Youth Led COVID 19 Response (YCR)
About the Project:
Youth Led COVID-19 Response (YCR) is 6 months project (running from April- October 2020) designed to complement interventions that are being implemented by Ministry of Health and partners. The project seeks to integrate access to SRHR services in the COVID 19 response as well as raise awareness about prevention of transmission among the vulnerable groups of people in emergency settlements and rural areas. The project’s implementations are implemented in line with the Presidential guidelines on COVID 19 response which are provided for in the Public Health Act (1935) with focus on Public Health Emergencies. YCR is implemented in Arua and Adjumani because it is proven that the West Nile has the largest number of refugee cases, and these are considered to be vulnerable people. They therefore need access to SRHR services given the pandemic has negatively affected availability of and access to sexual reproductive health (SRH) services.
Project Goals & Objectives:
The goal of the project is to contain the spread of COVID 19 epidemic and decrease morbidity and mortality among refugees and host communities in West Nile and among vulnerable populations in Kamuli district in Uganda.
Specific Objectives
- Increase health awareness, targets groups have the necessary knowledge, skills and motivation to protect themselves from COVID 19.
- Health Systems Strengthening (HSS); public health centres and village health teams in West Nile and Eastern Uganda with good mental health and well equipped with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to effectively handle COVID 19 cases. This will support the WHO’s HSS building blocks on service delivery and health work force.
- Increase access to SRHR services: increased access to contraceptives and family planning consultation and services.
Primary target groups of the project include refugee community settlements, child headed households, crowded homesteads, the elderly, health workers, community volunteers (VHTs, peer educators), people living with disabilities (PLWD) and People Living with HIV/AIDS and TB. Secondary beneficiaries include DHOs, CDOs, Sub county chiefs, local council leaders and Ministry of health Officials.
The project acknowledges that the COVID 19 pandemic and its consequences has vastly affected the availability of and access to sexual reproductive health and services. YCR therefore seeks to integrate access to sexual reproductive health services in the COVID 19 response as well as raise awareness about prevention of transmission among the vulnerable groups of people in emergency settlements and rural areas
Funded by Cordaid, the implementation of the Youth Led COVID 19 Response project is spearheaded by the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Alliance (SRHR) Uganda. Three members of the alliance including Reach A Hand Uganda (RAHU), Uganda Network of Young People Living with HIV/AIDS (UNYPA) and Reproductive Health Uganda lead implementation in the field.
YCR aims to contribute to towards three outcome areas
- Awareness Creation – to ensure target groups have the necessary knowledge, skills and motivation to protect themselves from COVID 19;
- Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) by equipping health centres and village health teams in areas of implementation with protective gear and supplies to effectively handle COVID 19 cases. This will support one of World Health Organisation’s building blocks- Service delivery and
- Strengthening CSO’s response to COVID 19 in West Nile and eastern Uganda with enhanced capacity to collaboratively support MoH in Uganda to overcome COVID19.
Reproductive Health Uganda commits to working collaboratively with its partners to ensure that sexual reproductive health rights and needs are prioritised amidst the rise of the COVID 19 pandemic. We hope to ensure that a balance is created whereby adherence to the restrictive measures designed to limit the spread of the virus, and fulfilment of sexual reproductive health and rights, as well access to SRHR services can co-exist.