Uganda Health Reporter The Uganda Health Communica.on Alliance Vol. 2, No. 6
K
ugandahealthcom@yahoo.com
31 July, 2009
Our Very Own Fellow UHCA is lucky indeed to have Ayub. During a distinguished career as a reporter at the Daily Monitor, he made a name for himself both for writing clear and accessible reports on health-related research and for a number of important investigative stories. Last year, he wrote a path-breaking series on deficiencies in Uganda’s hospital system. The coverage inspired a similar project at the Nation, the Monitor’s sister Nation Media Group newspaper in Nairobi, which prompted the government of Kenya to increase spending on that country’s public hospital system.
akaire Ayub Kirunda, a respected Ugandan health journalist, has joined UHCA to carry out an ambitious two-year project to improve health communication throughout the country, with a special emphasis on reaching up-country journalists. Ayub was recently admitted to the Makerere University School of Public Health-Centers for Disease Control HIV/AIDS fellowship program. We are pleased to report that the School of Public Health chose UHCA to host him during his two-year fellowship. In addition to working with UHCA, Ayub will support the Health Communication Partnership, a program of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, in a series of health-related behaviour-change communication projects. One of Uganda’s leading health journalists, Ayub will spend the first year of his fellowship developing a network of health journalists and creating resources and information to help them stay abreast of health issues. He also will explore alternative methods of providing timely, health-related news and information to journalists in rural areas. At HCP, Ayub will help disseminate a new handbook for Village Health Teams, in part by helping to produce radio distancelearning programs aimed at VHT members. He also will work on communications strategies related to medical male circumcision, couple HIV counseling and testing, pediatric anti-retroviral treatment, family planning and other health issues. As UHCA’s liaison to all of these efforts, he will ensure that journalists and other communications professionals have access to information and training on these issues. Ayub’s first year with UHCA will lay the groundwork for an important research
Kakaire Ayub Kirunda
project he will undertake in the second year of his fellowship. Still based at UHCA, he will develop and conduct a survey to measure the health literacy of Ugandans. He then will design training programs for journalists designed to close knowledge gaps uncovered by his research.
This year, Ayub and his Monitor colleague Eve Mashoo disclosed that Uganda had been slow to respond to a serious threat of a new outbreak of polio. The story prompted the Uganda Ministry of Health to release 3 billion UgShs for a polio vaccine program. Public health officials credit the Monitor coverage with helping to make the program the most successful Uganda vaccination campaign in memory☻ Welcome Ayub!
Special in this Issue: Who’s Who in Family Planning.
I
t is hard to think of any health issue – from maternal and infant mortality to early childhood nutrition and more – that is not profoundly affected by the country’s rapid rate of population growth. Many experts believe bringing down that growth rate needs to be a key part of any strategy to improve health. UHCA and the Health Communication Partnership, a program of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, have compiled a database of organizations that are active in family planning. It appears on pages 5 and 6 of this issue. We hope you find it useful. Please let us know if you see any gaps or errors.
The issue of family planning has been getting increased attention in Uganda. UHCA itself held
Also in this issue: Bridging a Communica.ons Divide..........................................................................................Page 2 Gulu University Launches Community Sanita.on Project...................................…...…………….Page 3 Learning about Mental Health.................................................................................................Page 3 Sound, Script, Story: Keys to Good Radio Feature Repor.ng...................................................Page 4 UHCA Reaches Out...................................................................................................................Page 4
a workshop on population issues last October; for copies of PowerPoint displays from the workshop, please contact us at ugandahealthcom@yahoo. com. Also, we are working with the Population Reference Bureau, a U.S. nongovernment organisation, to plan training later this year that will touch on the issue. And on 15-18 November, Kampala will be the site of an International Conference on Family Planning (Details: http:// www.fpconference2009.org/). For a good background on family planning in general, read Frederick Womakuyu’s “Unplanned Pregnancies on the Rise” in the 8 June New Vision (http://www.newvision.co.ug/ D/9/31/683962/womakuyu%20and%20fami ly%20planning)☻
Uganda Health CommunicaBon Alliance P.O Box 36600, Kampala, Uganda Phone +256 414 669523 www.healthuganda.org
Communication
Bridging a Communications Divide
J
ournalists and public relations officers need each other, but sometimes their interactions produce too much friction and too little enlightenment. UHCA sought to turn that around in a pair of two-day workshop 22-23 June and 20-21 July for public relations officers from healthoriented non government organisations. The events were sponsored by the Health Communication Partnership, a project of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Christopher Conte, a Knight International Health Journalism Fellow who works with UHCA, led off each workshop by describing how the Alliance seeks to find common ground between journalists and other communications professionals even though they often have different interests. Journalists are professionally bound to remain neutral on contentious issues, while public relations people stress advocacy, he noted. But UHCA’s principles hold that both branches of the communications family should share a commitment to professionalism, truth and the goal of empowering people, both individually and collectively, to take control of their own health.
