-maternal-mortality


NEVIRAPINE BASED TREATMENT FOR HIV IS EFFECTIVE IN AFRICAN WOMEN


In African women, an anti-AIDS treatment regimen that includes the drug nevirapine is as effective as a treatment regimen with the more expensive drugs, lopinavir/ritonavir, according to a study by a team of international researchers published in this week's PLoS Medicine. This finding is important as it confirms the recommendations from the World Health Organization that an increasingly common nevirapine-based treatment regimen is an affordable and effective option for the initial treatment of HIV in resource-limited settings.


The clinical trial involved 500 HIV-infected African women who had not previously taken antiretroviral treatment in seven countries (Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe). The researchers, led by Shahin Lockman from the Harvard School of Public Health, randomized half of the women to receive antiretroviral therapy containing nevirapine and half to receive antiretroviral therapy containing lopinavir/ritonavir, a more expensive combination. The researchers found that a similar number of women died in each group and each combination was as effective at controlling the level of HIV virus. In addition, similar proportions of women in both treatment groups developed serious drug-related signs and symptoms and laboratory abnormalities. Read more

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/plos-nbt060812.php

NODDING FAMILIES ASK GOVERNMENT FOR SPEEDY ACTION

Relatives of children living with the nodding disease syndrome have asked the government to speed up the process of acquiring drugs to cure the mysterious disease due to the fear of severe mental strain. Bosco Oringa, a student of Gulu University, speaking to children during the commemoration of the Day of the African Child in Gulu District on Saturday, called on parents, medical workers and the government to work together to solve the spreading problem. "I am very sure these children suffering from nodding disease might one day developmental problems," Mr Oringa said.

Officiating at the function, the district secretary for production, Ms Caroline Rose Adong, said there is need for urgent action from responsible authorities because the children's future is getting ruined. "We are afraid that with time, they will become part of the children with disability because the disease attacks the brain and if we don't help these children, we shall not have a future for them," Ms Adong said. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Nodding+families+ask+government+for+speedy+action/-/688334/1429658/-/t7bdf3z/-/index.html

NGO WORKSHOPS IN NAKASONGOLA CRIPPLING SERVICE DELIVERY - LC5

The LC5 of Nakasongola District has warned NGOs over organising rampant workshops in the district, saying it affects service delivery in the area. Mr James Wandira Muruuli, while addressing journalists in his office last week, said majority of civil servants spend time attending workshops hence abandoning their duties. He said he was shocked to find few civil servants on duty during his monitoring survey in the district since they were attending workshops.

Mr Muruuli said some NGOs were duplicating resources due to fear of extending their services in remote villages. "We are organising a meeting with the programme managers of these NGOs such that we can harmonise the way forward on how these workshops can be organised and balance services," he said. A senior district official, who preferred for anonymity for security reasons, said workshops are vital because they help civil servants refocus on government policies. When Daily Monitor contacted the chairperson of Nakasongola NGO Forum, Mr Ronald Magado, for a comment about the matter, he said every NGO had its own design project which it must implement. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/NGO+workshops+in+Nakasongola+crippling+service+delivery+++LC5/-/688334/1429638/-/fu1wypz/-/index.html

THERE ISN'T AN HIV VACCINE YET, GOVERNMENT CAUTIONS CITIZENS

The government has cautioned members of the public on rushing for the new HIV/Aids vaccine recently reported in the media, saying there is no recommended HIV vaccine. The Director Uganda Virus Research Institute, Prof. Pontiano Kaleebu, on Monday said the media had carried reports that an HIV vaccine had been found.

This was after the Antiviral Drugs committee of the United States Food and Administration recommended that the Food and Drug Administration approve Truvada drugs for use to prevent HIV (pre-exposure prophylaxis). "Truvada is not an HIV vaccine and no HIV vaccine has yet been discovered. There are, however, ongoing studies and efforts to discover an HIV vaccine," Dr Kaleebu said at a press conference in Entebbe on Monday.

Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/There+isn+t+an+HIV+vaccine+yet++government+cautions+citizens/-/688334/1426968/-/15khb1n/-/index.html

HEALTH SECTOR CAN IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY DESPITE THE LOW STAFFING

As another pre-budget discussion passes by, many people are left discontented. Their hope that the government would recruit more health workers to fill the 51.7 per cent gap in the health sector was shattered as it emerged that the 2012/13 budget does not reflect any allocation for new recruitments. This comes at a time when the Health Service Commission is blaming poor service delivery on low staffing in public health facilities.

According to the 2010 Human Resources for Health Audit Report, there are about 40 per cent vacant positions at regional referral hospitals and a staffing gap of 47 per cent at district hospitals. At health centre level, the staffing gap is reportedly at 39 per cent at Health Centre IVs, 46 per cent at health centre IIIs and 58 per cent at health centre IIs. It has also emerged that the Ministry of Health cannot afford a 50 per cent salary increment for the 28,000 health workers currently in service. On average, an enrolled nurse receives about Shs270,000, while a medical doctor earns about Shs700,000. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Letters/Health+sector+can+improve+service+delivery+despite+low+staffing/-/806314/1417040/-/c42vugz/-/index.html

WHO SHOULD REALLY BENEFIT FROM OIL?

