UPGRADING
YOUNG PEOPLE’S
SRHR ACCESS
IN UGANDA

Peer educator Rahma knows the need for accurate and trustworthy information has never been more important. In the absence of a reliable source, young people search online but are bombarded with fake news and false information on safe sex.

“The first thing people do is pull out their phones and search for signs and symptoms. ‘Am I pregnant?’ Smartphones are good for giving people information, but they can bring trouble. People need support.” asserts Rahma.

Since 2019, our Knowledge and Information on Safe Sex project in Fort Portal has been harnessing new and innovative approaches to deliver trusted information on safe sex.

Working in partnership with Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU), we invest in youth leaders of today. Our project centres in Fort Portal, a bustling town in the southwest of the country renowned for its tea-growing and gateway to national parks and conservation areas. Young people in Fort want jobs, success and the freedom to make choices over their bodies.

“Young people rely on their mobile phones for SRHR. The first thing people do is pull out their phones and search for signs and symptoms. ‘Am I pregnant?’”

— Rahma

Cameras in Hand – The Voice of Young Storytellers

Ask RHU - Digital tech for SRHR

Tablets for Mobile Outreach

Results 2020 - 2022

26,240

Young people provided with digital SRHR information.

555

Young people’s insights on their knowledge, attitudes, behaviour and practices.

345

Young people improvee the user-experiences of our three innovative approaches.

196

Youth perspectives on why SRHR matters shared through participatory photography

How we make change

Stories 4 Change: Digital Storytelling for SRHR

Leveraging the power of storytelling for SRHR, Stories 4 Change builds participants’ skills in digital storytelling, participatory photography and advocacy. Stories 4 Change puts cameras into the hands of participants to photograph and frame their lived experiences. Participants consider how digital storytelling can be used in SRHR advocacy, while enhancing digital literacy skills for a digital generation. Participants can apply for our small grant facility to put the learnings from the workshop into action through youthled advocacy initiatives. A creative springboard for action, Stories 4 Change amplifies the visual voice of young people by exhibiting their stories at international conferences.

Ask RHU: an mHealth innovation

Ask RHU is an automated information service that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver instant, accurate and reliable information on safe sex to young people in Uganda. Young people access Ask RHU on Facebook Messenger for personalised and contextual information on unwanted pregnancy, contraception, HIV and STIs. Ask RHU was co-designed with and for young people. Developed and implemented with chat commerce expert Say It Now, we are scaling up Ask RHU to instantly deliver information on safe sex for young people across Uganda.

Outreach Tablets for mobile service providers

Our outreach tablets complement the delivery of mobile outreach services in hard-to-reach communities. In 2020, Village Health Teams (VHTs) and peer educators tested and trialled our tablets to deliver SRHR information to 2,000 people. Our outreach tablet is a reliable and lightweight mHealth solution to complement mobile outreach. Using solar energy to recharge while on the move, our outreach tablet digitises Information, Education, Communication (IEC) materials and collection of real-time Monitoring and Evaluation data.

COVID-19

COVID-19 exacerbated SRHR barriers for young people in Uganda. Our Navigating COVID-19: An interactive story shares the real-life experiences of young people in Fort Portal as they deliver SRHR information amid COVID-19. In the wake of the pandemic, we backed RHU’s nationwide radio campaign on the importance of SRHR during the pandemic; supported youth advocates to share relevant content on social media with their peers; updated Ask RHU with the latest guidance on COVID-19 and SRHR; and worked to support peer education in the new normal.

Meet Icon Ray

Icon Ray works as a peer educator providing SRHR information to his community. “I do mobile outreach weekly for RHU and there are lots of young people who want information but do not go out to find it.” Icon Ray recognises that peer education is essential in supporting better access for young people to SRHR services. Thanks to Icon Ray, young people know that they can get the services they need at their nearest RHU clinic.

Resources

Ask RHU:
AI for SRHR

A case study in leveraging innovative mHealth solutions to improve young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Uganda

Outreach Tablets for Mobile Service Providers

A Case Study in leveraging innovative mHealth solutions to improve young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Uganda

News

Featured

You won’t believe the results from our #HackathonforSRHR!

When young people co-created digital SRHR content for our Outreach Tablets, using persuasive titles was one way to pique their peers’ interest to learn more about SRHR.

4 amazing things happened when peer educators tested our Outreach Tablets

42 peer educators in Uganda are helping to improve our tablets’ functionality and efficiency.

Let’s Talk About Periods

Youth advocates elevate their voices for free period products in Uganda.

UPGRADING YOUNG PEOPLE’S SRHR ACCESS IN UGANDA