Mr. Kenneth Byoona Stresses a point during the communica:on and media rela:ons training at Health Communica:on Partership offices.
Wanyama Wangah, a journalism lecturer at The public relations officials, for their part, Uganda Christian University, explained how cited frustrations with journalists, including newsrooms operate. their failure to follow up on important stories, their tendency to miss “dull” but Among the highlights of the two workshops important stories, and their tendency to were panel discussions that brought working sensationalise. journalists face-to-face with public relations trainees for a frank exploration of the issues The second workshop ended with a general
Communications professionals should share a commitment to professionalism, truth and the goal In that spirit, Kenneth Byoona, program and advocacy officer for the Inter-religious ofempowering people to take control Council of Uganda, trained participants of their own health. in the art of organizing press conferences, conducting interviews, creating press kits and writing press releases. Other trainers included Esther Nakazzi of the East African and PlusNews (an online publication of the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network, or IRIN) and Jennifer Bakyawa, a former health journalist who now works for the Council on Health Research for Development (COHRED). Each led discussions on how to communicate with the general public about complex scientific and research issues. Also,
that sometimes divide them. The journalists included Lydia Namubiru from the New Vision, Grace Natabaalo from the Daily Monitor, Lea Bwanika from NTV television, Kakaire Kirunda from the School of Public Health and Geoffrey Tusiime from Radio Sanyu-FM. They examined topics ranging from the need for more direct personal contact between journalists and public relations officers to the unfortunately prevalent practice among NGOs of giving journalists “brown envelopes” with cash inside in return for news coverage. The journalists all condemned the practice.
Uganda Health Reporter - 31 July, 2009
agreement that society needs both skilled public relations practitioners and journalists. Conte commented that maintaining the independence and neutrality of the media is akin to an insurance policy. Advocates tend to become totally committed to particular solutions, noted. “But what if they’re wrong?” he asked. In health, as in any science-based field, today’s wisdom is often replaced by new findings. An openminded, uncommitted journalism forces society to reexamine its assumption and thus helps keep alive the constant search for new and better answers, Conte argued. Emebet W. Mutungi, a communications expert with Communication for Development Foundation Uganda, agreed. Besides, she said, media products would become quite dull if advocacy groups controlled them. “They’d be like reading nothing but adverts,” she said☻ 2
News
Learning about Gulu University Launches Community Sanitation Project Mental Health
P
ublic health experts believe that poor communication and a lack of community involvement are among the most serious barriers to efforts to improve health at the grassroots level. A new effort is underway to address those problems. In July, the Gulu University of Medicine, a frequent collaborator with UHCA, launched an effort to improve environmental health, personal hygiene, and food hygiene in three districts in the Acholi sub region. The three-year project, which will cover the districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Adjumani, will base its strategy on community participation and behaviour change communication theories. UHCA plans to observe the experiment closely and report the results.
It is estimated that 70-80 percent of the area’s disease burden is associated with poor sanitation resulting from poor access to safe water for drinking, low latrine coverage, poor waste disposal, poor housing, shortage of clean fuels for cooking and poor personal and food hygiene. Dr. Freddy Oyat, a public health specialist and lecturer at the Gulu medical school, believes many health communication efforts fail because their sponsors use language that ordinary people don’t understand. In this newsletter, in UHCA-backed workshops and in other forums, Oyat also has been an aggressive critic of some government health-promotion efforts, including efforts to control the Hepatitis E outbreak that began last year in Kitgum.
As much as 80% of the disease is linked to poor sanitation resulting from poor access to safe water for drinking, low latrine coverage, poor waste disposal, poor housing, shortage of clean fuels for cooking and poor personal and food hygiene.
The undertaking, supported by the Italian Corporation, is certainly timely. The region is recovering from more than 20 years of conflict that has left its health systems battered. Infectious diseases with epidemic potential are all-too-common – notably, outbreaks of Meningococcal Meningitis in Arua and Moyo districts and of Hepatitis E in the Acholi sub region.
He particularly finds fault with punitive approaches to health promotion. We will be most interested to see him and his colleagues put their ideas into action. For a copy of an article Dr. Oyat wrote for this newsletter last year, sanitation-
Gulu University psychiatrist Thomas Oyok explains a point as a tradi:onal healer Chris:ne Alanyo listens, during the mental health workshop in Lira.
M
odern psychiatrists and a traditional healer came together to discuss common concerns during a two-day UHCA workshop on mental health.
The training, which was held in Lira on 25-26 June, was organized and supported by the International Center for Journalists and UHCA. Four doctors from the Gulu University Faculty of Medicine provided expert instruction in the nature of mental illness, how it is treated, the role of the community in addressing mental health problems, and issues and challenges faced by journalists who cover mental health. A highlight was a discussion between two psychiatrists and traditional healer Christine Alanyo from the village of Paweli in Gulu District. Alanyo described how she treats certain mental problems while referring people with other problems to western-trained doctors. The psychiatrists, while asserting that they didn’t share the beliefs of the traditional healer, suggested that traditional healers do have a role to play in dealing with mental health issues. In part that reflects necessity: research shows that 80% of Ugandans visit traditional healers to help them deal with mental health problems and 50% look to their religious counsellors for advice. By contrast, only 5% are able to see Uganda’s tiny cadre of western-trained mental health experts☻
related resources or a package describing innovative sanitation coverage by Etop newspaper in Soroti, please contact us at ugandahealthcom@yahoo.com☻
Uganda Health Reporter - 31 July, 2009
For copies of PowerPoint presentations made at the workshop, please contact us at ugandahealthcom@yahoo.com. 3
UHCA Activities
Sound, Script, Story: Keys to
UHCA Reaches Out
Good Radio Feature Reporting
Shifa Mwesigye of the Observer discusses contracep:ve supply issues during a conference in Nairobi as Lea Bwanika, reporter for NTV in Kampala, listens.
U
HCA Chairman Charles Wendo joined five other Ugandan journalists and Knight
Knight Interna:onal Health Journalism Fellow Rachel Jones and Pius Sawa of Radio Sapien:a at radio feature‐repor:ng workshop.
Interna.onal Health Journalism Fellow
Christopher Conte for a two‐day workshop on the
O
n
13‐15
UHCA
problems that interfere with the steady supply of
June,
joined
the
• Script (using simple, concise
Interna.onal Center
language to connect these
for Journalists in hos.ng our
sounds), and
The program was led by Rachel Jones,
Knight
workshop was organised by the Popula.on Reference Bureau, a Washington, D.C.‐based nongovernment organisa.on which also is partnering with UHCA
first‐ever training on health feature repor.ng for radio.
contracep.ves throughout sub‐Saharan Africa. The
• Story (pubng sounds and script together in a logical way.
Interna.onal
on several other planned Uganda‐based training projects later this year. It brought together journalists from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. The Ugandan
Health Journalism fellow based
During the workshop, journalists
par.cipants included Lea Bwanika of NTV, Shifa
at the Na.on in Nairobi, with
discussed story ideas and went
Mwesigye of the Observer, Rosebell Kagumire of the
support from Pius Sawa, a
into the field to collect their own
Independent, Irene Nabusoba of the New Vision, and
freelance reporter who o\en
“Vox Pops” ‐‐ man‐on‐the‐street
works with Radio Sapien.a.