Since the discovery of oil wells in Uganda, the issue of who should benefit and by what percentage from the natural resource, has been a subject of controversy among the public. Issues arise right from the terms of the oil exploration contracts. However, the issue should be demystified by subjecting this matter to the 1995 Constitution.

Article 26 of the Constitution provides for the right to own property either individually or in association of others and deprivation of such is subject to public use, interest of defense, safety, order, morality and health upon payment of adequate compensation prior to the taking of possession of the property. Article 244(2) provides that minerals and mineral ores shall be exploited taking into account the interests of the individual land owners, local governments and the government. Article 32 provides for affirmative action in favour of marginalised groups on the basis of gender, age, disability or any other reason created by history, tradition or custom for the purpose of redressing imbalances which exist against them. Therefore, Bunyoro cannot qualify as a marginalised group created by history. If Bunyoro is favoured because of oil, other people will put pressure on government in many ways. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Letters/Who+should+really+benefit+from+oil+/-/806314/1417044/-/o6nxriz/-/index.html


THOUSANDS TO BENEFIT FROM PLANNED HIV/AIDS SCHEME


More Ugandans are set to benefit from free anti-retroviral treatment when the government rolls out a scheme announced by the Minister of Finance to increase the number of beneficiaries in the 2012/13 Budget. If implemented, the programme will raise the number of people currently benefitting from State-subsidised ARV treatment from 331,000 to 431,000. In her speech, Ms Maria Kiwanuka said the government has set out to further mitigate the effects of HIV/Aids by emphasising prevention strategies such as ABC, male circumcision, and elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission, in addition to enrolling an additional 100,000 people on free treatment.


The country's AIDS Control Programme Manager, Dr Alex Ario, said this will benefit those who are eligible. Eligibility criterion is advanced disease of Stage III and IV with a CD4 count of less than 350. He added that all children below two who are confirmed HIV positive will be started on ART. Current available statistics suggest that enrolling only an additional 100,000 will leave out at least 146,000 people of the eligible 577,000 individuals. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Thousands+to+benefit+from+planned+HIV+Aids+scheme/-/688334/1430456/-/bfur79z/-/index.html 

 

FAMILIES OF 300 NODDING CHILDREN RECEIVE SUPPORT


Over 300 nodding disease children in northern Uganda have received humanitarian aid to alleviate their plight. Parents of the affected children received the items from health centres where their children have been admitted and at their homes. A caravan of humanitarian aid spearheaded by Uganda Women's Network distributed items in the districts of Gulu, Pader, Lamwo and Kitgum for the suffering families. The items were purchased by women rights activists in support of the affected children with nodding syndrome and their families.


"We were prompted to raise funds for victims of nodding disease since they were mainly children and their mothers taking care of them needed support," Betty Kugonza, the support officer of human rights unit of Action Aid Uganda said. The items worth sh20m included beans, sugar, posho, soya, clothes and soap. Dr. Francis Okumu a senior medical superintendent of Padibe Health Centre IV said the affected children needed nutrition supplements and the humanitarian aid came in time. Okumu said families affected by the nodding syndrome can't afford nutrition supplements because they are expensive and the parents don't have any source of income. Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/632032-famillies-of-300-nodding-children-receive-support.html

 

NODDING FAMILIES ASK GOVERNMENT FOR SPEEDY ACTION


Relatives of children living with the nodding disease syndrome have asked the government to speed up the process of acquiring drugs to cure the mysterious disease due to the fear of severe mental strain. Bosco Oringa, a student of Gulu University, speaking to children during the commemoration of the Day of the African Child in Gulu District on Saturday, called on parents, medical workers and the government to work together to solve the spreading problem. "I am very sure these children suffering from nodding disease might one day developmental problems," Mr Oringa said.


Officiating at the function, the district secretary for production, Ms Caroline Rose Adong, said there is need for urgent action from responsible authorities because the children's future is getting ruined. "We are afraid that with time, they will become part of the children with disability because the disease attacks the brain and if we don't help these children, we shall not have a future for them," Ms Adong said. Statistics indicate that about 1,200 children from Pader, Lamwo and Kitgum districts have dropped out of school as a result of constant break down and their mental incapacitation to learn since 2010. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Nodding+families+ask+government+for+speedy+action/-/688334/1429658/-/t7bdf3z/-/index.html


MPS ASK GOVT TO RELEASE REPORT ON NODDING DISEASE


Members of Parliament have asked Government to release the report on nodding disease so as to curb the epidemic. "Government should seriously consider releasing its report on the findings by the Centre for Disease Controls (CDC) about the nodding syndrome," Dr. Medard Bitekyerezo (NRM), the chairman of social service Parliamentary Committee said. Over 200 children have been affected by the nodding disease since its outbreak early this year. A team of researchers from Atlanta Georgia have been researching on the cause of the nodding syndrome since last year and have not made their findings public.


