By Patrick Opio
Senior Communications Officer
VICE Chancellor, Lira University, Prof. Dr. Jasper Ogwal Okeng has lauded Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and other partners for funding the Adolescent Family Planning and Post-Abortion Care project in Northern Uganda.
Addressing Neglected Areas in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa (ANeSA) initiative, IDRC has earmarked a total of CAD 29.9 million for CAFFP-PAC in three years. Prof. Ogwal Okeng was addressing the Project Technical Advisory Committee (P-TAC) meeting held at Gracious Palace Hotel, Lira City, on 7th March 2025.
Prof. Ogwal Okeng was happy to note that the Comprehensive Adolescent-Friendly Family Planning and Post-Abortion Care (CAFFP-PAC) project would improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in Northern Uganda, particularly in Lira District. “Lira University’s doors are welcoming and open to receive development partners…locally or globally. We are a serious partner, result oriented, cherishing transparency and effective and timely accountability,” he asserts.
The Project Principal Investigator, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Omech Bernard revealed that CAFFP-PAC project would be integrated into public primary healthcare facilities in the region, using a Citizen Science Gender-Transformative Approach (CS-GTA).
Project Objectives
Assoc. Prof. Omech, also the Director Graduate Training and Research, noted that the project focuses on empowering Adolescents through training young people as citizen scientists to advocate for their health rights.
“We plan to build the capacity of healthcare providers to deliver gender-sensitive SRH services, engage communities to address cultural and gender barriers to SRH services and collaborate with policymakers to institutionalize CAFFP-PAC in national health systems,” Dr. Omech explains.
Health Challenge
On the health challenges, Prof. Omech indicated that Uganda has one of the highest adolescent pregnancy rates globally, limited access to family planning, post-abortion care (PAC), and youth-friendly services, gender norms, stigma, and policy barriers restrict access leading to high rates of unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal deaths.
Expected Impact of the project
Dr. Omech explained that the project impact as enhanced access and utilization of family planning and PAC services among adolescents, reduced unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions, strengthened healthcare capacity to provide adolescent-friendly SRH services, greater community engagement in promoting adolescent SRH and sustainable policy integration for gender-transformative SRH interventions.
Partners and collaboration
Led by Lira University, other collaborators include; GLOFORD Uganda, Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU), Lira District Local Government and University of Calgary, Canada.
The Project Technical Advisory Committee (P-TAC), as the project component
The committee, chaired by the Vice Chancellor, provides technical expertise, strategic direction, and oversight to strengthen the project’s research, advocacy, and policy impact.
What P-TAC does;
- Quarterly meetings to assess progress and address challenges.
- Regular review of technical reports, policy briefs, and advocacy materials.
- Recommendations documented and shared with the project leadership and funders.
Roles of the Project Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) in the project
- Quality Assurance and Ethical Oversight
- Advise on risk mitigation strategies, especially for sensitive topics like abortion and adolescent SRHR.
- Stakeholder Engagement and Policy Influence
- Facilitate collaboration with policymakers, civil society organizations (CSOs), and advocacy groups.
- Capacity Building and Mentorship
- Guide the team in building institutional and community-based research capacity.
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)
- Ensure project milestones are met and provide feedback on progress reports
- Sustainability and Knowledge Translation
- Support project teams in securing future funding and scaling successful interventions beyond the grant period.
Members who attended the meeting were Deputy Vice Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Okaka Opio Dokotum, University Secretary, Mr. Augustine Oyang Atubo and Dean of Students, Ms Emma Aceng, Dr. Morris Chris Ongom, Acheka Edmonton, Dr. Murara Odette, Dr. Amir Kabunga and Dr. Maxson Kenneth Anyolitho.
