CALL FOR INNOVATIVE IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS TO END CHILD MARRIAGES AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN KARAMOJA AND SEBEI REGION

YOUTH INNOVATION CHALLENGE TO END CHILD MARRIAGES AND TEENAGE PREGNANCIES.

Background:

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS 2018), 25% of women in Uganda have given birth by the age of 18 years, a situation that has not improved, including due to the prolonged school closure during the COVID-19 lockdown. When teenage girls get pregnant, they most likely drop out of school, which has a substantial impact on their future, making them more vulnerable to repeat teenage pregnancy, child marriage, poverty, exclusion, and illness. High teenage pregnancy rates are linked with the existence of high multifaceted poverty, which is considered a key driver of teenage pregnancy. Although numbers are rising, no evidence has been generated on possible solutions to the challenge. According to UNFPA 2022, The Cost of inaction to address escalating numbers of teenage pregnancies and child marriages includes individual, social, and economic costs such as low education attainment -teenage mothers are six times less likely to complete school, teenage mothers are three times less likely to access professional jobs, nearly 46% of births by teenagers in Uganda are unwanted pregnancies. Teenage pregnancies are estimated to contribute 20% to infant death and 28% to maternal deaths. 

Ending Teenage pregnancies and child marriages by 2030 – the target set out in the Sustainable Development Goals – would require redoubling evidence-based efforts and innovation. The UN Secretary-General once said: "Be bold, be revolutionary…and disrupt…because without innovation, there is no way we can overcome the challenges of our times…we can do things differently, and do different things... Now is the time to make innovative thinking the new normal." This guiding principle forms the basis for innovative thinking to catalyze our efforts towards ending teenage pregnancies and, child marriages, and Violence against girls in general.

Call for Innovative Solutions:

UNFPA, in Partnership with ActionAid International Uganda (AAIU), has taken ending child marriages, teenage pregnancies, and other harmful practices seriously and has led several interventions to prevent its occurrence. The UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme to End Child Marriages and Teenage Pregnancies is the largest global programme to accelerate the ending of the vice among teenagers and thereby advance the rights, health, and well-being of women and girls. 

Through financial support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), ActionAid International Uganda (AAIU) is calling upon young people and social change innovators, especially adolescent girls and boys, to submit initiatives to end early and unintended teenage pregnancy through social change innovative solutions and ideas in the communities in of Karamoja, Sebei and Northern Uganda thus eight districts namely:- Kapchorwa, Kween, Bukwo, Nakapiripirit, Amudat, Moroto, Napak, Otuke. The innovative solutions should demonstrate the impact of the already ongoing solutions to address teenage pregnancy.  The innovations should be bold and scalable ideas, including potentially commercially and socially viable ideas that can  support to achieve the goal of zero teenage pregnancy and child Marriages within communities. We welcome innovative ideas and solutions that are accessible to vulnerable adolescent girls and boys, including PWD, in the following areas.

1. Increasing the skills and capabilities of girls and communities to lead the change. 

• Empower girls to take leadership in the fight against teenage pregnancies and Child marriages.
• Develop girls and young women's digital skills and literacy.
• Utilize the power of storytelling (all forms, including digital media) to prevent and respond to child marriages and empower young women and girls.
• Equip girls with life skills and self-worth, helping them realize their potential.

2. Changing Social, Cultural, & Gender Norms that encourage Child Marriages and Foster Teenage Pregnancies.

• Improve family decision-making for girls' empowerment.
• Engage men and boys in the eradication of Child Marriage and teenage pregnancy.
• Increase youth and women's organization's involvement and collaboration in ending Child marriages.
• Empower teenage mothers to rehabilitate and use their experience to lead and inform the advocacy to change harmful social norms.
• Meaningful engagement of cultural and religious leaders on Alternatives of child marriages.
• Intensify multi-media campaigns (including emerging media) on social norms in targeted communities to end child marriages.
• Reward system for communities that combat child marriages.

3. Improving access to health services (health, social, legal) for Teenage Mothers and Adolescent Girls at Risk to. 

• Use technology solutions (mobile apps) in sharing information and accessing services and making it accessible to female and male adolescents, including PWD.
• Improve 'survivor-centered' health care services to respond to the needs of women and girls to end Child Marriages and Teenage Pregnancies.
• Quality referrals and linkages between services, health, education, police, justice, social services, shelters, andpsycho-social support.
• Integrate Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and other services into response plans.
• Provide sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information access through innovative solutions/ideas that provide equal access to information for female and male youths, including PWDs.

Selection Criteria 

• Six ideas from different innovators will be selected after an assessment of the proposals submitted. 
• The 6 teams will have access to seed funding to a maximum of UGX 10,000,000 each (Ten Million Ugandan shillings) to test their proposed potential solutions over a period of 2 months supported by credible teams from AAIU and UNFPA. 
• Selected innovators will be expected to complete pre-training activities on PSEA, Anti-Corruption, and a Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) and do a Live Pitch for their Ideas. 
• Innovators will be required to submit their applications through this link:   https://forms.gle/rMGUiAgx9u4sCGWX8
• Selected innovations will go through an incubation period where Innovators will be provided with technical support to complement and expand their work potential.

How Do You Qualify:

• Ideas must be new, innovative, and scalable and must respond to any of the priority areas identified above.
• Ideas can be from individuals (young people) representing social enterprises, organisation or group and not-for-profit organizations including academic and research institutions.
• Be based or originate in a UNFPA End Child Marriage District: Kapchorwa, Kween, Bukwo, Nakapiriprit, Amudat, Moroto, Napak, Otuke and understand the context of the challenges and needs very well.
• Innovators must be 18 -35 years old. Women and girls are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Innovation teams cannot be represented by more than 3 members. We expect the represented team members to transfer knowledge to other team members, if any. 
• Innovation teams must demonstrate an agile growth and learning mindset, including a willingness to pivot and adapt. Refer to the UN principles for innovation
• Teams must be able to commit to at least three months to the incubation stage, facilitated by AAIU and UNFPA
• Teams must be willing to adjust their solution with other innovators if advised by the business advisory partners
• Willing to showcase your business through communication platforms to be determined by UNFPA and AAIU.
• How to Apply

Qualifying social change innovators should submit their innovative solution through this link: https://forms.gle/rMGUiAgx9u4sCGWX8

Adhering to the priorities and each application must have only one innovation.

For further information and application procedures, interested innovators can reach out to Andrew Onapito via andrew.onapito@actionaid.org or Call:+256777031083 The deadline for applications is 31st October 2024.