Background: Due to COVID 19, schools in Uganda were closed for over 24 months an aspect that came with numerous untamed challenges including a surge of teenage pregnancies. Nationally, teenage pregnancies multiplied up to 30% with rural districts highlighted as the most vulnerable. Refugee communities were not an exception. Windle International Uganda’s (WIU) qualitative study dives into the aspects of their lived experiences economically, physically, emotionally, socially, and other cross cutting issues around early motherhood.
Methods: WIU adopts the Adaptive Epidemic Response (AER) framework as a lens to guide the study activities. We reached 134 participants using Key Informant Interviews (24 with policy makers, school administration and local councils), In-depth Interviews (108 with teenage mothers) and Community Discussions (2 parents in the refugee settlements).
Preliminary findings: Barriers to meeting their needs include lack of skills in income generation and food preparation due to school drop outs, community harsh treatment, pregnancy and childcare costs, lack of academic qualifications, lack of adequate shelter and land, insufficient access to medicines, tailored health care and appropriate communications crippling their opportunities and intensifying their vulnerabilities besides being refugees in a global pandemic.
Conclusion: Adolescent-mother-and-child-friendly environments are needed at local levels while continuing to reduce broader socio-cultural and economic barriers to education and health equity. Findings may help direct future interventions for improved adolescent maternal/child nutrition, education, and health among teenage mothers in refugee and host communities in Uganda. Overtime, these will inform WIU and partners’ programming.

Authors:
Hilda Namakula-Masaba, Windle International Uganda, Uganda
Sam Muhumza, Windle International Uganda, Uganda
Andrew Omara, Windle International Uganda, Uganda

About the Presenter(s)
Hilda Namakula - Masaba is currently serving as a Programme Manager at Windle International Uganda a lead education partner for UNHCR in Uganda.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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