Teenage mother empowerment (HATUA PROJECT)

Teenage mothers
What Teenage mother empowerment (HATUA PROJECT)

Why
Uganda has a predominantly young population with about 56 per cent below 18 years age yet 51% are female (Vision 2040). It is estimated that by the age 15, 30% of the young active girls have had sex at least once and 56% married by the age 18. Having a predominantly young population creates a high population pressure, with large cohorts of young women entering their childbearing years.

The dependency ratio remains unfavourably high (103%), indicating a heavy burden on the economic resources as well as impacting government’s efforts to provide adequate social services (Vision 2040).

According to the latest Uganda Demographic and Health Survey of 2022, there is stagnation of women ages 15-19 who were pregnant with their first child in Uganda at 24% (24% in 2011, 25% in 2016) with the rural having the highest percentage of 25 and the urban being 21% (UBOS 2023).

These percentages are still high; although these statistics undermine the utilisation of the Universal primary and secondary education in Uganda, a lot is left to be desired regarding the plight of these young mothers and their babies moving forward.

We are working on a social protection initiative that aims at helping them start a life in a robust manner despite their status. We are mooting a skilling and business hub using the non-formal education pathway to improve their Resilience, Equity and opportunity to harness the demographic dividend.

This is a major pathway to human enhance human capital development as a national strategy as stipulated in the national development plan (NDP III), this young population presents an opportunity to leapfrog innovation, technology, speed and dexterity according to the Vision 2040

Where

• At health facilities waiting area (health education)
• Antenatal care units and young child care (YCC) units
• At the community centres (talent identification and skilling – child care, sexual and reproductive health to help space their children or join school again, hair dressing, tailoring, make-up, manicure, pedicure, hospitality including counselling and referrals to other stakeholders for help)
• At their homes (farming- plants, poultry, piggery)

When
During pregnancy and after birth

How
We will equip them with local and globally competitive knowledge, skills and positive mental attitudes together with other relevant stakeholders in context. We support their fields of choice for productivity.