Government of Uganda and UNFPA Country Office
Objective
To enhance adolescent reproductive
life through creating a more conducive environment and providing adolescent
with appropriate reproductive health counseling and services
Scope
Began in 1995 and reviewed
for continuation in December 1996 (Phase I) PEARL program was implemented
as a pilot project in four of the 39 districts in Uganda. In the light
of the poor status of adolescent reproductive life, the government and
UNFPA continue to implement PEARL from 1997 to 2000 (Phase II).
Background
Uganda's population below
the age of 30 accounts for 75 percent (1991 census) of the total population.
As such, youth is given significant importance in Uganda's population
policy which devises a number of strategies that addresses the growing-up
needs of this group. During the period, June 1995 to December 1996,
the government and UNFPA initiated the reproductive health of Ugandan
adolescents (10-24 years)
Main Activities
Recreation facilities, sexual
and reproductive health and family planning information and counseling
services and research in cultures and traditions that affect sexual
behavior and reproductive health, the findings will provide input for
the development of IEC materials.
Evaluation Findings.
The program pilot-tested
four districts and was evaluated at the end of one and half years of
implementation. The observation indicated that the PEARL approach makes
it possible to improve the reproductive life of adolescent within the
community and socio-cultural framework. PEARL has also successfully
created a multi-purpose community-based hub for adolescent and where
PEARL carries out all its activities.
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Management
Features
Common Vision
The first step taken by PEARL
program was to create a common vision by involving the stakeholders in
the identification of problems and development programs strategies and
activities.
Strategy:
PEARL established creation
and community centres to create 'social space' for adolescent.
Involving target groups has created a sense of program ownership among
adolescent and the community.
Capacity Building
General management skills
are provided at the ministeral level for all program managers to effectively
meet the challenges of change and demand. Service providers are trained
to handle youth sexual and reproductive health problems. Peer counselors
are trained to provide peer counseling services.
Human Resource Management:
Mobilizing resources:
PEARL program had relied
heavily on donor funding, in this case the donor agency is UNFPA. However,
since this is a government project, allocations for activities comes
mainly from the ministry of Gender and Community Development.
Managerial Leadership:
PEARL highlights the need
for program design to pay attention to difficult target groups, particularly
female youths. The guiding principle in developing the PEARL program
was the task-focused, inclusive and participatory as the concept. A
national steering committee was constituted to oversee the implementation
of PEARL and in addition a management orrganization was set-up to assist
in program planning, coordination, supervision and accountability.
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