The Universal Primary Education (UPE) program was launched in Uganda in 1997 with a view of enabling all children of school going age to get an opportunity to attend primary school and to ensure that all Ugandan citizens can read and write by the year 2015.Eighteen years down the road, Mityana district is battling to better the quality of UPE amidst difficulties that make the teaching and learning environment very un-conducive. On the side of health, Uganda has high maternal mortality rates, which is often reflective of access to health care services. Every day, an estimated 16 women die from giving birth in Uganda
In 2015, with support from USAID / UKAID Governance, Accountability, Participation and Performance (GAPP)Program, Network for Community Development (NCD) in Partnership with Community Centre Health Foundation (CCHF) embarked on implementing a 2 year project entitled “Promoting Improved Service Delivery in the Health and Education sectors in Uganda” in which 60 children from (Naama Church of Uganda P/S, St. Joseph Nambute P/S, Sekanyonyi Church of Uganda P/S, Taamu Islamic P/S, Bulera Church of Uganda P/S, Kabaseke Islamic P/S) in Mityana district monitor the implementation of the UPE program.
As a result of the advocacy, the number of pupils feeding in the targeted schools as increased by 52 %. More still, 40 community members accessing health services from Kabule HC III, Kabuwambo HC II, Ssekanyonyi HC IV and Bulera HCIII were trained monitor service delivery in their health centres.
In a move to address the 3 delays that contribute to maternal mortality, the project holds sensitization meetings on patient’s rights and responsibilities and monitoring health worker absenteeism. As a result, there has been a reduction in charging of user fees.