One of the major hindrances to the
enjoyment of human rights among the people of Rukungiri is lack of awareness of
their rights. The poverty and illiteracy levels among the women especially, limits
them from accessing relevant information on their right to reproductive health
and access to quality reproductive health services. But after Rukungiri
Gender and Development Association’s (RUGADA) two years intervention into
the appalling situation, the above limitations are becoming but a thing of the
past and the community
Under its IDF funded project “Promoting
respect for reproductive health rights for socially deprived women in Rukungiri”, RUGADA implemented a number
of empowerment measures like training
of volunteers, conducting community meetings and workshops, radio programs,
production of advocacy materials that aimed
at increasing knowledge and awareness on reproductive health including sexual
and gender-based violence, particularly among pregnant women. In its action
RUGADA emphasized broadening the scope of home-based lifesaving skills at the
community level. Such measures ensured that individuals and communities could
actively participate in improving their health. The project also enhanced the involvement of men
in awareness rising about reproductive health rights for women.
Among
others, a tremendous increase in
the number of pregnant mothers accessing antenatal services was registered from
32.2% to 46% in
2011-2013(LQAS2011-2013).
And this indirectly saved the lives of mothers and babies by promoting and
establishing good health before childbirth and the early postnatal period – the
time periods of highest risk. Secondly, today health programs have been
designed/mandated to serve the needs not only of married women, but unmarried
women of all ages. And lastly yet important, is that, there has been a formal
recognition that more equitable relations between men, women and reproductive
rights are important ends in themselves. Involving men has been a prominent
part of the shift from family planning to the broader reproductive health
agenda.
The community-based implementation model
and radio programs used in helped in creating massive awareness on reproductive
health rights; while the community-Based volunteers (CBVs), travelling from
village-to-village explaining to rural women the benefits of using Health
Centres for delivery and utilizing all the other health services proved to be
an essential tool for the project’s success.
One
the whole, the project greatly enhanced women’s understanding of their rights
to reproductive health and consequently contributed to better health among women
and children in Rukungiri district.
