Health activists seek to contain commercial sex, unsafe abortions at landing sites
Residents of Kigungu landing site line up to receive health services at the Family Medical Point tent during the implementation of the Care Plus Project. Photo/ Paul Adude
What you need to know:
- The project targets landing sites around Lake Victoria, such as Guuda, Kasenyi, Kigungu, and Nakiwogo
As HIV/AIDs continues to ravage different parts of the world, health activists have called for special attention to landing sites in Uganda which they say are breeding hubs for the virus and related unsafe sexual activities.
According to the Programmes coordinator at Family Medical Point, Ms Eunice Amon, the Care Plus Project they are undertaking will enhance the quality of sexual and reproductive health services across different landing sites on Lake Victoria where there is still a high prevalence of the virus.
“We have a lot of commercial sex work, have seen a lot of unsafe abortions and unintended pregnancies in these landing sites of Guuda, Kasenyi, Kigungu, and Nakiwogo. That is why our team sat down and started implementing this project,” she said.
Ms Eunice made the remarks at Kigungu landing site during the implementation of the project.
“Kigungu is one of the biggest hubs for commercial sex with eight different hotspots, so we think if we saw how to help these communities, extend education on sexual and reproductive health, will see how to fight some of the challenges that the health systems are facing,” she said.
Ms Eunice said the project also empowers women and girls, particularly sex workers with accurate information on SRH services, particularly on the deaths and morbidity caused by unsafe abortion, which is causing several deaths of young women and sex workers in fishing communities.
Ms Jane Adeke, a medical worker at Family Medical Point said the project will create awareness for women in fishing communities about the need to get sexual and reproductive health services.
According to her, some of the services that were offered during the implementation also included family planning services.
“We have brought the family planning services here such that we help mothers to at least reduce on unintended pregnancies, we take the mothers through counseling sessions on all the different family planning methods, explain the side effects and benefits of the different methods before applying them, we are trying to help them have a sustainable life and find a way of achieving their dreams” she said.