 "People have been speculating a lot about the disease therefore, Government should ally peoples' fear and save the situation," Serere Woman MP Alice Alaso (FDC) said. The lawmakers who were on Saturday on spot assessment of the nodding disease in the districts of Pader, Lamwo, Kitgum and Gulu stressed the need of finding the lasting solution to the epidemic. Alaso noted that even it meant declaring the four districts disaster areas so it be. The MPs were backed by the Kitgum LC5 chairman Luke Nyeko who said the situation is worrying because some people are already associating the disease with witch-craft. The legislators expressed concern about Government's food supply to the affected families saying it was inadequate.Read more

http://allafrica.com/stories/201206170247.html


MINISTRY WANTS NODDING PATIENTS IN TREATMENT CENTRES


Families affected by nodding disease in northern districts should take their children to the established treatment centres, the Ministry of Health has said. The call comes after reports that parents from Pader, the most affected district, have been unwilling to move their children to Atanga Health Centre III. The parents claim the medicine available at the centre has failed to curb nodding symptoms. However, Pader Vector Control Officer, Mr William Sam Oyet, on Wednesday, said when the children are taken to the health units and put on treatment, their conditions improve. He added that sufficient food was also available for all the victims.


The treatment centres in Pader, Lamwo and Kitgum were established early this year to screen and offer symptomatic treatment to nodding disease. The cause and treatment of nodding disease remains unknown but victims are given anti-epileptic medicines to reduce symptoms, which include nodding, seizures, physical and mental stunting, running saliva, among others. On May 26, President Museveni flagged off the mass drug administration for the treatment of river blindness. The government plans to conduct aerial spraying against the black fly that is believed to be linked to nodding. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Ministry+wants+nodding+patients+in+treatment+centres/-/688334/1427894/-/7jgmqgz/-/index.html


PREGNANT WOMEN ON ARVS INCREASE, RESEARCH SHOWS


Pregnancies among women on anti-retroviral treatment in Uganda have increased due to availability of anti-retroviral therapies, trend experts have said. Experts are also worried that the increased pregnancies could lead to a rise in HIV positive babies.  Out of an estimated 1.5 million women who get pregnant in Uganda annually, about 160,000 are HIV positive. Speaking to journalists that were attending a short course training in health reporting in Kampala last week, the acting HIV/Aids Control Programme manager, Dr Alex Ario, said women on ARTs had become more complacent accounting for a rise in pregnancies.


The head of research at Joint Clinical Research Centre, Dr Francis Kiweewa, said ARTs besides raising confidence of HIV positive women, the drugs also reduce the load of virus in the body as well as reviving the fertility rate of women who are infected. "We used to discourage HIV positive women from getting pregnant but with the advent of PMCTs in 2006 and the three-drug combination of ARTs, there has been increased hope that such women can give birth to health negative women after counselling and guidance," Dr Kiweewa said. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Pregnant+women+on+ARVs+increase++research+shows/-/688334/1429774/-/9jjlmjz/-/index.html


UGANDAN WOMEN GO TO COURT OVER MATERNAL MORTALITY


More than 100 women die during childbirth each week in Uganda, a heartbreaking statistic that has energized activists to go to the Supreme Court in a bid to force the government to put more resources toward maternal health care to prevent the wave of deaths. The activists say they want the country's top judges to declare that women's rights are violated when they die in childbirth, the kind of statement a lower court declined to give last week. In rejecting the petition, the Constitutional Court said the matter was for the country's political leaders to handle. The country's top judges have a serious role to play: 


A declaration favoring the women activists would shame the government into action that drastically reduces mortality among childbearing women in Uganda, activists say.

 "All we want is a declaration that when women die during childbirth it is a violation of their rights," said Noor Musisi of the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development, a Kampala-based group that is championing the legal push. The groups presented the bid to the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Uganda loses 16 women in childbirth daily, a figure some activists boldly emphasize on placards during regular marches in the streets of the Ugandan capital. Most of these deaths happen in villages where bad roads and poverty make it difficult for women to reach health centers. Even when they get there, some say, the available care is poor. Health centers have been built in villages across Uganda, but the structures are usually devoid of equipment and medicine. Read more

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/18777164/ugandan-women-go-to-court-over-maternal-mortality


STUDY LEADS TO INTRODUCTION OF RAPID SYPHILIS TESTS TO HELP PREGNANT WOMEN AND BABIES


The study, published today in PLoS Medicine, was so successful that it resulted in China, Peru, Brazil, Zambia, Uganda and Tanzania introducing the tests to help save the lives of unborn children before the research was published, demonstrating the value of including policymakers throughout the process. The research, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, sought to determine the feasibility of introducing new point-of-care-tests for pre-natal syphilis screening into a range of different countries.


The project has shown that these new simple tests can be effectively introduced into a range of locations, from urban areas in China and Peru, to remote villages in East Africa, and even more remote indigenous populations deep in the Amazon rain forest - and that the lives of up to one million children could be saved every year if they were rolled out globally. It is estimated that two million pregnant women are infected with syphilis every year and that over half of these pass it on to their unborn child during their pregnancy. If untreated during pregnancy, syphilis is associated with spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, premature delivery, low birth weight, and perinatal death. Read more

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-introduction-rapid-syphilis-pregnant-women.html


300,000 UGANDA WOMEN CARRY OUT UNSAFE ABORTIONS EVERY YEAR: HEALTH WORKERS TIP GOVERNMENT ON SAFE ABORTION


Medical practitioners have urged government to relax restrictions on abortion and make reproductive health services available to the youth, if abortion is to be managed in the country. The health workers during a national conference on safe abortion last week said most foetal terminations are as a result of unwanted pregnancies yet little guidance is offered, especially to young women in schools. The young women always end up in desperate measures to get rid of the pregnancies.  Currently, the Ugandan law does not permit abortion except when the mother's life is in danger and neither are medics facilitated to educate young girls about reproductive health issues and rights. 


This is in addition to government ratifying several international treaties, conventions and agreements including the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action that recognises that abortion should be safe and available to the full extent of the law. "Restrictive laws do not prevent abortions. New technologies like the vacuum aspiration and Medical Abortion bring safe abortion care closer to women and governments need to honour their obligations to protect, promote and fulfil human rights," said Dr E. Brookman-Amissah, the vice president for Ipas Africa, one of the leading organisations in reducing maternal health in the continent. Read more

http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2012/06/300000-uganda-women-carry-out-unsafe.html


RAISING LIFE EXPECTANCIES OF UGANDA MOTHERS, CHILDREN


Samaritan's Purse has launched a new health project in Uganda to raise the life expectancy of children under five and their mothers. The project has the support of aid from the Department for International Development after the charity won its bid for funding under the UK Government's Global Poverty Action Fund programme. The million pound project got underway in April and will run for three years, bolstering the health work that the charity has undertaken in the country since 2006. The project will focus primarily on providing essential maternal child health services in the Napak district of Karamoja, which has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Uganda.


One in five children die before they reach their fifth birthday in this district, a much higher rate than the rest of the country, which is one in ten. Funds will also be used to provide services aimed at improving the health of mothers and pregnant women by resourcing them with information and skills. Samaritan's Purse aims to establish 200 care groups and reach an estimated 32,000 pregnant women and caregivers of children under five. It is hoped that men will also come on board to help women improve their maternal health. "The main thing is that the health of mothers and pregnant women will improve and more children under five will survive," said Samaritan's Purse executive director, Simon Barrington. Read more

http://sg.christianpost.com/dbase.php?cat=society&id=1906


'HAND WASHING CAN REDUCE INFANT MORTALITY '


The commissioner rural water supply and sanitation, Eron Kabirize has asked head teaches to emphasize proper washing of hands saying, effective hand washing with soap can reduce infant mortality by 60 percent. The commissioner rural water supply and sanitation in the water and environment ministry said some of the leading causes of mortality among infants below five years were diarrhea and acute respiratory infections but the incidences could be reduced significantly by washing hands with soap. "Statistics show that effective hand washing can reduce diarrhea among infants by up to 40% and acute respiratory infections by up to 30%."


"Parents and teachers need to know that after wiping a baby's buttocks, they need to wash their hands with soap thoroughly to avoid transferring of pathogens (germs that cause diseases).'' The commissioner said this during the launch of the hand washing campaign at the Grand Imperial Hotel. The campaign, targeting 210 primary schools in Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono, is expected to last 21 days during which teachers and pupils in these schools will be taken through drills of hand washing and its importance. Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/631864--hand-washing-can-reduce-infant-mortality.html


GOVERNMENT URGED TO ADDRESS HIGH MORTALITY RATE PUBLISHED IN: LEGALBRIEF AFRICA

http://www.legalbrief.co.za/layout/lb/images/speck.gif

More than 100 women die during childbirth in Uganda every week. As a result, activists have approached the Supreme Court in a bid to force the government to put more resources toward maternal healthcare to prevent the wave of deaths. According to a report on the News24 site, the activists say they want the country's top judges to declare that women's rights are violated when they die in childbirth, the kind of statement a lower court declined to give last week.

 

In rejecting the petition, the Constitutional Court said the matter was for the country's political leaders to handle. Activists say a declaration favouring the women activists would shame the government into action that drastically reduces mortality among childbearing women in Uganda, the report notes. 'All we want is a declaration that when women die during childbirth it is a violation of their rights,' said Noor Musisi of the Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development, a Kampala-based group that is championing the legal push, according to the report.


KAKOOZA: THE POLICEWOMAN WHO HAS SEEN IT ALL

She is not your simple lady. Josephine Kakooza, currently the Head of the Police Music, Dance and Drama Department, has for the last 42 years been a force to reckon with and a shinning example of those police women never underrating themselves at any time but instead fighting heaven and earth to emulate the men in the force.
Little wonder that she has come all the way to become the first woman since independence to head the Music, Dance and Drama department in the Uganda Police Force.

Kakooza, who was recently promoted to Assistant Commissioner of Police does not only deal in music at Uganda Police, she has undergone a number of important courses which has enabled her contribute to the well being of the force.

For instance, being equipped with a TASO certificate in counselling HIV/AIDS patients, Kakooza has at times found herself counselling and offering advice to police women infected with the disease. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/SpecialReports/ugandaat50/Kakooza++The+policewoman+who+has+seen+it+all/-/1370466/1428832/-/qqqak3z/-/index.html


Compiled by

Sandra Nassali & Esther Namitala

Public Relations Department

Action For Development



Monday, June 11, 2012

ACFODE Weekly News Round Up

TRICKED, RAPED BY A TRADITIONAL HEALER
Uganda has one of the highest fertility rates in the world. But for women who, for one reason or another fail to conceive, desperation exposes them to the wiles of traditional healers.

Rachael Lwayiga, 18, is a victim of rape. A resident of Siriira village in Luwuka district, Lwayiga's search for relief from alleged recurrent demonic attacks led her into enlisting the help of a traditional healer, Sulaiman Batwala, 64. Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/631820-tricked-raped-by-a-traditional-healer.html

WOMAN FOUND DEAD, CHILDREN MISSING

The deceased has been identified as Akol Lomuge, a resident of Atedewoi village. Her two children only identified as Ngorok and Apule, who were travelling with her to Musasi village, Katikeikile Sub County are still missing. This is the sixth woman to die under mysterious circumstances in the last two months.

A 26 year-old woman who disappeared with her two children six days ago in Nadunget Sub County in Moroto district, has been found dead. The deceased has been identified as Akol Lomuge, a resident of Atedewoi village. Her two children only identified as Ngorok and Apule, who were travelling with her to Musasi village, Katikeikile Sub County are still missing. The decomposing body was found by a herdsman 10 kms along Moroto-Kitale road.

This is the sixth woman to die under mysterious circumstances in a space of two months. In previous deaths, which police treat as murder, five women were killed in Kodonyo and Loputuk villages, Katikeikile Sub County. Local leaders attribute the deaths to revenge killings by rivaling communities of the Tepeth and Matheniko clans. Read more

http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=42645

INVOLVE CLAN LEADERS IN FGM FIGHT, ACTIVISTS SAY

The inclusion of Sabiny and Pokot cultural leaders in the eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), will ease the fight against the widely-condemned vice, activists have said. Activists from Amudat, Bukwo, Kween, Bugiri, Kapchorwa districts and Kenya, said the involvement of traditional cultural leaders would build ownership of the campaign against FGM.

"Because clan and cultural leaders see FGM as their cultural identity and seem unwilling to see it eradicated, once sensitised, they will become the disciples of the crusade against FGM and enable us successfully fight the practice," said Mr Richard Luswat Wanyonyi, a communications officer with peace and human rights programme in Kenya. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Involve+clan+leaders+in+FGM+fight++activists+say/-/688334/1422892/-/4t5me/-/index.html

ABORTION: WHY MANY YOUNG WOMEN THINK IT IS THEIR ONLY OPTION

Despite being an evidently huge problem in the country, liable to punishment, abortion cases are uncommon in Ugandan courts because they are never reported for investigation, due to what the lawyers attribute to the secret nature of the offence, complicity and connivance of the women involved, and incomprehensive laws.

Dr Winfred Nabisinde, a legal consultant with the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (Fida) says that cases often come to light when women and girls develop or die from post abortion complications, death or injury in the process of a surgical operation. Even when some of the abortion cases are reported, they usually end at the magistrate's court and are rarely concluded.Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artsculture/Reviews/Abortion++why+many+young+women+think+it+is+their+only+option/-/691232/1422942/-/rukpqa/-/index.html

STATE OF THE NATION 2012: MUSEVENI'S FULL SPEECH

President Yoweri Museveni delivered the State of the Nation address on Thursday at Serena Hotel.

The address is delivered once a year at the beginning of each session of Parliament Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/631754-state-of-the-nation-2012-museveni-s-full-speech.html

EALA GETS FIRST FEMALE SPEAKER

Fourty nine year-old Margaret Zziwa on Monday became the third Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) and first woman to hold the post since the regional body was revived in 1999. She defeated in a closely contested election her compatriot Dora Byamakuma (40), also from Uganda, on the second round after the first one failed to produce the minimum required votes for any of the two.

During the first round, which witnessed none of them reaching the required 30 votes or two-thirds majority, Zziwa scored 27 votes against Byamukama's 18. On the second round, Margaret Nantongo Zziwa was elected the first female Speaker after polling 33 votes against Byamukama's 12 votes. The electorate has 45 voters, nine by each member state. The first speaker of the Assembly was Abdulrahman Kinana from Tanzania followed by Abdirahim Abdi from Kenya, whose tenure of service ended last week. Read more

http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=42350

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/631690-zziwa-elected-eala-speaker.html

HOW ZZIWA WON EALA SPEAKER POST

The new Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, Margaret Nantongo Zziwa, went to Arusha as the underdog in the race for the coveted race. But to those who have dealt with her long, her victory didn't come as a surprise. She is described as an assertive and confident lady. In the political circles, Zziwa has been known as a plain-speaking person who doesn't fear to take an independent position. No wonder she insisted on standing for the position of Speaker against the official candidate, Dora Byamukama.

As the Speaker of EALA, Zziwa will be a key player in the East African Community and one of the region's top political figures. In her new role, she will be closely consulting with the region's presidents. An excited Professor Victoria Mwaka, who was Zziwa's lecturer in the Department of Gender Studies, remembers her as a forthright bright student. "I groomed her. She was my student," Prof. Mwaka who supervised Zziwa for her Master's degree says and describes her as a "lucky girl and a devoted Catholic." Mwaka is now on the board of St Margaret Secondary school, a school Zziwa started in Makerere. Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/631703-how-zziwa-won-eala-speaker-post.html

MINISTRY RESPONDS TO GULU'S CRIES OVER NODDING DISEASE

The Ministry of Health has responded to calls by leaders of Gulu District for immediate support for children suffering from the nodding disease syndrome. The leaders, civil societies and humanitarian agencies had last week threatened to transport the affected children to Parliament. They also wanted the region declared a disaster area.

The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Asuman Lukwago, in a communication to the district this week, said officials from the health ministry would start camping in the nodding disease affected areas by Sunday. Dr Lukwago also indicated that the officials after meeting with the district leadership over the nodding syndrome, would spearhead the setting up of grassroot structures to identify and refer cases to recommended health centres for administration. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Ministry+responds+to+Gulu+s+cries+over+nodding+disease/-/688334/1422882/-/y1oqdr/-/index.html

ACTIVISTS MOBILISE AID FOR NODDING FAMILIES, ELDERLY

Women rights organisations across the country have launched an appeal to Good Samaritans to donate financial and material support to children and families affected by the nodding disease syndrome. The move is meant to console the affected people, especially the women, who are still recovering from the effects of the two-decade LRA war. Speaking at the launch of the initiative on Friday, the executive director Uganda Women's Network, Ms Rita Aciro Lakor, said the appeal is not a new thing because it is the method most NGOs use to lobby for support from outside Uganda, but should become a culture to support such disadvantaged communities.

"The so-called money we receive from donors is got through such appeals. We want to make a difference to the children and women of northern Uganda," Ms Lakor said.
She said so far their efforts have yielded Shs18 million and an assortment of household items, which will be delivered to Kitgum, Lamwo, Pader and Gulu districts this week. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Activists+mobilise+aid+for+nodding+families++elderly/-/688334/1424756/-/5ymadcz/-/index.html

TRADITIONAL HEALER CLAIMS TO CURE NODDING DISEASE

Alfred Ojara is an unassuming man in his demeanor, not his words. Armed with nothing but a clear plastic bag of light brown powder and a spoon to dole it out, he says he has been able to relieve painful symptoms where government-provided drugs have failed. "I am now paving the way to alleviating these diseases," the herbalist says.

For the past 20 years, Ojara says he has been curing his home district in Pader of various ills. And from malaria to meningitis to malnourishment, he says his herbs have worked wonders – restoring appetite, ridding patients of fevers and more. But it is his claim to cure nodding disease that has not been verified, and is now dividing authorities. While some local officials have been known to visit him for treatment themselves, others have threatened to have him thrown in jail.Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artsculture/Reviews/Traditional+healer+claims+to+cure+nodding+disease/-/691232/1424598/-/1dfwkoz/-/index.html

COURT TO DELIVER JUDGEMENT ON MATERNAL MORTALITY

The Constitutional Court is set to deliver judgment today in a suit in which civil society advocates are seeking to force the Government put a stop on maternal mortality in Uganda. Over 150 activists, including grass-root home-based care providers and community leaders all over the country dragged the Government to court, complaining that it violated the women's rights by neglecting to put essential medical commodities in place for them when they are pregnant.

They are seeking declaration that by failing to provide the essential medical commodities and adequate health services to pregnant women, the Government is violating their constitutional rights as mothers of this nation. They are seeking compensation for the siblings of those who have lost their beloved ones that have died during deliveries for lack of the essentials in hospitals and officials health clinics, such as Sylvia Nalubowa and Jennifer Anguko, who died during child birth. The activists contend that maternal mortality is a crisis in Uganda and; they want the Constitutional Court to change the situation by giving declarations against the epidemic. Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/631672-court-to-deliver-judgement-on-maternal-mortality.html

MATEMBE BREAKS DOWN OVER NODDING DISEASE CHILDREN

The former minister of ethics and integrity, Miria Matembe shed tears over the plight of children affected by the nodding disease. Matembe broke down when she was making an appeal to all Ugandans to come to the rescue of over 200 children affected by the nodding disease in northern Uganda. "I feel touched about the suffering of these children who some have fallen into the fire and are tied on the trees," Matembe said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Matembe, who could hardly hold back her tears, implored Ugandans to give money, clothes and food items to support the families taking care of children suffering from the nodding disease. The impact of the disease has led to a high drop-out of pupils from schools and has hindered mothers from attending to their gardens as they remain home to look after the affected children. Government has staked sh7 billion to address the impact of the disease but sh35b is required to curb the disease. Matembe appealed to Government to put more efforts to combat the disease which struck northern Uganda early this year. Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/631810-matembe-breaks-down-over-nodding-disease-children.html

NODDING DISEASE AND THE STRUGGLE FOR THE SOUL OF UGANDA

The INDEPENDENT magazine of May 18 – 24, carried an interview with Kitgum Woman MP Beatrice Anywar who recently resigned as shadow Minister for Energy, Oil and Mineral Development. The MP told the magazine that she decided to quit, "following reports in the media that I am about to cross, that I am meeting the President but most importantly the letter I received from my leader of opposition, Hon. Nandala Mafabi, putting my integrity to question".

She denied press reports that she may soon cross over to the ruling NRM. "Over my dead body, I will never cross to NRM, my party is FDC and I believe in the ideology we put in place to deliver this country and the truth will set me free". Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/Of+nodding+disease+and+the+struggle+for+the+soul+of+Uganda/-/689364/1424106/-/bd6aek/-/index.html


COURT DISMISSES MATERNAL MORTALITY CASE

The Constitutional Court Tuesday dismissed a case in which civil society advocates were seeking to force the Government put a stop on maternal mortality in Uganda. The verdict was delivered by the assistant registrar of the Court Alex Ajiji on behalf of a panel of five judges led by the deputy Chief Justice Alice Mpagi Bahigeine. The judges said although maternal mortality remains a big problem that needs to be urgently addressed, any ruling contrary to that would be interference with the executive's mandate.

