SUPPORT HEALTH NEEDS OF 1000 ADOLESCENTS IN UGANDA

This report provides an overview of the activities conducted in the Last quarter to support the health needs of 1000 adolescents. The report includes information on the number of adolescents served, the services provided, and the challenges and successes encountered.

Activities

The following activities were conducted in the last quarter (May, June, and July 2023):

HIV testing and counseling: A total of 300 (165m, 147f) adolescents were tested for HIV. Of those tested, 2 were positive. The positive adolescents were linked to care and support services.

Antenatal care: A total of 10 adolescent girls received antenatal care. Of those who received ANC, 1 gave birth at a health facility.

Family planning: A total of 220 adolescents were provided with family planning information and services. Of those who received family planning services, 150 chose to use short-term methods and 70 chose to use long-term methods.

Nutrition assessment and counseling: A total of 500 adolescents were assessed for their nutritional status. Of those assessed, 265 were males, and 235 were females. All the 500 adolescents whose nutritional status was in green were okay.

Health education and promotion: A total of 700 adolescents participated in health education and promotion sessions. The sessions covered topics such as HIV/AIDS prevention, sexual and reproductive health, mental health (how to overcome depression), and violence prevention.

Immunization: Most of the adolescents that were reached out in the last quarter were teenage mothers who had babies, they were advised to take their children for immunization and some were immunized at CFU Medical Centre to keep their immunization cards up to date. The adolescent mothers were also trained on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for their babies

Conclusion

The last quarter was a successful period for the program. The program was able to reach a large number of adolescents and provide them with essential health services. The program also made progress in increasing awareness of HIV/AIDS, improving access to family planning, and reducing the incidence of malnutrition. 

 A total number of 24 outreaches and in-reaches were carried out. Adolescent services were issued to 500 (340F,160M) adolescents 10-19 years. Some of the services offered to these adolescents included HIV testing and counseling. We tested 53 youths both male and female and they got to know their HIV status. This is essential in the efforts to end HIV/AIDS among the youths they learn to protect themselves from to prevent further infections.

In addition, 26 pregnant youths who were attending the antenatal Clinic were also tested for HIV. One patient accessed prophylaxis exposure prevention for HIV following a blood splash. This youth received treatment to prevent them from contracting HIV disease. A total of three youths received antiretrovirals during this quarter from CFU medical center. In addition, screening for malnutrition was done and all the youth were assessed to know their nutrition status using Body Mass Index (BMI) and BMI for Age. They had a normal nutrition status.

A total of 26 adolescent girls attended antenatal care as supported by CFU. After the ANC visits, 5 of these mothers gave birth at CFU medical center. Ie two had a normal delivery and 3 had a caesarian. Mothers that accessed the first antenatal visit in the first trimester were five and those who had attended at least four visits were only 6 persons.

Family planning is another service sought by our youth.  A total of 127 youths accessed different family planning options including short- and long-term methods.

In the last couple of months, the activities carried out included family planning services, counseling, and testing for HIV. These activities were done during the community outreaches and in reaches at Child and Family Foundation Uganda. The youth face many challenges in life but unfortunately do not have anyone with whom they can share their grief. This has led to escalated cases of adolescents committing suicide in Uganda in the past months. As CFU, we reach out to these Adolescents and provide the supportive health care they need to have healthy lives.

The free counseling sessions ensure that these adolescents have their problems discussed with professional counselors and solved to prevent depression. These adolescents tend to always be shy and cannot easily share their personal or health challenges with others or their guardians at home. But with empathetic counselors, they have their challenges listened to and solved.

About 400 adolescents(66 females, 34 males)received the family planning services which was inclusive of counseling services too. The young adolescents were advised to abstain from sex while those who were sexually active opted for condom use to prevent unwanted pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). HIV testing and counseling services were given to enable the adolescents to know their HIV status.

Due to the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease epidemic in Uganda, it was so important to take part in the prevention campaign. We sensitized the adolescents and other community members about the causes, signs, and proper ways of preventing Ebola. Community sensitization drives and dialogues were conducted so that the people knew about the Ebola disease. This was of significant impact as the people became vigilant about Ebola and could also pass on the message to their peers and households.

Solving the problem of Nutrition health needs, adolescents were taught the importance of making Kitchen gardens in their households. These are to provide vegetables to families to prevent the occurrence of micronutrient deficiencies, especially among families with adolescents and teenage mothers. The kitchen garden was also another way of empowering their livelihoods as would also plant many gardens for home consumption as well as for commercial(to earn a living from them)

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Adolescent services were issued to youth 10-24 years. Some of the services offered to the youth included HIV screening and testing. We tested 53 youths both male and female. In addition, 4 youth attending the antenatal were also tested for HIV. One patient accessed prophylaxis exposure prevention for HIV following a blood splash. This youth received treatment to prevent them from contracting HIV disease. A total of three youth received antiretrovirals during this quarter. In addition, screening for malnutrition was done and two youth were assessed.

A total of 8 girls attended antenatal care and one had a normal delivery. Mothers that accessed the first antenatal visit were five and those who had attended at least four visits were only one person.

Family planning is another service sought by our youth.  A total of 27 youths accessed different family planning options including short- and long-term methods.

A success story of youthful mothers identified with children with cerebral palsy. These women were organized into groups for peer support while they look after their children suffering from cerebral palsy. They meet biweekly and learn how to deal with children with various forms of cerebral palsy. These groups have enabled mothers to form their community and also allow them to associate and also participate in rehabilitative services together making their lives easier when shared. We have three groups with youthful parents that have been formed in the Kawempe division. 

In the last quarter, Child and Family Foundation (CFU) conducted several integrated static and community outreaches at CFU Medical center and in the communities of Kamuli District. During these outreaches the following services were offered: Nutrition assessment of adolescents, Referral/linkage to care of clients with malnutrition and other medical conditions, nutrition education and counseling, and training of caregivers on nutrition assessment using the MUAC tape.  We had planned 24 outreaches, however, we implemented 19. We further screened 281 TB suspects, 290 for HIV,17 screened for BP, 386 screened for disability, and 3 screened for antenatal care.

Health and Nutrition Education and Counseling

Health and nutrition education and counseling sessions were conducted during community and static outreaches. The objective of the training is to sensitize adolescents on optimal MIYCAN practices and support young mothers with breastfeeding difficulties. Various topics were covered during these sessions namely; caring for a malnourished child, how to identify malnutrition, Positioning and attachment during breastfeeding, optimal breastfeeding, complementary feeding, balanced diet, maternal nutrition during pregnancy and breastfeeding (lactating), when to take a child to the health facility, danger signs of illness and disease, caring and Feeding for a sick, optimal complementary feeding, good hygienic practices, and feeding a sick child, continued breastfeeding up to two years and beyond or one year for HIV exposed infants. A total of 815 were screened in the last quarter and received health and nutrition education and counseling. During the community outreaches, clients were screened for other conditions including TB/HIV, gender-based violence (GBV), disability, and hypertension as shown in the figures attached.