CSOs want women, children issues given priority

By Vivian Agaba                                            

KAMPALA - Civil Society Organizations have asked government to give priority to concerns that affect children and women as it (government) negotiates on the goals, targets and indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the global level.

The call was made by a coalition of the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH) and the Uganda Civil Society Coalition for Scaling Up Nutrition (UCCOSUN) at a workshop hosted by World Vision in Kampala this week.

Representing the coalition, Esther Nasikye, the coordinator, Child Health Now, World Vision said this will help curb violence among women and children.

She said it will also reduce maternal and child death, hunger, starvation, malnutrition and disease in communities.

"Ending preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths demands that health information systems are strengthened in the post-2015 framework in a way that captures the realities of every child and woman including those in Uganda,” she said.

Most world's sustainable problems, she said, including those related to the consumption of the world's non-renewable resources, are related to lack of access to family planning for both women and men.

On his part, Dr. Peter Eriki, director Health Systems, African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation said more mechanisms should be put in place to address challenges like teenage pregnancies and early marriages.

He said interventions should promote girl child education and address the needs of medical supplies in hospitals so that patients especially mothers do not die after childbirth due to over bleeding.

Meanwhile, Rubabo County MP (Rukungiri district) Paula Turyahikayo called upon government agencies, especially National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), to put more mechanisms in place to protect the environment.

"If there are any gaps in the NEMA Act, bring it to parliament for review so that the issue of environmental degradation is addressed otherwise we are entering a future crisis as far as the environment, water and sanitation is concerned," she said.

The legislator noted that the problem of environmental degradation and wetland encroachment has destroyed the filtering process of water in the country.

"If we want our women and children to live safe and quality healthy lives, they must consume clean and safe water".

She urged local community leaders to utilize government funds meant for service delivery, adding that corruption has failed service delivery especially at the grass-roots level.

CSOs’ main three targets in the sustainable development goals include;
 

• hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture

• ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
   
• Achieve gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls.