Uganda - Business creation project

Describe your project or startup in a few words

Uganda's contraceptive rate is 30%, hindering the achievement of SDG 3.7 by 2030. Self-injectable contraceptives enhance women’s autonomy and reduce clinic visits. This project will pilot a strategy to scale the use of this method through private sector.

01.01 Describe your project in more detail

The project aims to transform Family Planning (FP) in Uganda by piloting the utilization and distribution of a self-injectable contraceptive (DMPA SC) through private medical centers. We will identify and train 30 health workers (HWs) from 15 top-performing medical centers in FP on the use of DMPA SC in three model districts that form the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area; Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono. The HWs will then train women accessing care at their facilities to use this method on a rolling basis. Pre-recorded videos and improvised models will be used to demonstrate the skills and enhance learning. Trained women will self-inject DMPA SC under the supervision of a HW after which they will be issued with a new DMPA SC kit to self-inject at the next dose cycle after 3 months. Instructional job aids will be provided to all women at discharge to guide them through the next self-injection procedure. Over 400 women are targeted in the pilot and will be remotely followed up periodically.

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

The global agenda on reproductive health has gained significant attention, yet access to contraceptives remains a pressing issue in developing nations like Uganda. The traditional contraceptive methods have limitations such as high costs, complex administration requiring the help of a health worker, long travels, and crowding at health facilities which hinders their widespread utilization. Poor access to family planning (FP) affects individual women and has broader societal impacts, including high rates of poverty, food insecurity, unintended pregnancies, and increased maternal mortality which hinders economic development. To address this, our initiative will pilot the utilization and distribution of a novel self-injected contraceptive (DMPA SC) in Uganda which offers a cost-benefit, convenience of administration, and three-month protection interval hence reducing the need for frequent clinic visits and offering women autonomy. This will improve access and utilization of FP services.

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your project intends to provide (at least 3).

In Uganda, women face barriers to traditional contraceptive methods due to limited healthcare infrastructure, cultural stigmas, long distances to health facilities, overcrowding, and long waiting times at the health facilities. Self-injectable contraceptives provide a private and convenient solution, allowing women to administer contraception themselves. This method reduces care costs and eliminates the need for frequent clinic visits. It is affordable, easy to use, and ensures fewer missed doses due to the convenience of administration. This promotes adherence and accessibility. In Uganda, where public healthcare is limited, distributing these contraceptives through private clinics extends reach to remote areas. By reducing visits to healthcare facilities, the self-injection model decreases the load on public health centers, allowing them to focus on other critical services.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your project is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

This initiative targets a diverse group of women of childbearing age (15 to 49 years) facing unique barriers to accessing traditional contraceptive methods. It targets rural and underserved women who struggle with geographical and financial barriers and limited access to healthcare providers and services by allowing self-managed administration. Working women and students will benefit from the flexibility and convenience of self-injection, fitting contraceptive use into their busy schedules. Adolescents and young adults, who often face high rates of unintended pregnancies and stigma are targeted. Women with limited mobility, including those with physical disabilities will be empowered to independently manage their contraception through self-injection.

01.05 When did you start working on your project?

2024-01-11

01.06 How many other partners are associated with your business venture?

3

01.07 Among the other partners, how many are female?

2

01.08 Please describe the profile of each of the other partners (skills, experience, etc.)

1. Dr Ssaka Joram - He is an obstetrician and gynecologist working for Luwero General Hospital and Naluvule Medical Center. He has over 5 years of professional working experience offering care to women with reproductive health problems. We have together pioneered several initiatives and continue to create inroads for groundbreaking projects that focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights for women. 2. Nakanwagi Joan - She is a midwife and reproductive health enthusiast with close to 5 years of professional work experience and advocacy for women's rights. She currently works for Naluvule Medical Center in Wakiso District - Uganda as the head of nurses and midwives. She envisions seeing a world where underserved women have equal access to reproductive health services including family planning. 3. Tusingwire Victoria - She is a quantitative economist with additional training in financial management and control systems. She plays a pivotal role in managing our finances.

