Research Project (Ongoing)

Intervention Study on Unintended Teenage Pregnancy in Uganda

Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” As in many countries, it is a development priority in Uganda as well. The government of Uganda aims to prevent unintended pregnancies through improved access to family planning services and lower the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime. (The total fertility rate was 5 as of 2016.) In doing so, an approach that strengthens partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders including the private sector, religious organizations and non-profit organizations is in need.

Over 60% of teenage pregnancies in Uganda are said to be unintended. They often result in girls dropping out of school or going through unsafe abortions, posing serious social issues. The underlying issues that previous studies identified include poverty, low social status of girls and women, lack of knowledge on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), low usage rate of modern contraceptive methods, earlier sexual debut, and delays in the development of youth-friendly services at public healthcare facilities. Meanwhile, mobile money shops offering a wide range of services are scattered throughout Uganda, even to every corner of rural villages, and are an essential part of the daily lives of teenagers.

With better understanding on the behaviors of Ugandan teenagers and available social resources, this study will develop a new intervention to promote SRHR among teenagers through mobile money shops and verify its effectiveness. The study is also to explore how the new program can be applied in other areas in Uganda. By mobilizing various social resources available in local communities, we aim to develop and propose a comprehensive model that can withstand real-life application.

The study will be conducted through collaboration between Busoga Health Forum (Uganda), Juntendo University (Japan) and Nagasaki University (Japan).