Combating early pregnancy in Kasese District, Uganda
Context
According to the 2017 Girls Not Brides report in Uganda, 40% of girls are married before the age of 18 and 10% before the age of 15. This trend is confirmed by UNICEF, which ranked the country 18th in the world in terms of early marriage prevalence.
The closing of schools due to the Covid19, back in March 2020, appears to have increased the prevalence. A survey conducted in July 2020 by NeFCoRD in Kasese district identified over 1,000 teenage pregnancies between March and July 2020.
In light of this, NeFCorD intends to fight against this scourge through physical activity.
Goals
- To give girls a future beyond early marriage, and to enable them to escape early pregnancy
- To increase the self-esteem, motivation and social skills of children (6-19 years)
- Motivate girls to participate in sports and lead active lives, and create a permanent centre for the development of women’s sports
- To build the capacity of stakeholders
Activities
- Raising awareness among parents and other community members about girls’ rights and the prevention of child marriage and early pregnancy
- Training young people to become football coaches
- Organising a league for girls
- Organising capacity building workshops in finance and business management
Impact
- 50 parents, teachers, religious leaders, football managers and youth teams will have a good understanding of children’s rights including sexual health. They will be able to educate their children on these issues
- 200 people (100 men and 100 women) will live in harmony with each other
- 30 young people aged between 19 and 25 (15 boys and 15 girls) will be football coaches
- 20 boys and 20 girls will learn sewing and shoe-making skills