Evelyn Lirri of the Monitor☻
interviews ‐‐ that showed what everyday people knew and thought
Jones, formerly a reporter
about the swine flu pandemic. The
for Na.onal Public Radio in
first confirmed cases of the illness
Washington,
in eastern Africa were confirmed
D.C.,
coached
reporters from around Uganda
shortly a\er the workshop ended.
on the three essen.al elements of good radio features:
Sawa, who first met Jones in 2007 when she was a Gulu‐based trainer
• Sound (going out into the
for InterNews, presented some of his
field to collect sounds that
stories and walked reporters through
make readers feel they are
the technical aspects of producing
on the scene),
radio features☻
Uganda Health Reporter - 31 July, 2009
The Ministry of Health and and Interna.onal Breasjeeding and Food Ac.on Network (IBFAN) gathered some informa.on rela.ng to breasjeeding for World Breasjeeding Week, which was the first week of August. If you would like copies, please contact us at: ugandahealthcom@yahoo.com.
4
Family Planning
Family Planning Organisations in Uganda* ORGANIZATION
ACTIVITIES
DISTRICTS COVERED
PHYSICAL ADDRESS
EMAIL ADDRESS
TELEPHONE NO
CONTACT PERSON
CONSERVATION THROUGH PUBLIC HEALTH (CTPH)
Promo.ng community‐ based family planning targe.ng couples through home visits and peer educa.on
Kanungu
Plot 51 Kanjokya Street P.O. Box 10950, Kampala, Uganda
info@ctph.org
+256 414 531389
Dr. Gladys Kalema Zikusoka, 0772 330139
ELIZABETH GLAZIER PEDIATRIC AIDS FOUNDATION (EGPAF)
Capacity building for health workers in Family Planning
Kampala, Mukono, Jinja,Iganga, Namutumba, Mayuge, Mpigi, Masaka, Rakai, Sembabule, Lyantonde, Kiruhura, Mbarara, Isingiro, Ibanda, Rukungiri, Kabala, Kanungu, Kamwenge Kasese, Bundibugyo Kabarole, Kibale, Hoima, Bushenyi
Plot 31 Main House Nakasero Road P.O. Box 21127 Kampala, Uganda
media@pedaids.org
+256 414 341219 +256 414 343501
Dr. Ondo Doreen, 0776212627
FAMILY HEALTH INTERNATIONAL (FHI)
Support community resources for family planning , training
Nakaseke, Nakasongola Luwero, Mubende Kanungu, Busia, Bugiri
Plot 6, Kafu Road, P.O. Box 71419 Kampala, Uganda
aakol@oi.org, www.oi.org
+256 414 235038 +256 414 235043
Dr. Angela Akol, 0772 466296
HEALTH COMMUNICATION PARTNERSHIP (HCP)
Produc.on of Informa.on materials for family planning and awareness raising
All districts in Uganda
Plot 77 Luthuli Avenue P.O. Box 3495 Kampala, Uganda
cheryll@hcpuganda.org, www.hcpartnership.org
+256 414 250183/ 237222/250192
Barbara Katende 0772434355
HEALTH INITIATIVES IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR (HIPS)
Sensi.za.on and provision of family planning services through community outreach, peer educa.on and community videos. Provision of HIV Counselling and Tes.ng services.
