Nabajju is a young woman living in rural Uganda. While still in school, Nabajju — like many girls of her age living in low- and middle-income countries — became pregnant unexpectedly.
Unlike many girls in her situation, however, she was lucky enough to finish her education and to explore her options for a career in teaching. Her unplanned pregnancy threatened to derail any of the plans that she had made for herself. Fortunately for Nabajju, she was able to rely on the support of her parents and on the local youth center of which she is a member. At the youth center, part of the DSW Youth to Youth network of youth clubs, she was able to receive the support and investment that she needed, receiving peer-to-peer counselling — giving her the life skills, tools and confidence to move forward.
For every Nabajju, however, there are millions of girls every year who experience an unplanned pregnancy and do not receive this kind of support and investment in their future. Empowering these girls to take control of their lives and their health improves their life chances — in education, health, employment opportunities, and has hugely positive knock-on effects for their communities.
About the author
Renate Baehr
Renate Baehr is the executive director of DSW — Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung. She has a longstanding record of successful advocacy, policy and public awareness-raising work in the fields of global health and sexual and reproductive health and rights in Germany and Europe. She played the lead role in establishing DSW’s Parliamentary Advisory Committee in 2003, regularly advises the German parliament on SRHR issues and serves as a member of the international high-level taskforce for ICPD.
