October 2006

Update to the Global Board

Dr. Tadesse administers a polio vaccine at Kiboga Epicenter.

Epicenter strategy

During this third quarter 2006 THP-Uganda has been working in seven Epicenters that are in various stages of evolution within the four phases

• one epicenter is in phase one, 
• four epicenters are in phase three, and
• two epicenters are in phase four, which is the stage where the people in this epicenter are poised to achieve self-reliance.

In the seven epicenters, THP-Ghana is covering a population estimated to be close to 800,000. The communities are achieving the end of hunger and poverty through sustainable food security, access to health, education, safe drinking water, sanitation, empowerment of women, prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS, and access to easy credit.

Our rural partners have made significant progress in achieving food security through their collective work in the communal lands, thus increasing and diversifying the food production, from maize to new varieties of rice and vegetables. The surplus production of maize is stored in the epicenter food banks so that the population is sure to have access to staple food at all times of the year.

Vision, Commitment and action workshops: Animator training

The VCA workshops continue to take place in all the villages in the seven epicenters where trained animators mobilize and empower the people to work together and realize self-reliance. The workshops are also extended to elected local government officials and their staff.

Education and Adult Literacy

As part of its program of providing access to education, THP-Uganda has established nursery schools with a feeding program in all six functioning epicenters and has established Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) classes in local languages for men and women in all seven epicenters, including the new one at Kiruhura.  The adult education program for men and women is allowing our partners in the rural areas to handle better their income generating activities, to better manage their accounting such as credit and savings activities and indeed effect positive attitudinal changes of pride and enhanced commitment. However, the limitations of budget and the lack of an adequate number of instructors have been a serious constraint to expand this program. THP-Uganda has been trying hard for the last few years to convince the local governments in the areas of our intervention to take over the expansion for more classes.  The graduates of the Literacy classes have become more confident, proud of themselves and are able to communicate better than others. Some have exhibited leadership qualities and are elected to their local councils.

AWFFI program:  Credit and rural banks

 In Uganda as well, the credit program is effectively empowering and supporting economically the women food farmers and to give them the financial autonomy she needs to produce more food, to process the food and bring it to the market.  Many women in Uganda are able to purchase improved seeds for their food production and to engage in income generating activities such as poultry rearing, fish farming and other activities.

 

Health and hygiene

Each epicenter in Uganda has a health clinic where trained nurses provided by the Ministry of Health are working on a full-time basis to serve the population of the entire epicenter. The Hunger Project-Uganda has provided accommodation quarters for the nurses. So far, thousand of people, men and women, but especially women and children continue to be treated at the clinics. Many healthy babies are born safely at the maternity center, receive all the necessary immunizations and follow up, thus reducing substantially the IMR in each of our epicenters. In addition, all expectant mothers come for periodical checkups, and home visits and receive the treatment they need, thus ensuring the health of the mothers. Each year, immunization and vaccination campaigns for children are carried out, and thousands of children have been vaccinated against the most prevalent preventable diseases like polio and tetanus. Through the active cooperation between the rural populations and the local governments, our rural partners have creating protected water sources, namely boreholes, where the population can have access to safe drinking water for home consumption. This has enormously reduced water-borne diseases. 

One of the major objectives of the health centers in all of the epicenters of THP-Uganda is to ensure maternal heath and cut maternal mortality. Since the health centers were created in the epicenters of Mpigi, Kiringente, Wakiso and Iganga, no mother died from delivering babies. The midwives and nurses who are permanently stationed in the compound have ensured safe delivery and follow up the mother’s health and nutrition status after delivery.

HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

The workshops on preventing the spread of AIDS based on the “Inequality of gender” as a major source of the spread of HIV/AIDS are carried out in all seven epicenters.  Through the on going training, our animators have ensured that our partners, men and women, are now clear on the objectives of the program and that the early negative reaction and resistance of men has mostly disappeared. The idea of the Inequality of gender as a root-cause for the spread of HIV/AIDS seems now to be well understood equally by men and women. The specialized HIV/AIDS animators have enormously contributed to the change of attitudes of people thanks to their commitment and active participation. 

Malaria is another terrible disease in Uganda, especially for vulnerable children. Whenever possible, the pharmacies in the epicenter, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, are providing anti-malaria medication at no charge. In the future, with the availability of funds, THP-Uganda is planning to supply some families with anti malaria bed nets.