July 2011 issue of the Academy-i Newsletter

World Population Day 2011 kicks off the 7 Billion Actions Campaign  

A poster calling for the need to emphasis reproductive health issues as the population hits 7 Million

The United Nations’ (UN) World Population Day was instituted in 1989 as a result of the Day of Five Billion which was marked on July 11, 1987. Since then, it has been annually observed on July 11 to reaffirm the human right to plan for a family. It encourages activities, events and information to help make this right a reality throughout the world.

 This year, as the world population is expected to surpass 7 billion, United Nation’s Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners are launching a campaign called 7 Billion Actions which aims to engage people, encourage commitment and spark actions related to the opportunities and challenges presented by a world of 7 billion people.

Currently in Uganda, the population stands at 33 million people with a growth rate of 3.2% per annum. It is because of this rapid population growth rate that Uganda commemorated the World Population Day under the theme “Uganda at 33 million: Time to act.” This theme calls on both the government of Uganda and its citizens to take steps to control the rapidly growing population.

The United Nations’ (UN) World Population Day was instituted in 1989 as a result of the Day of Five Billion which was marked on July 11, 1987. Since then, it has been annually observed on July 11 to reaffirm the human right to plan for a family. It encourages activities, events and information to help make this right a reality throughout the world.

 This year, as the world population is expected to surpass 7 billion, United Nation’s Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners are launching a campaign called 7 Billion Actions which aims to engage people, encourage commitment and spark actions related to the opportunities and challenges presented by a world of 7 billion people.

Currently in Uganda, the population stands at 33 million people with a growth rate of 3.2% per annum. It is because of this rapid population growth rate that Uganda commemorated the World Population Day under the theme “Uganda at 33 million: Time to act.” This theme calls on both the government of Uganda and its citizens to take steps to control the rapidly growing population.

With Uganda’s high population growth rate and the fact that over 50% of the population consists of young people, the majority of people have attributed the low levels of development to the high population.

 

Dr Jotham Musinguzi

The Regional Director of Partners in Population and Development, Dr. Jotham Musinguzi however believes that the already existing population is not the problem, but poor planning is. A head of celebrations to mark World Population day he called upon leaders in Uganda to put more efforts in promoting and financing family planning in order for Uganda to achieve economic development.

Dr. Angela Akol, the Project Director of Family Health International, also called on Uganda and other countries should invest more in family planning in order to achieve the millennium development goals. “Family planning will help improve maternal health, child health, economic growth and development and thus meet some of the MDG targets set by the UN to halve global poverty by 2015. Governments and other partners should therefore give family planning programmes new energy and employ new innovative ways of delivering family planning services to the poor who have a lot of misconceptions about family planning methods.”

 

iCON partners with Global Women’s Water Initiative
for the 2011 East Africa Women And Water Training Program, Kampala, 8^th-16^th July 2011 Uganda

A great leadership celebration was registered in the month of July as iCON in partnership with International organizations–Women’s Earth Alliance and Crabgrass hosted the third annual African Women and Water Training from 8^th-16^th July 2011, in Kampala, Uganda.  This training brought together 55 women community leaders from East Africa and the United States to launch appropriate water projects across East Africa.

 The two previous trainings were held in Kokrobite, Ghana (2010) and Nairobi, Kenya (2008) at the training center of Wangari Maathai. In addition to highly skilled African women trainers and training participants, ten international women with expertise in environmental engineering, public health, international development, and appropriate water technology also attended.

Participants building a Bio sand Filter during the training

During the week, participants were trained to construct various household-level water technologies that can create sustainable and easily managed solutions to address community water and sanitation challenges. These technologies consisted of rainwater harvesting and storage, solar pasteurization, household water filtration through the BioSand water filter, and sanitation through the ventilated pit latrine (VIP). Women also attended courses in WASH education, simple and affordable water testing, gender and climate change, resource mobilization, and action planning. The trainers were highly-skilled African women who have successfully implemented these technologies and applied these skills in communities across the continent.

 

Participants Constructing the water harvestor at Katuso Community Secondary School, Kampala, Uganda

This program equips selected women participants with knowledge of appropriate water technologies, action-planning tools, leadership skills and seed funding to launch water projects in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.

After completing the first stage of the year-long training program, participants will now enter the implementation phase where they will be invited to apply for a $1,500 grant to implement their newly acquired skills and launch water service projects in their communities. Teams will also be supported through site visits, refresher trainings, resource mobilization and leadership coaching and information exchange through a unique network of regional and international peers.

iCON convenes the first in country review meeting for the 2012 Commision on the Satus of Women (CSW) theme

On Thursday July 28^th 2011, members of the Uganda CSW Working Group convened at Shine Hotel Kansanga to review the 2012 CSW theme. Among the members present were several representatives of Grassroots organisation based in a number of rural areas across the country. The members of the working group were eager to engage in discussions on the 2012 theme which is “The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges.”

Reviewing the 2012 CSW theme will involve discussing the role which the government of Uganda, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Non Government Organisations as well as Private Sector has played in empowering rural women socially, economically as well as politically. The role rural women have played in poverty and hunger eradication will also be looked at specifically with regard to the contributions these women have made to agriculture both on the small scale and commercially, their role in food security and environmental sustainability will also be included in the discussions. The group will also be looking at what role rural women have played in development in terms of their social, economic and political contributions.

The challenges rural women face will also be included. The group will look at the challenges these women face in the social, political, economic and cultural spheres.

Discussions will also include recommendations from the group on what can be done to empower rural women and ensure that they further contribute to poverty and hunger eradication as well as over come some of the challenges they may face.

iCON would like to invite you to be part of the CSW review process. To do so please email sheila at sheilajeaniekinaheirwe@gmail.com. You can also check out our blog for updates on the review process.

Compiled by Sheila Kinaheirwe, Program Assistant Communication and Advocacy Program (CAP) iCON