ADVOCACY WINS FROM KABALE AND MAYUGE, UGANDA
We spoke with our Advocacy Associates from our Empowering Evidence Driven Advocacy (EEDA) project in two districts of Uganda, Kabale and Mayuge – as they celebrate their most recent achievements in their tireless efforts and dedication, for the last several years.
Follow along our conversation with Aston Mucunguzi and Kakonge Ronald!
How did the project start for your district? What were the goals or objectives of the EEDA/SEDA project for you?
In the Ugandan districts of Kabale and Mayuge, the project started in January 2019 with the dissemination of Empowering Evidence Driven Advocacy (EEDA) research findings to young people in a formal Communications Meeting. Within those findings, we derived an objective that we thought to be the most pressing issues within the data found.
The objective being, to secure commitment of district leaders to include training of health workers in lower health facilities in youth friendly services within the Kabale and Mayuge district budget of 2021 to 2022.
We found that across Uganda, young people reported having experienced negative and unfriendly services from health care workers. When comparing these findings to those from in-depth interviews that we had with stakeholders, we discovered that the reason being was a lack of a cost unit for youth-friendly services (YFS). At this time we thought we could begin to advocate for proper YFS training in Mayuge and Kabale.
Following the Communication Meeting –– Advocacy Associates and Advocacy Team Members were selected to spearhead the objectives. This marked the beginning of the EEDA project within our districts.
You’ve recently had a huge win in the project! Tell us about your most recent win and how you achieved it.
On March 23rd 2021 (Kabale) and April 15th, 2021 (Mayuge), we held meetings with District Officials and Department Heads to advocate for the districts to commit more funds to advance family planning in the budget that was being developed. After several hurdles with the Officials of both Districts, we were able to get them to commit to include training for health care workers on youth friendly services by apportioning some funds from different departments. This was a huge win! This was the original objective of the EEDA project and we’re so happy to be able to share that we have officially achieved it!
Our advocacy was evidence-based, making it easy for us to move the agenda forward. We also formed Family Planning Working Groups in Kabale and identified clusters of District Leaders who actively advocated on family planning, based on the agenda that we developed. We additionally formed alliances with other local organizations who were working towards the shared objective in Mayuge.
Once we established a network of mobilizers, we conducted power mapping techniques to find various leaders whose values aligned with ours. The role of these leaders was to inform and persuade their peers, as well as other department heads, to understand the importance of YFS in order to help us achieve our wins. Due to budget constraints, in-person meetings were not always possible. We strategically secured multiple verbal agreements that were then officialized at the time of the in-person meeting. The gatherings were of great value to us as they enabled us to properly inform attendees and secure proper commitments for the budget.
What was the magic that had them making the commitments?
Our magic was evidence-based advocacy. We presented evidence-based facts at every opportunity in order to diminish the opposition. We made sure that our implementing partners also had the evidence needed to make the argument that young people are confronted with issues when accessing youth-friendly services. With that being said, forming the FP Working Groups was also part of our magic because it enabled a space of like-minded youth, where issues and concerns were discussed and addressed.
I’d say some of the magic also came within the in-house meetings we were able to have. What that looked like was members of the FP Working Group meeting stakeholders on an individual basis to secure their commitments. The FP Working Group would secure verbal agreements from the individuals who would then consult other relevant stakeholders to finalize the commitments. We were strategic in that we made sure we had an authoritative figure on our side to help make the case.
Another thing that gave us the upper hand was working in our home-base. In that breath, we easily navigated our advocacy work since we spoke the local language and were familiar with the geographic landscape. This helped us conduct accurate mapping to find the right leaders.
What challenges did you encounter during the process, and how did you overcome them?
Just like a lot of other things this past year, the COVID-19 pandemic put a wrench in our efforts, but mostly our budget. The cost of goods and services spiked, and transportation costs had doubled. Not only that, with us repping an international albeit, youth led-organization –– district leaders had very high expectations in form of funding towards district supported activities which was not in the scope of the project.
Our goal was to ensure districts were at the forefront in fighting for youth rights in family planning. Thankfully, due to the FP Working Groups, we were able to minimize travel and save money by having members carry out local advocacy as well as conversations with district leaders in their area.
At the core of it all, we were after only one thing: to achieve our objective. We were willing to do whatever it took.
What was the magic that had them making the commitments?
Our magic was evidence-based advocacy. We presented evidence-based facts at every opportunity in order to diminish the opposition. We made sure that our implementing partners also had the evidence needed to make the argument that young people are confronted with issues when accessing youth-friendly services. With that being said, forming the FP Working Groups was also part of our magic because it enabled a space of like-minded youth, where issues and concerns were discussed and addressed.
I’d say some of the magic also came within the in-house meetings we were able to have. What that looked like was members of the FP Working Group meeting stakeholders on an individual basis to secure their commitments. The FP Working Group would secure verbal agreements from the individuals who would then consult other relevant stakeholders to finalize the commitments. We were strategic in that we made sure we had an authoritative figure on our side to help make the case.
Another thing that gave us the upper hand was working in our home-base. In that breath, we easily navigated our advocacy work since we spoke the local language and were familiar with the geographic landscape. This helped us conduct accurate mapping to find the right leaders.
Now that you’ve secured these new commitments, what do the wins mean for your community, and where do you anticipate going from here?
Advocating for youth-friendly services actually means advocating for improved health services in general. YFS does not affect youth alone, but also the health sector and other departments in the district at large. For example, the education sector. It’s no secret that young students get pregnant at an early age and do not finish their education. This shows how YFS could have a vast impact on sectors other than health.
We anticipate having open discussions with a variety of different sectors within our district, to be the voice for youth, to talk about the importance of access to comprehensive family planning services, and to demonstrate the ways in which we can make these services accessible. This will be supported with a Score Card which is a tool provided by the PRB to show how Uganda is performing in terms of YFS, and a policy that the Ugandan government has formerly passed. Advocacy such as this has already paved the way for YFS funding. This is exemplary in Mayuge where Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in East Central Uganda Activity (RHITES-EC) is currently funding the training of health workers to shift their attitudes when providing youth health services.
We’ll also be banding with other organizations to address and strategize around YFS, meet with the Family Planning Working Groups to mobilize our next move, and ensure that all work is complete by the end of the SEDA project which is coming up in December 2021. Our main priority is to ensure that none of our efforts get binned once the project closes out. We have been working with the FP Working Group to also devise a post-project strategy. So long as districts approve the budget and guarantee funding, then we can ensure that the proper training happens and youth-friendly services are allocated properly.
In order for us to safeguard YFS in the budget, we need to meet councillors who represent the political wing for different regions in the district council. Our goal is to meet with them to inform them of our progress so that when it’s time to vote on the budget, they are in favour of it, and will be less likely to terminate it.