SEXUAL RERRODUCTIVE HEALTH
It is estimated that 16 women die daily due to child-birth related complications! The other grim statistic is that neo-natal (new born) deaths stand at 27/1,000 live births (Uganda Demographic Health Survey-UDHS, 2011).
Some of the factors that contribute to this undesirable situation include but are not limited to low socio-economic status, geographical access, delay in seeking care, poor linkage (communication) between communities and service providers (health facilities etc).
Of further concern is that although Uganda is one of the fastest growing countries in terms of population, Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) is low and unmet need for Family Planning is high. The UDHS, 2011 revealed that up to 32 % of the patients who discontinue the use of a planning method do so because of the side effects.
SPICE OF LIFE (SoL) has joined the Government and other Reproductive Health (RH) partners to put in place strategies and interventions aimed at the reduction of Maternal and Newborn Mortality. SoL will focus on empowering communities to participate in emergency obstetric care (EmOC) by improving the communication and link between communities and health facilities and boosting the use of and bringing back those who drop out Family planning services.
The vehicle SoL uses for empowering communities for Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights is Community Dialogue Meetings. Community dialogue meetings bring together many participants from different parts and sheds of the community to honestly exchange information (face-to-face), share personal stories and experiences, clarify viewpoints, and develop solutions to community concerns and opportunities.
Socio-economic empowerment of the existing organised community / women groups is one of the key priorities of SoL. Group farming and savings and credit associations are some of the approaches used.
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