Youth taking lead at the RMNCAH Youth E summit
My name is Imanet Fatuma and I am 26 years old. I have been a TeamUp Youth Champion, a Youth Farmer Field School (YFFS) vice chairperson of Va’Mubwavu youth group and a YEC treasurer for Malagala Sub County Mityana for the last year. My capacity as an SRH advocate is getting stronger due to the training I continuously receive with in the TeamUp Uganda program from A4HU in advocacy (civic engagement), SRH, Leadership and Management. That my capacity in agribusiness as YFFS group member has improved tremendously with the continued training in the demonstration plots from the YFFS facilitators, and as a leader and as a person who ensures accountability in the Youth Empowerment Centre (YEC) in Malangala.
Participating in the RMNCAH Youth E summit has been a great opportunity for me to engage with other like-minded youth to discuss alongside the decision makers (leaders) in the sectors on various health and socially related issues affecting young people across the country.
Living in Mityana, which while being in proximity to Kampala is mostly rural living often means that young people living there are discounted us uninformed and lacking the voice to effect change, accountability and coordination to ensure improved service delivery. This is not true, in Mityana we are actively engaging with parents, stakeholders, community leaders, district leaders and technical teams and now we are connecting nationally with Ministry of Health and other CSOs. We are included in the budget planning processes in the sectors of health, agriculture and water, in all these forums we engage, monitor, advocate for young people’s increased allocation in SRH, access to finance and safe and clean water.
The E summit was a revelation; we were covered live on NTV Uganda and were live on Zoom as well. I felt like I was part of a strong unit across the country that was raising the voices of young people. We discussed issues along the RMNCAH theme of the year “Leveraging local government structures to address persistent SHRH challenges of a young population for national development.”It is important that young people are not only included in the conversation, but that we are allowed to speak when we are engaged in these platforms, RMNCAH is a great step in that direction,
During Covid19, we have seen young people in our communities being affected poorly, teenage girls getting pregnant, an increase in SGBV, a lack of SRH commodities at health centers, decrease in livelihoods etc. there is an urgency that is required to act in order to mitigate these effects of Covid19. Young people need quick intervention, through education, access to SRH commodities, access to finance, access to youth friendly services and many more. At the RMNCAH, I have been ensuring that that conversation is highlighted.
When I go back to Mityana, I will carry that message to the young people back in Mityana, I will share the information from the E summit, talk about the partnerships we can forge with the other youth networks across the country and how to leverage the RMNCAH agenda in the rural perspective