Abim, Arua, Bukediaya Bulisa, Dokolo, Hoima Iganga , Kabarole Kampala, Kyenjojo Masindi, Mbarara Moroto, Nakapiripirit Pader, Yumbe
Plot 42 Lumumba Avenue Kampala
Lnakato@emg‐hips.com www.emg‐hips.com
+256 414 347594 / 312 265757
Lilian Nakato 0772 490725
NORTHERN UGANDA MALARIA, TB AND AIDS ORGANIZATION (NUMAT)
Providing family planning educa.on for people living with HIV/AIDS
Gulu, Amuru, Pader James Arwata Road Kitgum, Lira, Oyam, Apac, Kirombe sub ward Dokolo, Amolatar Layibi Division Gulu, Uganda
NA
+256 372 260051
Micheal Ochola 0782674607
MINNESOTA INTERNATIONAL HEALTH VOLUNTEERS (MIHV)
Supply of fanily planning informa.on materials. Volunteers training health workers
Mubende Sembabule
Plot 34 Kintu Rd Mbuya P.O. Box 35514 Kampala
lehrlich@mihv.org, www.mihv. nonprofitoffice.com
+256 414 220035
Paige Anderson, 0774 047035
MINISTRY OF HEALTH (MOH)
Service provision and communica.on
All districts in Uganda
Plot 6 Lourdel Rd, Wandegeya P.O. Box 7272 Kampala
info@health.go.ug, www.health.go.ug
+256 414 340884
Liliane Luwanga 0772 423062
MARIE STOPES UGANDA (MSU)
General medical services, all family planning services and HIV Counselling and Tes.ng
All districts apart from Kalangala
PO Box 3557 Plot No. 1020, Kisugu Muyenga, Kampala Uganda
www.mariestopes.org.uk
+256 414 510337/ 516
Alex Bogere, 0772 784 260
PATHFINDER INTERNATIONAL
Building the capacity of health providers to offer quality family planning services. (Trains health workers in Basic and Long Term family Planning services
Lira, Dokolo, Amolatar Apac, Oyam, Amuru Pader, Abim, Kaberamaido, Katakwi Amuria, Kitgum
Plot 2 Kafu Road, Nakasero P.O. Box 29611 Kampala, Uganda
tech‐comm@pathfind. org, www.pathfind.org
+256 414 255940 / +256 312 263940
Dr. Abeja Apunya
PLAN UGANDA
Crea.ng awareness and capacity building
Luwero, Kamuli, Tororo Kampala
Plot 126 Luthuli Avenue, Bugolobi Kampala, Uganda
www.plan‐interna.onal. org/where‐we‐work/ africa/uganda
+256 414 305000
Agnes Kabaikya, 0772566129
POPULATION SECRETARIAT (POP SEC)
Advocacy and training of trainers
Iganga, Kalangala Kiboga, Lira, Wakiso
P.O.Box 2666, Kampala (UGANDA)
popsec@imul.com
+256 414 705400
Hannington Brunde, 0772 458787
Continued on page 6 Uganda Health Reporter - 31 July, 2009
5
Family Planning MANAGEMENT SCIENCES FOR HEALTH‐ STRIDES FOR FAMILY HEALTH PROJECT
Increasing quality and provision of rou.ne Reproduc.ve Health, Family Planning and Child Survival sevices
Kumi, Bugiri,Mayuge, Kaliro, Kamuli, Kayunga, Luwero, Nakasongola, Mpigi, Mi.ana, Sembabule, Kalangala, Kasese, Kyenjojo, Kamwenge
Bugolobi
www.msh.org/global‐ presence/sub‐saharan‐ africa/uganda.cfm
NA
Kenth Kakande, 0754 200297
POPULATION SERVICES INTERNATIONAL (PSI/PACE)
Providing family planning methods and raising awareness
Masaka, Sembabule Mityana, Mukono Kampala, Lyantonde Kalangala, Mubende Wakiso, Mpigi, Rakai
PSI Uganda Plot 2 Ibis Vale P.O. Box 27659 Kololo, Kampala Uganda
pace@pace.org.ug
+256 312 351100
Julius Lukwago
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH UGANDA (RHU)
Clinics and community outreach on safe motherhood, family planning services, treatment of Sexually Transmited Infec.ons, post abor.on care and infer.lity management
Arua, Bushenyi, Gulu, Iganga, Kabarole, Kampala, Kasese, Lira Mbale, Mityana, Tororo, Kapchorwa Hoima, Mbarara
Plot 2 Katego Road Off Kira Road P.O.Box 10746
rhu@rhu.or.ug
+256 414 540658
Martha Songa, 0772 308152
YOUNG EMPOWERED AND HEALTHY (YEAH)