01.09 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link here:

https://x.com/Hope_well1?t=Emou8e3G_2JFrvaPi4oOPQ&s=08

01.10 Which industry best describes your project?

f) Healthcare (healthcare equipment and services)

02.01.01 My project contributes to the No poverty goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification

The project contributes to the no-poverty SDG goal by empowering women to have greater control over their reproductive health, thus enabling them to pursue education and employment opportunities without interruptions from unintended pregnancies. This is a key factor in eliminating poverty. The increased access to family planning reduces healthcare costs associated with unintended pregnancies and high-risk births, thus alleviating financial burdens on families and the public health system. By improving maternal health and child spacing, the project will support better health outcomes, enhance women's ability to pursue employment, and contribute to household income. Working with private facilities will stimulate local economies by creating jobs for health workers and improving service delivery, which will translate into broader economic growth.

02.02.01 My project contributes to the Zero hunger goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification

The project contributes to the zero hunger SDG goal by enabling better family planning, which directly impacts food security. By providing women with an accessible and reliable contraceptive option through self-injection, the project will help reduce unintended pregnancies, allowing families to better manage their resources and plan for their future. With fewer unintended pregnancies, families in rural communities can allocate more of their limited resources to ensuring adequate nutrition and healthcare for each child, thus improving overall household food security. Additionally, healthier spacing of births allows mothers to recover and maintain better health, which translates to improved care and feeding practices for their children. When women have control over their reproductive health, they can also contribute more effectively to agricultural productivity and income-generating activities, further supporting their families' ability to afford and access nutritious food.

02.03.01 My project contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification

The project significantly contributes to the good health and well-being of communities and individuals by improving access to reproductive health services, thereby enhancing overall health outcomes for women and their families. The increased access to contraception empowers women to control their reproductive health, reducing the incidence of unintended pregnancies and associated health risks such as maternal mortality, early childhood mortality, and malnutrition. Healthier birth spacing lowers maternal and infant mortality rates, as well-spaced pregnancies allow mothers to recover fully and care for their children better. Additionally, reducing the frequency of clinic visits lessens the burden on public health systems, freeing up resources for other critical health services such as medical and surgical emergencies. It also promotes health equity by ensuring that underserved populations, including rural women, receive ideal reproductive care.

02.04.01 My project contributes to the Quality education goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification

By making contraceptives more accessible through self-injection and private medical facilities, the project will ensure that women, particularly adolescents and young adults, can maintain their educational trajectories without the interruption of unplanned pregnancies. This improved access allows young women to stay in school longer and complete their education, which is crucial for personal development and future employment opportunities. Furthermore, when women can plan their families, they are better placed to invest time and resources in their children's education, fostering a cycle of educational attainment across generations. The project's focus on training and educating women about self-injection techniques also builds their health literacy and decision-making capabilities, which are critical components of quality education. By alleviating the strain on public health systems, the project will allow for better resource allocation towards quality educational initiatives.

02.05.01 My project contributes to the Gender equality goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification

The project strongly contributes towards advancing the Gender Equality SDG goal by empowering women to have absolute control over their reproductive health decisions. By providing access to self-injectable contraceptives through private medical facilities, the project addresses numerous barriers that impede women's autonomy and equality, including socio-cultural stigma, limited healthcare infrastructure, male pattern disapproval, and lack of privacy in public clinics. Through this initiative, women will gain the right to plan their families, pursue education and employment opportunities, and participate equitably in social and economic life. The self-injection method enhances privacy and convenience, enabling women to make reproductive health choices discreetly and without reliance on male partners which is a critical component to the gender equality agenda.

