Association of Uganda Women Medical Doctors (AUWMD) Projects and Activities (2)

Projects & Activities

HIV/AIDS
The association has continually carried out HIV/AIDS education and prevention activities. The overall objective was to increase knowledge and awareness about STDs/HIV/AIDS among the rural population of Uganda.

More specifically, AUWMD aimed at:

Increasing the knowledge and awareness about STDs/HIV/AIDS.
Increasing acceptability and promoting prevention strategies currently available for STDs/HIV/AIDS prevention.
Discussing factors that promote STDs/HIV/AIDS transmission in communities and suggest possible solutions.
Designing a plan of action for HIV/AIDS prevention activities in the communities.
Training of community leaders especially women to carry out HIV/AIDS prevention advocacy. Training of youth groups to identify and develop strategies geared towards sexual behaviour change in their communities.

Three major projects have so far been implemented

Rural AIDS Education Project: October 1995 - June 1997. Funded by UNDP under the UNDP Poverty Alleviation Programme This project was implemented in the districts of Soroti, Kumi, Mbale, Tororo, Kasese and Kabarole. A total of 1,820 participants trained as change agents for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS/STIs in the sub-counties.

Mpigi Rural Health Education on STDs/HIV project funded by American Medical Foundation on AIDS Research (AMFAR) was implemented in Mpigi District in 1987 - 1991.

Kampala City Council (KCC)/STI Project: November 1997 - November 1999. Funded by the World Bank through Ministry of Health and KCC.

The project activities included health education sessions on STDs/HIV/AIDS for adolescents in Kampala Senior Secondary Schools and out-of-school youths in Makindye and Rubaga Divisions of Kampala District. In addition, identification and training of suitable peer educators was carried out. Though September and October 1997, the Association developed an Adolescent Health Training Manual to assist in the implementation of the Project.

Adolescent Health

The Adolescent Friendly Reproductive Health Project

The Family Planning International Assistance (FPIA) is funding the Adolescent Friendly Reproductive Health Project. This project serves mainly students and out-of-school adolescents. The client population coming mainly from low-income homes and slum areas located in the outskirts of Kampala City in Kawempe Division. The project has strategic plan of over 5years support from FPIA with an annual budget of US$ 25,000. Continued support will depend on performance by the Association and evaluation by the FPIA. This project has now been running for three years.

The overall objective is to provide sexuality education, contraceptive services, and other reproductive health services to adolescents. And more specifically to:

To enhance adolescent’s leadership capabilities in Reproductive Health by training and working with peer providers.
To provide contraceptive services to clients 19 years of age and younger.
To provide counselling on sexuality contraception, unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion and STIs/AIDS prevention to younger people with the help of peer providers.

This project is on-going and has now served over 7000 clients aged between 10-20 years providing contraceptive services e.g. emergency contraception, post-abortion services, gynaecological exams, Pap smear, pregnancy tests, STI exams and treatment. The project faces difficulties of shortages of drugs, condoms and lack of recreational activities (detailed reports can be availed by the AUWMD Secretariat).

Adolescent Health Training

The Women Doctors are part of the National Team of trainers in Adolescent Health and have trained health workers, from the districts of Kabale, Rukungiri, Jinja Mbale Kiboga and Nebbi. They participated in developing the Adolescent Health manual, which is now used as a training tool for health workers to offer adolescent-friendly services in health units. This work also formed the foundation for the current Adolescent health policy that has been commissioned by the Ministry of health as a draft, awaiting presentation to parliament.

Women’s Health

Safe Motherhood Initiative (SMI) Ministry of Health

Women Doctors working together with the Ministry of Health and Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Mulago Hospital have offered technical supervision on life saving skills for "Safe Motherhood". This was in the districts of Kabale, Kampala, Mbarara, Lira, Iganga, Soroti, and Kiboga. The association also trained community resource persons on Safe Motherhood in Hoima District.

Cancer of the Cervix

The AUWMD carried out community mobilisation and sensitisation on cancer of the cervix as well as training of service providers in breast and cervical cancer screening in Kampala Health Centres at Naguru KCC Unit. The association is an advocate for other concerns on Women’s Health through workshops.

Gender Based Violence

The Association of Uganda Women Medical Doctors is now part of a ‘Coalition against Gender Based Violence’ together with Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Uganda Media Women Association (UMWA), Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) and ISIS- WICCE. These activities run through 1999 - 2000 and were funded by the Population Secretariat and UNFPA. For its contribution the association carried out a qualitative research on Gender Based Violence (1998 - 1999) in the districts of Apac and Mbale.

Health Service Delivery, Advocacy and Training

Service Delivery

The women doctors to date carry out seminars on career guidance and offer voluntary clinical services to adolescents in various schools in the country e.g. Gayaza High School in Mpigi District, Ndejje Secondary School.

The association has also organised and carried out Health Camps. The various members of AUWMD of various specialities offer free treatment to the public at Kiswa Health Centre to mark World Women’s Day. The cases seen include patients seeking Family Planning services, various medical conditions, STIs, Malaria, and screening for female cancers.

Mass Media

Health Education talks on Radios, currently C.B.S 89.2 F.M and Television.
Newspaper articles on various health issues.
A Public Debate was held on 21/03/2000 in the City Hall of Kampala City Council. The theme was: - Adolescent Pregnancy, A Challenge for Uganda. Discussants included medical doctors, religious leaders from the Catholic, Protestant and Moslem and Lawyer. In the audience were various professionals, members of the press and students from school.
AUWMD-IT Project 2000/01

In this project, the association used information technology to download reproductive health information from the internet, repackaged it and produced electronic newsletters distributed to women’s NGO around Kampala.

The project enabled the Association to be part of the information age. Email and internet connectivity have assisted the association to reach partners both local and international, participate in the online advocacy campaigns and exchange information on health, education, social development, environment, human rights, world events and current affairs.