Communica.ons All Districts to reduce HIV/AIDS adolescent pregnancy and early school leaving
Plot 58, Kira Road P.O. Box 3487, Kampala
www.yeahuganda.org
NA
Anna Gamurora 0772 426753
SUPPORT TO THE HEALTH SECTOR STRATEGIC PLAN PROJECT II (SHSSP)
Support MOH to build capacity of Village Health Teams, Family Planning Organiza.ons
Kisoro, Kabale Kanungu, Rukungiri Ntungamo, Bushenyi Ibanda, Isingiro Kiruhura, Mbarara
P.O. Box 7272 Kampala Uganda
info@health.go.ug
+256 414 340887
Dr. D.K. Sekimpi 0772 452641
STRAIGHT TALK FOUNDATION (STF)
Dissemina.on of infoma.on materials and behavior change communica.on
All districts in Uganda
Plot 4, Acacia Avenue., Kololo, P. O. Box 22366, Kampala, Uganda,
strtalk@straight‐talk. or.ug, strtalk@imul.com www.straight‐talk.or.ug
+256 312 262030/ 1
Jully Wilshire
THE AIDS SUPPORT
Counseling, supply of products, training of community volunteers in family planning
Kampala, Wakiso Mbarara, Masaka Rukungiri, Masindi Gulu, Mbale, Soro. Tororo, Jinja
The Execu.ve Director Old Mulago Complex P. O. Box 10443, Kampala
mail@tasouganda.org www.tasouganda.org
+256 412 532580/ 1
Dr. A. Kiboneka, 0712 685780
UGANDA HEALTH MARKETING GROUP (UHMG)
Marke.ng and dissemina.on of Family planning products and informa.on
Apac, Arua , Kabarole Kanungu, Kasese Lira, Luwero, Masaka Mayuge, Mbale Mbarara Mukono, Rukungiri, Soro. Tororo, Wakiso
AFFORD/UHMG mail@uhmg.org Plot 35 John Babiiha Road, www.uhmg.org P.O. Box 4553 Kampala, Uganda
+256 0312 244700
William Nyombi 0712 870909
UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (UNFPA)
Capacity building for partners, development of strategies for implementa.on of family planning
Arua, Gulu, Kanungu Kapchorwa, Katakwi Kibale, Kitgumu, Ko.do Lira, Masindi, Moroto Pader, Wakiso, Yumbe
P.O. Box 7184 Kampala, Uganda
mohtashami@unfpa.org
+256 414 345600/ 344871
Dr. Ndifuna 0772 449 485
UGANDA PRIVATE MIDWIVES ORGANIZATION (UPMO)
Providing both short term and long term family planning methods and training
Wakiso, Kampala, Mbarara, Kasese, Bushenyi, Hoima, Masindi, Kibale, Mbale, Lira, Luwero, Kiboga, Masaka, Lyantonde, Kamuli, Jinja, Pallisa Mukono, Ntugamo, Kaliro, Rukungiri, Budaka
Plot 545 Kisingiri Zone Mengo P.O. Box 30962, Kampala, Uganda
upma@africaonline.co.ug
+256 414 273943
Mary Namusisi, +256 414 273943
USAID | DELIVER PROJECT
Supply chain strengthening
Hoima, Manafwa Mayuge, Apac, Nakasongola, Sembabule
Plot 65 Katalima R.d Naguru P.O. Box 7649, Kampala,
AskDeliver@jsi.com deliver.jsi.com
+256 414 253246
Pascal Mujasi
WHO (World Health Organiza.on)
Ensuring availability of All districts in Uganda standard guidelines and polices and suppor.ng trainers workshops
The WHO Representa.ve Plot 4, Nile Avenue PO Box 24578 Kampala
regafro@afro.who.int www.who.int/countries/ uga/en
NA
Dr. Geoffrey Bisoborwa, 0772 453375
THE AFRICAN NETWORK FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION IN HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Informa.on sharing, capacity building in strategic communica.on
All districts in Uganda
Plot 77 Luthuli Avenue P.O. Box 3495 Kampala, Uganda
www.africomnet.org
+256 414 250183/ 237222/250192
Charles Kakaire, 0772 602690
HEALTH PARTNERS UGANDA HEALTH COOPERATIVE
Health educa.on, pruc.on informa.on materials
Kampala, Bushenyi
Plot 2 Ibs Vale, Kololo P.O. Box 33781 Kampala
+256 414 342 353
Dorah Musimire, 0782 308148
ORGANIZATION (TASO)
*Compiled by Health Communication Partnership and Uganda Health Communication Alliance.
Uganda Health Reporter - 31 July, 2009
6