02.06.01 My project contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

5

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification

By providing women with access to self-injectable contraceptives through private medical facilities as service delivery points, the project helps reduce the number of pregnancies and births, which in turn reduces the demand for healthcare services and water and sanitation services and systems. The limited clean water and sanitation services available in resource-limited settings can equitably and safely be distributed amongst the manageable population. Because the project provides a robust birth control mechanism, the risk of polluting the environment with waste from child delivery processes such as disposable gloves, cotton, gauze, placenta, and other products of conception will be greatly minimized which will translate into good sanitation.

02.07.01 My project contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

5

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification

By providing women with access to a self-injectable contraceptive, the project helps decrease the need for energy-intensive medical procedures such as deliveries, postnatal care, and treatment for complications arising from unintended pregnancies. This reduction in demand for healthcare services translates to lower energy consumption in healthcare facilities, including electricity for medical equipment, lighting, and cooling systems. The available energy will be earmarked for production and other more critical energy-consuming activities. Because of a reduction in the energy demand, costs will undoubtedly go down too. This will make energy affordable to communities.

02.08.01 My project contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

6

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification

By empowering women through self-administered contraception, the project will enable women to plan their families and control their reproductive health, which in turn allows them to pursue education, training, and employment opportunities. This will translate into economic growth. Through spacing births and reducing the number of unintended pregnancies, women will manage their careers better, work with minimal interruptions, and contribute effectively to the economy. Additionally, the project will create employment opportunities within the healthcare sector, particularly for healthcare providers who will be selected to undergo training of trainers to deliver family planning services and conduct training for mothers on self-injection techniques. Furthermore, by leveraging private sector involvement, the initiative will stimulate economic growth through investment in healthcare infrastructure, and establishing distribution networks, and supply chains for contraceptives.

02.09.01 My project contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

5

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification

By integrating private sector logistics and distribution networks, the project will ensure reliable and widespread access to contraceptives, particularly in remote and underserved areas, thus strengthening the healthcare infrastructure's resilience and capacity. Training community health workers and involving local businesses in the supply chain decentralizes healthcare delivery, promoting economic inclusivity and creating local economic opportunities.

02.10.01 My project contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification

The project will ride on existing health structures to ensure that self-injected contraceptives reach remote and rural areas where public health infrastructure is often lacking, thereby addressing geographic disparities in healthcare access. Additionally, the project's focus on affordable and user-friendly contraceptive options ensures that low-income women in Uganda can access these services, further reducing economic barriers to accessing reliable and effective reproductive health. Furthermore, community members with disabilities, such as physical impairments, will greatly benefit from the project as it provides access to a safe, easy-to-use, and self-administered contraceptive, eliminating the need for clinic visits, which are often challenging due to physical movements and associated with social stigma.

02.11.01 My project contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

5

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification

Capitalizing on private sector logistics and distribution networks, the project ensures that contraceptives are accessible even in underserved urban and peri-urban areas, thus addressing healthcare disparities and fostering inclusivity. Empowering women through self-regulated contraception enables them to participate more fully in economic and social activities, hence contributing to the social and economic growth of their communities. Through training community health workers, the project will build local capacity and resilience, ensuring that communities can sustain these health benefits of self-injected contraceptives over the long term

02.12.01 My project contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

4

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification

02.13.01 My project contributes to the Climate action goal

6

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification

By facilitating widespread access to self-administered contraceptives, the project minimizes the need for frequent clinic visits, thereby reducing transportation-related emissions as individuals travel less for healthcare services. This reduction in travel not only lowers carbon emissions but also decreases the congestion and pollution typically associated with urban health facilities. Additionally, by empowering women with reproductive autonomy, the project contributes to lower population growth rates, which can alleviate pressure on environmental resources and reduce overall strain on environmental natural resources such as vegetation cover, wetlands, forests, and water bodies which people tend to nroach on as populations grow unregulated

02.14.01 My project contributes to the Life below water goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification

By providing accessible contraceptive options, the project helps control population growth, which can reduce the pressure on natural resources, including water bodies. Slower population growth can lead to less strain on freshwater resources, reduced pollution from human activities, and decreased runoff of agricultural and human waste into rivers and lakes, thereby improving water quality and conserving oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable use.

