Uganda has the second youngest populations in the World, with children under 18 years accounting for 56.7% and young people (10-24 years) accounting for 31.4% of her population. The demand for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and HIV services is growing since many are becoming sexually active and of reproductive age, coupled with the current unmet need for SRHR and services across all age groups.
The ability to achieve sexual and reproductive health and rights, including being able to decide when and whether to have children, is critical for the health and well-being of all adolescent women. An estimated 648,000 women aged 15–19 in Uganda are sexually active and do not want a child in the next two years. However, among this group, more than 60% have an unmet need for modern contraception, meaning that they either use no contraceptive method or use a traditional method of contraception.
Approximately half of all pregnancies among women aged 15–19 in Uganda are unintended, totaling an estimated 214,000 unintended pregnancies each year. The overwhelming majority (88%) of these pregnancies occur among adolescents with an unmet need for modern contraception.
Given the situation above, RWCA refocuses on:
- Expanding access to and utilization of quick, affordable, quality adolescent-friendly SRHR services and HIV testing, linkage and retention into care.
- Promoting behavioral change among adolescents through peer approaches and meaningful engagements and
- Strengthening the capacity of Community health workers and Teenage and adolescent supporters (CHWs and TAS) as a community structure to deliver quality and inclusive adolescents SRHR and HIV services.