UNESCO O3 Plus Project Entry and Planning Meetings held with Piloting Universities in Uganda

Young people in Higher and Tertiary Education Institutions (HTEIs) in Uganda face numerous challenges especially related sexual and reproductive health (SHR) and gender-based violence. A study conducted in 2018 by Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) in Uganda with support from UNESCO in a number of universities showed that 70 percent of students were sexually active and 50 percent of these were not using protection. 28 precent had a sexually transmitted infection in the last 12 months of the survey. This is evidence that a majority of students actually lack basic sexuality education by the time they join the HTEIs of learning.

Relatedly, MoES in Uganda with support from UNESCO concluded entry and planning meetings with the university Technical Working Groups (TWG) at each of the 3 Ugandan universities selected to pilot the O3 Plus Program, which drew over 100 participants. They include; Kampala International Universities (KIU)- Western Campus, Makerere University main and Jinja Campus, and Ndejje University. The meetings set out to orient the newly elected university TWG members on the O3 Plus program, support development of specific university workplans to support the implementation of the Program, and subsequently set the stage for rollout of O3 Plus and the 'Kyaddala' Pan-African film screening at each of the pilot universities. The meetings build on previously implemented activities that include university leadership orientation meeting and student leaders' consultative meeting held in May and June respectively for the pilot universities.

The events at the Universities were officially opened by MoES O3 Plus Focal person Mr. John Ochira, the Assistant Commissioner for Higher Education. Mr. Ochira congratulated the Universities upon being selected among other universities in the country to pilot this intervention and intimated that "Lessons learnt from each of the piloting Universities will inform O3 Plus scale up to other universities in the country and therefore, the onus is upon the TWGs to spearhead this initiative and successfully implement in the each of the universities."

Mr. Ochira highlighted that, through the Health and Wellbeing program, the Ministry of Education and Sports developed a national framework (National Sexuality Education Framework) which acts as a standard to guide implementation of sexuality education in schools in Uganda.

The Deputy VC of KIU Prof. Frank Kaharuza just like his compatriots in other universities welcomed the initiative and highlighted that this is a timely intervention that is long overdue given the challenges of adolescent SRH that University students face across Uganda.