Dr Charles Olaro, Director Curative Services in the Ministry of Health launching the BOLD campaign at Banda Secondary School.

The Ministry of Health in partnership with USAID -Social and Behavior Change Activity (SBCA) has launched the ‘BOLD’ campaign designed to empower adolescents with knowledge and skills needed to make informed and healthier decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health.

The acronym BOLD stands for Building in your dreams, Owning your choices, Living with purpose, and Dedication to your destiny.

The campaign, which targets issues such as teenage pregnancies, HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and mental health, was officially launched on November 4, 2024, at Banda Secondary School in Banda Town Council, Namayingo District.

The initiative also aims to empower stakeholders to offer quality support and guidance to adolescents, while challenging harmful social and cultural norms that increase risks for young people

Speaking at the launch, the District Vice Chairperson Abdullah Twaha Kauta pointed out parental neglect as one of the vices that has led to increased teenage pregnancies in the area.

“In Namayingo, we have adopted a practice dubbed‘disco Matanga’ from Kenya. Instead of traditional mourning, families now celebrate and fundraise when someone dies. During these events, young girls are asked to pick men to dance with, and the men either dance with the girls or pay money. We can’t be sure what happens when older mendance with young girls at night, but often lead to interactions that result in unintended pregnancies,”Kauta explains.

According to statistics, Busoga sub-region leads with 34% of teenage pregnancies in the country with Namayingo district taking lead in the sub-region with 27%.

In the speech read by Dr. Charles Olaro, the Director of Curative Services who represented Dr. Diana Atwine, the permanent Secretary for Ministry of Health, the campaign will strengthen community engagements, enhance advocacy for adolescent health program in addition to raising awareness about services and information available for the youth.

“Today marks a significant step towards creating an environment for our adolescents and youth where they will be supported and valued,” Dr. Atwine said. She emphasized the importance of involving parents, teachers, community leaders and adolescents themselves in order to make the campaign a success.  

“By doing so, we can ensure that the voices of young people are heard and their needs are met. We need to act with urgency to improve the well-being of our young people,” She said.

Reports from the district health office show that as of June 2024, teenage pregnancies constituted 27% of all antenatal care (ANC) visits in Namayingo.

Mathias Mangeni, the Assistant District Health Officer, noted that this figure likely underrepresents the actual situation, as many young mothers do not visit health facilities for care.

Mangeni said “of those who give birth, only 27% choose to deliver in health facilities, while the majority rely on traditional birth attendants, which increases the risk of complications like obstetric fistula and other issues linked to child birth,”

Dr. Olaro revealed that statistics indicate one in every four girls is either pregnant or has already given birth. By the age of 19, 25% of Ugandan teenagers are mothersand almost half are married before the age of 18.

He notes that this puts their health at risk and contributes to the country’s overall maternal mortality rate of 189 deaths per 100,000 live births.

He further emphasized that early pregnancies obstruct educational goals and limit socio-economic opportunities. He called for strengthening of multi-sectoral collaboration to keep adolescents in schools.

Juliana Lunguzi, the UNFPA’s team leader for Sexual and Reproductive Health noted that adolescents aged 10 to 19 are at risk of early sexual activity, teenage pregnancy, and school dropout as many lack adequate knowledge of bodily changes and how to negotiate safe sex.

“Parents often struggle to guide their children on SRH due to limited knowledge, as well as cultural and religious biases. They tend to be judgmental and may project their own frustrations or life challenges onto their children,” Lunguzi said.

She noted that many adolescents who come from broken homes, face economic hardships and most of them (adolescents) have limited access to reliable mass media information.

Lunguzi also pointed out that structural barriers prevent health workers from delivering quality services to adolescents. He said personal and cultural biases may lead them (health workers) to assume that young people already understand SRH which creates an uncomfortable environment for seeking help.

Dr. Olaro said that recently, the Ministry of Health initiated efforts to combat teenage pregnancy by involving key stakeholders, including accounting officers from the Ministries of Education, and Gender, Labour and Social Development.

Dr. Olaro emphasized the need to build on this multi-sector partnership by aligning efforts across all levels of government.

He said that so far, the health sector has set up an accountability platform for Teenage Pregnancy Surveillance and Response, which addresses ‘Ending Teenage Pregnancy’ at the district level. Namayingo is one of the districts that has made progress in tackling teenage pregnancy.

Hon. Rukia Isanga Nakadama, the 3^rd Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the need to strengthen advocacy programs that support adolescent health.

“We need to ensure that policies and programs are in place to address the unique challenges faced by our adolescents,” Nakadama said in her message delivered by Thomas Matende, the Resident District Commissioner for Mayuge.

 Hon. Margret MakohaNamakangala, the District Woman Member of Parliament urged adoloscents to focus on their education and warned them against engaging in premarital sex.