Korea screens Ugandan school girls for STIs

Korea's humanitarian arm (K-Aid), under the country's international cooperation agency (KOICA), started to screen primary school going girls in the reproductive age group for "discomforting" urinary tract and other sexually transmitted infections.

Health specialist and K-Aid programme manager Kyung Seo said the intervention aimed at improving adolescent health in school-going populations to enable them "concentrate and stay in school".

They will screen the girls for urinary tract infections and other diseases which are mainly contracted through sexual intercourse and conduct pregnancy tests, after which confirmed cases will be referred for specialised treatment.

Kyung Seo said the programme was working with the Ugandan health ministry to isolate the most-at-risk communities and target their efforts towards them.

At a universal primary education school in Mugongo Local Council 1, Kyengera, Wakiso district, over 100 girls were tested for the infections, majority between the age of 12 and 17.

Less than a quarter of these, who presented symptoms indicating a possibility they were afflicted, were ushered into a consultation room for extra investigation.

"Adolescent health is a top priority on the global agenda. We want to see how we can create a favorable environment for the adolescent girls and boys so they can express themselves, but also enjoy the best health care," the programme's officer Choi Sooyoung said.

"Adolescents, especially the girl children, face very stiff obstacles to make it and need additional incentives. Close to two-thirds of children who drop out of school are girls," she said.

After Wakiso, the programme will be moved to western Uganda where "a number of girls" will be screened and referred for treatment of these infections that are mainly spread through unprotected sexual intercourse.

Last month, the Republic of Korea, through its foundation for international healthcare (KOFIH), signed two memoranda of understanding with the Cancer Institute in Uganda (UCI) and the supranational TB reference laboratory in Wandegeya to improve cancer and TB management in the country.

Also, $500, 000 (sh1.6b) was given to the health ministry specifically to facilitate the purchase of malaria drugs; to fight against the plasmodium-caused fever which continues to kill thousands in the country.

At the inaugural function where ambassador Park Jong-Dae stressed need for a "national and international commitment" to improve adolescent health, other pupils were tested for abnormal amounts of sugar and salt levels in their blood and the deadly high blood pressure and other ailments.

There was also a section where the school's 1200 population was taken through general hygiene practices and taught how to properly clean their teeth using a brush and toothpaste.

Headteacher Joan Banura thanked the Koreans for the "humbling gesture" and asked them to "always come back" to the school.

She said that the UPE school tried to sensitize the girl children on how to clean themselves and the dangers of early sex, including unwanted pregnancies and dropping out of school but that their efforts needed to be supplemented.

Banura said parents continue to abandon their role (to sensitize girl children about reproductive health) to schools and teachers because they are busy working or "they are shy to talk about these things (reproductive health and safe sex education) to their children".