ENTEBBE – Namakula Josephine is a sex worker in Kigungu landing site, Entebbe. She says in 2023, a client deliberately broke a condom thereby impregnating her.
As a poor lady, she was advised by a friend to use herbal medicine to remove the unwanted baby because she couldn’t raise money for a safe abortion. Little did she know this could cost her life.
“I got a lot of complications, bled a lot, and even some foetus parts remained inside which started rotting,” she narrated.
She says one “Lucky” day, another friend who knew about Family Medical Point – FMP connected her to them who gave her a second life.
“They came and picked me up to their centre, cleaned my uterus, and gave me all the necessary services. I got healed very well,” she said.
Namakula, who would later become a peer commended FMP for not only giving them post-abortion services but also providing them with free condoms to prevent them from getting HIV and unwanted pregnancies.
“I think, without their services, some of us would be just dead because we couldn’t afford on our own.”
Unsafe abortion is a significant public health problem in Uganda. The Uganda Demographic Health Survey 2016 states that the maternal mortality ratio is still high at 336 per 100,000 live births, and maternal deaths are estimated at 16-18 per day with 4-6 deaths attributed to unsafe abortion. Unsafe abortion continues to be a leading cause of maternal death.
Namakula and other hundreds were on Friday receiving free medical services as Family Medical Point conducted a sexual and reproductive health outreach aimed at promoting access to inclusive, comprehensive, confidential, and rights-based Sexual and Reproductive Health services for all individuals in Kigungu landing site, particularly women and key population groups, in commemoration of International Women’s Day.
Cedikol Enock, CAREplus project manager said that through this project, they intend to fight death caused by unsafe abortions amongst poor communities.
“As we are trying to prevent unsafe abortion, there are also reproductive health issues related, say UTIs, gonorrhoea, spheres, and others which all affect reproductive part.”
According to him, Kigungu is one of the hard-to-reach areas, full of people with low income, who without such services are left to suffer.
“For example, to manage someone who has carried out unsafe abortion the minimum can be shs150,000 which is quite expensive for such a community.”
Ms. Polyne Nabwire – Programmes and Communication Coordinator at Family Medical Point said that an outreach event was aimed at not only treating them but also raising awareness, and encouraging engagement in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
She revealed that at the outreach, residents of Kigungu had the opportunity to get a number of services including;
Subsidized price Post-Abortion Care – PAC services to address the specific needs of women who have undergone abortions. “This service contributes to our objective of providing comprehensive SRH services, including support for women’s reproductive health choices.”
Free Consultation which she says aligns with their goal to improve healthcare accessibility in Kigungu Landing Site. “By removing financial barriers, community members can easily seek professional medical advice, creating a culture of preventive healthcare and early intervention.”
Free Family planning. Nabwire says this supports their objective to combat the high prevalence rates of unsafe abortions and unintended pregnancies in Kigungu but also promotes responsible reproductive choices and contributes to community health.
Free HIV testing and counseling which is essential to combating the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS.
Other services offered were free urinalysis tests and STI treatment, blood pressure checkups, and distribution of SRH commodities like condoms, and water-based lubricants.
Meddy Kayidali, Village Health Team, Kigungu underscored the need for such services because “this landing site has many people entering and moving out. There is an interaction of new and old people. So, we need these services and awareness almost every day, especially on HIV prevention.”
About Family Medical Point
Family Medical Point is a not-for-profit organization that advocates, promotes and provides rights-based comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services to young people, women, sexual minorities, marginalized and hard-to-reach and forgotten communities. We enhance access to life-saving healthcare services, particularly comprehensive SRH services among minorities, key populations, marginalized communities and young people, empower women and girls and promote school-wide health.