Over 150 activists, including grass-root home-based care providers and community leaders all over the country dragged the Government to court, complaining that it violated the women's rights by neglecting to put essential medical commodities in place for them when they are pregnant. They were seeking declaration that by failing to provide the essential medical commodities and adequate health services to pregnant women, the Government is violating their constitutional rights as mothers of this nation. Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/631689-court-dismisses-maternal-mortality-case.html

ADVOCATES REJECT CONSTITUTIONAL COURT'S RULING THAT IT HAS NO COMPETENCE TO ADDRESS THE CRISIS OF PREVENTABLE MATERNAL MORTALITY IN UGANDA: APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT PLANNED

(June 5 2012) Advocates have sharply criticised the ruling by Constitutional Court on whether or not the Court has standing to hear Petition Number 16 of 2011, a landmark case on preventable maternal mortality, the rights of women, the right to health and the right to life. Justices ruled that the case, Petition Number 16 of 2011, must be dismissed, they believe that they have no competency to hear a case regarding realization and protection of these human rights.

"We are deeply disappointed that Constitutional Court has ruled that it has no standing to address a life and death issue affecting all Ugandans. We feel this is a grave mistake," said Nakibuuka Noor Musisi of CEHURD and the Coalition to Stop Maternal Mortality. "This rulingmeans the Court wants the status quo to continue. They are standing in the way of constructive solutions to a crisis." Read more

http://www.cehurd.org/2012/06/advocates-reject-constitutional-courts-ruling-that-it-has-no-competence-to-address-the-crisis-of-preventable-maternal-mortality-in-uganda-appeal-to-supreme-court-planned/

GOVERNMENT TO IMPOSE CHARGE, DEMAND LICENCES FOR CHURCH MARRIAGES

For each church wedding, the State expects Shs35,000 and failure to do so will tantamount to a criminal offence, which could lead to imprisonment.
The burden of collecting and filing the fee has been bestowed on the church ministers, meaning that should they fail to deliver, they will be held culpable and punished according to the law.

Controversially though, the matrimonial celebration (wedding) must be done in a place licensed by the State; otherwise the ceremony will be regarded null and void.
In an interview with Daily Monitor on Friday, the director Civil Registration, Ms Eva Mugerwa, said this is something that should already be happening because it is a requirement by the law. "We shall soon be knocking at your doors (Churches and other places of worship) to ask for what belongs to Caesar," Ms Mugerwa said. However, the church need not worry about past weddings because the authority is only interested in fresh matrimonial celebrations. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Govt+to+impose+charge++demand+licences+for+church+marriages/-/688334/1424754/-/g65y2wz/-/index.html

MINISTRY RECORDS 119 NEW NODDING DISEASE CASES

The Ministry of Health has registered 119 new cases of nodding disease in Lamwo and Kitgum districts. The ministry's communications officer, Rukia Nakamatte said on phone that 41 cases were discovered in Abam village in Lamwo and 78 in Kitgum. She added that Pawena and Beyongoya parishes had not reported any new cases. She said the ministry had plans to set up outreach sites in areas that have a high concentration of nodding disease cases. They include Anak, Parachel, Padibe East and West.

Others are Paloga and Lukumu sub-county. She said ministry officials planned to visit Atang and Angangura sub-counties in Pader for screening while in Kitgum district they would visit Tumanga village and Panyakel, all in Akwang sub-county. Meanwhile, a team of health experts has been dispatched to Gulu district to verify the magnitude o the nodding syndrome. "The team comprises paediatricians, nutritionists and psychiatrists, among others and is expected to work with Gulu regional referral hospital staff," Nakamatte said. Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/631791-ministry-records-119-new-nodding-disease-cases.html

MAKERERE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TO GIVE OUT CONDOMS

Makerere University students have launched a campaign drive to distribute condoms and contraceptives in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies and HIV/AIDS. The students who were selected from different faculties will dish out condoms and contraceptives to their peers beginning from their residential halls. Over 5000 students are expected to be reached out by the end of the year. The over 100 trained students on emergency contraception will also approach their colleagues residing in hostels to sensitize them on the dangers of unplanned pregnancies.

The trained students will also create awareness among their peers and dish out condoms and contraceptives during major activities at campus such as sports, dialogues, conferences and others. The distribution of condoms and contraceptives will be aided by Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU). "You should take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way in the campus be it sports and any other event to give out condoms and contraceptives," the executive director of Reproductive Health Uganda, Jackson Chekweko said. Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/631834-makerere-university-students-to-give-out-condoms.html

GIVING THE HIV-POSITIVE HOPE

Hannington Segirinya is an inspirational young man. He is not only a true community leader, he is also a dedicated community servant who has worked with the Uganda Red Cross for many years. With a great dose of dedication, hard work and courage, he took on one critical need he saw in his community: Giving hope to HIV-affected children faced with an uncertain future.

