Sport for Health
Context
In 2013, the World Bank ranked Uganda as number 16 of the 25 countries with the highest rates of early marriage: 46% of young girls are married before the age of 18 and 12% before the age of 15. The teenage pregnancy rate in northern Uganda is 35%. In addition, access to contraception is increasingly limited, and the rate of use is just 21% among adolescents. This has led to an increase in unwanted pregnancies and maternal mortality in disadvantaged areas as a consequence of unsafe abortions and limited medical facilities.
Through sports-based awareness and community education programmes, the project aims to foster girls’ empowerment and enable them to regain control of both their bodies and their lives.
Goals
- Foster the empowerment of girls through amateur and traditional dance
- Reduce the prevalence rates of sexually transmitted diseases and improve care for those already infected
- Establish networks and cooperation programmes with local stakeholders in order to facilitate socio-economic growth in the target disadvantaged areas
- Contribute to the resilience of vulnerable populations during pandemics
Activities
- Organising amateur and traditional dance festivals, setting up football clubs in communities and schools, and holding regular tournaments
- Arranging free HIV/AIDS counselling and testing days for local people
- Holding awareness-raising workshops on the dangers of early marriage and pregnancy for girls, as well as on contraceptive methods
- Providing care and support for sick people in order to avoid further trauma
Impacts
- Over 2,000 disadvantaged individuals in the north of the country have benefited from the programme