The Mbale city council authority has praised the Uganda Youth and Adolescent Health Forum (UYAHF) for providing free sexual reproductive health services through its Adolescents Health Clinic during the “Keep Mbale City Clean” campaign.
While closing the event, Mbale City Mayor his lordship Kassim Namugali stated that despite the campaign focusing on cleaning the city, reproductive health services are a vital health component to the community.
“I’d like to express my gratitude to the various stakeholders who have joined us today to launch this campaign aimed at restoring the city’s glory.” Separately, I applaud the Uganda Youth and Adolescent Health Forum for thinking it was a good idea to include SRHR services in this wonderful day; they have provided services that are normally charged at hospitals to the people of Mbale at no cost.” Mayor elaborated
During the event, UYAHF set up an outreach tent where free services such as HIV testing and counseling, family planning services, condom distribution, GBV screening, and health education on family planning were provided, among other things.
According to Dr. Moses Baganzi, the clinic’s in charge, 71 people attended the services, including 53 men and 18 women.
“I am grateful to the city council authority for allowing us to incorporate the SRHR component into the Clean Mbale campaign.” “Considering the limited time we have, it has really yielded,” Moses added.
During the health education session on contraceptive use, it was noted that the majority of the participants had a negative attitude towards contraceptive usage. This among other reasons explains the low uptake of contraception that drives to the high rates of teenage pregnancy in the district.
The city council Committed to continuing working with UYAHF to extend the SRHS to the people of Mbale city.
Meanwhile, while flagging the activities, the Chief of Defense Forces Wilson Mbasu Mbadi stated that “We are proud to have begun a journey to keep Mbale city clean.”
He encouraged the participants to be ambassadors for their spaces in order to maintain cleanliness and directed that everyone say no to garbage.
Ms. Rhodah Nyaribi, Mbale City’s senior environment officer, stated that the purpose of this launch is to demonstrate how to keep Mbale clean. She goes on to say that they are all working together to restore Mbale’s glory.
In the early 1960s, Mbale used to be the cleanest town in East and Central Africa however, this trend has since taken a downward dive and the town is now among the dirtiest in Uganda. The streets are filthy with heaps of garbage seen in various hot spots justifying the need for immediate intervention.