02.15.01 My project contributes to the Life on land goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification

By improving access to contraceptives, the project will enable better family planning, which can lead to slower population growth and consequently lessen the strain on natural resources and habitats. This reduced human pressure helps to preserve forests, grasslands, and other critical ecosystems from being converted into agricultural land or settlement areas to meet the demands of a growing population. This will promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt land degradation and biodiversity loss.

02.16.01 My project contributes to the Peace justice and strong institutions goal

6

02.16.02 Peace justice and strong institutions - Justification

The project will ensure that self-injected contraceptives are accessible even in remote and underserved areas, reducing healthcare inequities that can lead to social tensions and unrest. This inclusive approach empowers women and marginalized communities by giving them greater control over their reproductive health, which can reduce the socioeconomic disparities that often fuel conflict and instability. Additionally, the project will focus on educating and training for community health workers and women which will foster growth of local leadership and strengthen community engagement, thus leading to social cohesion and community resilience.

02.17.01 My project contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

5

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification

The global advocacy for modern contraceptives, such as the self-injectable contraceptive (DMPA SC), highlights their importance in improving access to and utilization of family planning across diverse socio-economic settings. This project, which promotes the use of this modern contraceptive, aligns closely with the global agenda of strengthening implementation and revitalizing partnerships for sustainable development. By focusing on executing a globally recommended strategy, it reinforces international efforts to enhance family planning accessibility and foster sustainable development partnerships. Because of this, attracting global partnerships to scale this project might be easily achievable.

05.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

1 - Strongly Disagree

05.02 The product/service we envision creating represents an entirely new type of product/service.

4

05.03 The product/service we envision creating could be described as a new technology.

3

05.04 The product/service we envision creating is an improvement on an existing product or service.

5

05.05 The product/service we envision creating could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

6

05.06 The product/service we envision creating responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.07 The product/service we envision creating is a new version of an old product/service.

2

05.08 Justification

The project combines private sector and community-driven solutions to deliver a novel contraception method to peri-urban and rural communities in Uganda. It leverages logistical efficiencies, trust, accessibility, and resource management strengths of the private health facilities that are typically beyond the reach of public sector programs. The project's emphasis on community empowerment by training women to self-inject through short practice-based tailored sessions will ensure that interventions are culturally sensitive and widely acceptable. The self-injectable contraceptive is a new product on the market and this project will pilot a strategy to distribute and ensure its wide acceptance by the local population given its numerous advantages of affordability, three-month dosing interval, ease of use, and convenience. These advantages will alleviate the barriers associated with the traditional methods thus enhancing the uptake and utilization of family planning in Uganda.

05.09 Who are your main potential competitors and what makes you stand out from them?

Potential competitors encompass various stakeholders operating in the field of reproductive health and family planning. These competitors include government-run healthcare programs, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) focusing on reproductive health, pharmacies, and international development agencies. However, what sets our project apart is our comprehensive approach, innovative strategies, and commitment to sustainability by ridding on existing healthcare structures of private medical facilities to establish last-mile delivery channels for the self-injection contraception kits and establishment of a community-based faulty women ambassadors who will continue to spread awareness and teach other women about self-injectable contraception. This approach will ensure a sustainable demand for this novel contraceptive method even beyond the project's lifetime.

10.06 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

Yes! In this venture, I am going to be working with and towards promoting the dignity of women through improving access to family planning services and most importantly self-administered family planning options which allows them to make autonomous decisions about their reproductive health. This will increase their productivity thus empowering them to be better entrepreneurs. Also in my current running ventures, I employ women and mentor them to become better versions of themselves in terms of nurturing their Education paths and entrepreneurship journeys.