Experts Analyse Lockdown Effects on Reproductive Health Information, Services Access

Kampala | RedPepper – The national, inter-district lockdown and ban on public transport have hindered young people from accessing health care facilities and routine health services, Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) experts have said.

Because of this, they said, teenage pregnancies and related complications, new HIV infections and anxiety among other issues are shooting up, again, among the youth.

During a webinar organized by SRHR Alliance Uganda and partners on Thursday, Ms. Stella Kentutsi, the SRHR Alliance Uganda board chairperson said that young people are not accessing the information and service they badly need.

“Despite government promising messages, radios for young people who were in school so that they access the right information, we are not seeing this happen,” she said.

Dr. Edith Nakku-Joloba, a clinical epidemiologist and lecturer at Makerere University College of Health Sciences identified some of the mental health issues related to covid-19 that have been noticed in young people such as isolation, boredom, depression and overwhelming grief among others.

She said that young people should be oriented to handle situations while caregiving since more of the elderly are vulnerable to covid-19.

“Young people are caregivers now. If their parents are sick, the child who’s 15 or younger has to take care of them. So we have to address that caregiving issue and equip them,” she said.

She highlighted more strategies that need to be put in place such as continuity of sensitization and education about SRHR, availing contraceptives and free treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) at nearby health facilities.

Considering the overwhelming adolescent-related issues reported in the first lockdown, the government has rolled out measures to ensure access to SRHR for adolescents.

Dr. Dinah Nakiganda, from the Ministry of Health’s Adolescent Health and School Health Division, highlighted interventions that have been adopted amidst the pandemic.

This includes the use of technology, task sharing, health service delivery and leadership interventions.

“We have access to zoom links at government level to engage stakeholders and we are using social media platforms to communicate availability and continuity of health services,” she explained.

She said that there is community delivery of supplies such as antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to young people who cannot access them due to transportation barriers.

She added that in terms of leadership interventions, there has been the establishment of committees to coordinate and provide guidance on service maintenance at the national and district level across pillars, including; leadership and oversight, surveillance, laboratory strategy, strategic information, research and innovation, risk communication, social mobilization, community engagement among others.