FOR $10 HELP HEALTH SYSTEMS RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE

The Uganda education system is highly academic, a lot of effort is being put to change the learning system so that young people leave school with skills that they can use to earn a living. In the current system students are forced to internalize and cram a lot of theoretical content which has not been related to real life experiences. So if a student at any one point in the Uganda formal education system, drops out of school they are most likely unable to support their entry into the world of work. This goes for both practical and soft 21st century skills which they have not been taught.  schools are so busy covering the content and preparing students to pass exams rather than finding time for curricular actives that enhance practical and soft skills. Now that they are faced with a dilemma of earning a living due to the long span of time they have not been in schools and the economic pressure that COVID-19 has placed on families. It is only prudent that a plan is made to skill them throughout their formal education and more so there is need to support the students dropping out as a result of the pandemic, with skills so that they can blend in well in the world of work and make meaningful contributions to their societies. Students are more likely to complete primary school in urban areas (approximately 91%) as opposed to rural areas (approximately 85%). Research by Human Rights Watch found out that school closures caused by the pandemic exacerbated previously existing inequalities, and children who were already at risk of being excluded from quality education have now been most affected . The inequalities in education between rural and urban students in Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic range from lack of medium through which students can assess home learning to lack of sources of power to run these mediums, lack of funds to access different learning platforms, lack of internet connectivity, generally the social economic background of the children played a big role in determining their continued learning during the school break. This dictates whether or not they can concentrate on studies or have to work to contribute to the family livelihood or are affected by cultural and traditional practices that threaten their safety like child marriages, coupled with this is the lack of lighting and space to do their study. Only 20% of the children had access to enabling technology for online learning while most of the remaining 80% couldn’t even access the reading materials which were posted to the schools. We have initiated 25 young people in a rural community 15 girls and 10 boys to learn vocational skills that include tailoring, computer skills, knitting, driving skills that includes riding motorcycles. The success stories of these young people will stimulate others to join in the next phase. We call this phase one cohort.

Kigezi Healthcare Foundation introduced mobile clinics to reach out to the vulnerable communities that can not afford to travel long distances mainly to urban centers that provide better healthcare. Mobile clinics play an integral part in providing health care in remote communities. In Uganda, the health infrastructure has been severely affected by the the Covid 19 pandemic. A number of Health facilities do not have functional primary health care facilities, forcing families to either delay medical care or take long trips if they can afford it.

Our mobile team is hosted in the schools, Religious institutions like the churches and it receives mothers and children through a fixed announced schedule. The team is one of the health teams reaching out to over 30 villages and it is supported mainly through generous donations through the GlobalGiving platform. They provide health care services to vulnerable mothers and children. This includes providing integrated medical services for children and pregnant and lactating mothers. This is the only option to provide services in the area, Many people can not afford to travel long distances. People totally rely on the mobile medical team for medication.

The mobile team oversees moves to different villages and announces its visits through school principals and village chiefs and religious leaders.  It provides various free medical services, including clinical examinations, medicine, and referrals services, to children. At the same time, the team screens children and mothers for malnutrition, follows up on severe wasting cases and provides therapeutic and nutritional supplements. Additionally, the team raises awareness about communicable diseases, routine vaccination, and personal hygiene practices. The team also runs counselling sessions on the importance of breastfeeding for pregnant and new mothers. There is also screening for hypertension, Diabetes ,cervical cancer deworming children and many other conditions.

With the hard-economic situation and the shortage of fuel leading to high transport costs, these clinics provide a good alternative to families who can’t afford private clinics or cannot secure public transportation to reach the city,

A pregnant woman due to deliver but had no delivery kit was happy to get one in a mobile clinic. She was examined by a midwife for the first time in her pregnancy.

“I am very happy with the services we receive. All health workers at the clinic are helpful and nice” the pregnant woman said.