“My mindset is the greatest weapon that I have to surpass any challenge in life”
- Dennis Odetta, OVC Officer, Baylor-Uganda
The second group of leaders in the Pepal Global Health Leadership Challenge came together in November to improve their leadership skills and to co-create innovative ideas to improve adolescent sexual reproductive health in Kamwenge and Kitagwenda Districts in Western Uganda.
Diverse teams made up of staff from Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation, government health facilities, as well as adolescent peer leaders, worked together for a week across classroom and field visit settings. Their task was two-fold: to improve their own leadership capacity as well as finding low-cost solutions to some of the biggest challenges to adolescent sexual reproductive health uptake and access across two districts.
For context, the teams visited a variety of stakeholders who are critical in the lives of adolescents in Western Uganda: health workers, church leaders, community members, CBO leaders and of course, adolescents themselves. The cohort also hosted a community football match which brought young people from Kamwenge town together to keep fit and learn more about adolescent sexual health and services available to them.
Teams presented three exciting innovation action plans to local political leadership for their feedback, approval and buy-in. The projects, ranging from building private spaces for adolescents in HIV care, to a church-facility referral framework, to an economic-skills building piggery for adolescents, all place adolescents at the centre, and were inspired by the young peer leaders on each of the three teams and what they believe to be most beneficial to their peers.
The Pepal in-country team are looking forward to supporting the implementation of these projects over the next six months!