Danish Government Allocates Shs12b to Gulu University for Post-Conflict Research, Reproductive Health

The Danish government has allocated shs12b for supporting research projects at Gulu University.

The fund is part of the continuing project of building stronger universities to strengthen reach, quality, policy changes, and curriculum development.

The five-year project that was commissioned on Tuesday 4, 2024 at Gulu University Main Library will majorly focus on post-conflict research policies, reproductive health rights, and gender relationships.

The Danish Ambassador to Uganda, Signe Winding Albjerg, disclosed in an interview that the fund was allocated through Danish Development Cooperation to support Gulu University’s academic programs.

Ambassador Signe explained that supporting Gulu University will impact evidence-based research in post-conflict Northern Uganda to influence policies supported by data for transforming the region.

“We hope to impact the lives of the people from this region when we support the University to discover problems and find solutions affecting the communities,” Ambassador Signe noted.

Dr. Agatha Alidri, the Coordinator Research Fund at Gulu, revealed that the fund will cater to studying the nature of land conflicts in Northern Uganda and support innovative teaching.

Part of the fund is to establish a documentation center in Adjumani District for documenting refugees and their conflicts with the host communities.

It is to further support the empowerment of refugee girls with sexual and reproductive health rights as well as research the dynamics of street-connected children in Northern Uganda.

Dr. Alidri argued that tackling the moral crisis of the youths in the post-conflict recovery of the region, with realistic policies is important, to prevent the region from transitioning into a floating population.

“We call these children many names such as Aguus, street children without understanding how much society has impacted their lives. We need to tackle this moral crisis now,” Dr. Agatha said.

With a component of innovative problem-based learning, Dr. Alidri explained that the modules of teaching as piloted during the COVID period have already been adopted by the university through e-learning.

“We have tested and it is working and with the funds already available in the project, our students will now have to identify problems in the community to research and find solutions,” she added.

Titus Jogo, the Refugee Desk Officer in Adjumani District, said the project will address gaps in sexual reproductive health rights among refugees in Northern Uganda.

Jogo noted that the refugees from South Sudan have not yet embraced sexual and reproductive health rights even in their settlements, which is resulting in high teen pregnancies.

Without giving details, Jogo noted that cases of sexually transmitted diseases are prevalent in the settlement because of poor sanitation and hygiene.

“It’s taboo to talk about menstrual hygiene in the settlements and the girls are vulnerable,” Jogo noted.