Aged 30, Segiriniya was born in Kyaggwe, Mukono district. He is the director and founder of New Dawn Africa Foundation, Nkumba village in Entebbe, Wakiso district. Read more

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/631825-giving-the-hiv-positive-hope.html

VENDORS DUMP GARBAGE IN MAYOR'S OFFICE OVER STENCH

A group of women market vendors in Lira stormed Lira Municipal Council offices and poured rubbish in the mayor's office protesting filth at their work place. The women, carrying garbage in broken plastic containers and sacks, moved in procession through the streets of Lira Town while singing up to municipal council offices.

"We are from Teboaya Market. We commend the young mayor for his good work," the women sang sarcastically, in reference to mayor Morris Odung.
The women, after pouring garbage in the mayor's office, went to Central Division headquarters and did the same. Ms Grace Among, a vendor, said they are disgusted with the leadership of Lira Municipal Council.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Vendors+dump+garbage+in+mayor+s+office+over+stench/-/688334/1424228/-/pme58hz/-/index.html

WE MUST GUARANTEE THAT THE WORLD WE LEAVE TO OUR CHILDREN IS A BETTER PLACE

Parents all over the world want to give their children and grandchildren a secure future. This must also be the goal for the world's leaders when we meet in Rio.
I am working for a more just world. At the same time, parents all over the world want their children to have a better life than they have had. This is why we must promote economic growth and create jobs and security for millions of people.

We must encourage the use of more climate-friendly technology and more sustainable development. And those who create most pollution must also do most to cut emissions.
Uganda aims at fast economic growth to become a middle-income country by 2025, and to transform the economy through investments in infrastructure. Norway is pleased to support Uganda's efforts in developing the economy and securing the livelihoods for the country's future generations through protecting forests and reforestation, and increase access to sustainable energy for the people. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/We+must+guarantee+that+the+world+we+leave+/-/689364/1424800/-/9qg7dj/-/index.html

LIFE STYLE

BLIND BUT WITH A VISION

It is good to have a positive attitude and to consider everyone around you as equally positive. You also need to be bold. These are principles by which Fazira Kawuma has written her life, scoring several successes. But all has not been a bed of roses, however, especially the events following her eye impairment. "At one time I even thought of taking my life," she narrated.

She is the last child in a family of nine, the Nyende family from Iganga. Originally the family lived in Buwaabe, Nsaale Parish in Ibulanku Sub-county where she studied Primary 1 and 2 at Nakibumbe Primary school. Then, the family migrated to Wante village in Mayuge district where she completed primary school at Mbale Church of Uganda Primary School. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artsculture/Reviews/Blind+but+with+a+vision/-/691232/1424608/-/n4otouz/-/index.html

UNTO SHE WHO HAS, MORE SHALL BE GIVEN AND EVEN MORE DEMANDED

Spoken with a Luganda intonation, her name translates as "they underlook". But there is not much to underlook about Tooro kingdom's Princess Elizabeth Nyabongo Rukidi Christobel Edith Bagaya, an icon for women looking to become generation-defining lawyers, politicians, models, or actresses. She realised many firsts in all these fields.

Many a girl would certainly envy the more glitzy details of her life: born a princess to Lieutenant Sir George David Matthew Kamurasi Rukidi III, the 11th Omukama of Tooro and Queen Kezia Byanjeru Abwooli; primary education at a girl's school named after her grandfather King Kasagama Kyebambe the fourth; secondary at Gayaza High School and university at England's Sherbonne School for Girls. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/SpecialReports/ugandaat50/Unto+she+who+has++more+shall+be+given+and+even+more+demanded/-/1370466/1422812/-/crskat/-/index.html

WASHING ONE'S HANDS RIGHT

You obviously know that washing your hands is important because it kills germs. But did you wash your hands before giving your child medication? How about just after driving? Did you wash up after playing with your lovely pet? And after touching the banister while ascending the stairs? As you touch different objects, germs accumulate in your hands and when you touch your nose, eyes or even mouth, you unknowingly infect yourself with those germs.

Quite a number of the people in various communities countrywide don't effectively wash their hands, a situation that has led to persistent prevalence of hygiene related diseases, health officials have said. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/Health+++Living/Washing+one+s+hands+right/-/689846/1421868/-/8mn8bwz/-/index.html

DIARY OF A WORKING MARRIED WOMAN: BEYOND A CAR, HOUSE AND SOME MONEY

My cousin recently tied the knot back in the village. I had planned to attend but unfortunately could not. It was hard for the young couple to pull the wedding off. There were many obstacles, the least not being money. From following rigid church rules to having friends disappear when you need them the most, they faced it all. But there were also miracles. The wedding gown was one of the most beautiful I have seen this year and she got it for free. Friends and family contributed what they could and their help behind the scenes was great. I am sure the outsiders had no idea what people had gone through to pull it off.

I laughed, oohed and aahed, sighed and shook my head as the new bride told me all that had taken place. At the end of it all, I was impressed. Here was a young woman who understood that her man could not afford to give her the "million dollar" wedding or an easy or comfortable first few years of their marriage but that was not the deciding factor for her. What mattered was that this was an honest, good and solid fellow who loved her for who she was and was willing to do all it takes to get them to a better place. Read more

http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/Full+Woman/Beyond+a+car++house+and+some+money/-/689842/1422806/-/xlq8ju/-/index.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter


Compiled By Sandra Nassali & Esther Namitala

Public Relations & Communications Department

Action For Development

snassali@acfode.org