In Yumbe District, northern Uganda, Sharon Achom will not return to school as a girl child but as a teenage mother.
Akong Jovan Sabera, the headteacher at Yangani Primary School one of the biggest schools in Bidi Bidi refugee settlement states that the impact of COVID-19 is more dangerous on school girls more than ever.
Sabera runs an Accelerated Education Programme (AEP) funded by Save the Children through the European Union EUTF programme.
The Project allows teenage mothers, child soldiers and others whose life has been affected by humanitarian crises to join a special school, learn faster and catch up with peers in the mainstream primary schools of Uganda.
“So far there already 10 pupils who have been reported pregnant in my school, they are traumatized because they will be allowed into the mainstream primary school system,” Sabera told a film team shooting a documentary for Save the Children AEP program.
The lockdown on schools has contributed negatively to the life of adolescent girls and its effects are beginning to be felt by parents.
“When children are at school, their time at home is so minimal but with the COVID-19 lockdown, children do not have anything to do apart from languishing around in the community. This exposes them to risks of getting pregnant.” Sabera said.
Schools have rules and regulations that govern the children, these institutions constantly guide and counsel their learners.
“In lockdown no one talks to the children, no one really engages them in various activities. But schools have very many activities that keep learners busy.” Sabera explained.
According to a UNFPA document on teenage pregnancy in Uganda during the Covid-19 lockdown, Eastern Uganda (Busoga) has the highest reported cases with Luuka district alone reporting more than 600 cases. West Nile and Ankole regions are also reporting staggering cases.
The Uganda Police report details over 4,442 cases of defilement were reported between January and April 2020. The Sauti, the toll-free Uganda child helpline reported 800 cases of sexual abuse between January and May 2020.
In Buliisa district Western Uganda, early pregnancy stands between 25-30% ever since schools were closed in March.
According to the district family protection unit, children are left to loiter the whole village giving them the freedom to do whatever they want.
"They are loitering in the towns and at landing sites without any control," Ben Apera, the officer in charge of children in the district explained.
Police in Luweero has so far registered 64 defilement cases from January to June 30th, 2020.
It is also believed many others are defiled but only report after they have been neglected or before giving birth.
The officers in- charge of Luweero Child and Family Protection Unit (CFPU) of police say there are fears that the cases of child mothers are going to escalate as children stay home.
At least 28 teenage girls aged between 14-17 years in the Luweero district are stranded with children and pregnancies conceived during the coronavirus lockdown.
Defilement and early pregnancies cases are rampant in the sub-counties of Kamira, Bamunanika, Wobulenzi, Luweero, and Makulubita.
A 16-year-old in Bamunanika sub-county gave birth to triplets in July. Her parents could not care for her, she was forced to get married to a man who offered her shelter.
The man abandoned her in the rented room due to the financial constraints that arose with the lockdown leaving her stranded with the triplets.
Another 14-year-old girl says that she is stuck with an eight-month pregnancy after the man abandoned her in the house during the lockdown.
Joyce Namigadde, the Luweero District Probation Officer explains that since the COVID-19 lockdown started, they are overwhelmed with cases of defilement.
Namigadde adds that the whereabouts of the men is unknown. Meanwhile, the police as hunting for the men responsible for the pregnancies.
In Kitgum, Northern Uganda, over 2,372 girls have impregnated, Primary and secondary school students have lost hope of going back to school when the government eases the lockdown.
A fourteen-year-old girl will not resume school when they are re-open. During the lockdown, the P4 girl in Mucwini Sub-county was impregnated by a 40-year-old man.
''I was defiled by an old man on my way home from the market in the night. I got pregnant but I still do not know the father of the baby I am carrying.” She told the police as tears rolled off her cheeks.
Opio a resident of Mucwini says early pregnancies and marriage are not new in their community. According to their beliefs, "girls are not expected to study further but are fronted to get pregnant so the parents can ask for dowry."
According to the survey done by World Vision Uganda, the plight of teenage girls in refugee camps is even worse. There are many other teenage mothers in refugee settlements.
At Bidibibi Refugee Settlement, Development partners are struggling with increasing cases of defilement and teenage pregnancies following lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since March 2020, they have registered 19 cases of teenage pregnancy, 6 cases of child marriage, 5 defilement cases, 4 child-to-child sex cases, and 12 cases of forced marriage.
They believe there are more cases that parents have not reported to authorities.
Syliva Namono, World Vision’s Child Protection Facilitator says the settlement has about 232,722 South Sudanese refugees of which teenagers make the largest percentage.
Namono says that teenage pregnancies are common but many parents conceal information from the Police and partners working in child protection.
“Most parents fear to open up on or report these cases. Many times, they drop out of school, and some end up as single child mothers who head families." Namono explained.
Although the presidential directives have to some extent helped curb the spread of the #Coronavirus, a number of girls have fallen victim to defilement, teenage pregnancy and HIV infection.
Children in refugee settlements and the host community alike are idle and this predisposes them to sexual activity. So many youths have had unprotected sex. They reported that sex was in exchange for money and food due to lockdown poverty and hunger.
Meanwhile, the number of HIV infections in the country is drastically increasing. Because of the lockdown, sexually active people could not access condoms at the drug stores which were hard to reach. Many living with HIV were forced off ARVs.
Lack of food has forced many HIV patients to abandon their daily doses due to the eminent fear of side effects such as dizziness, vomiting, and general body weakness.
Mworeko, the Regional Coordinator of the International Community of Women Living with HIV- Eastern Africa ( ICWEA), says COVID-19 has hit hard on women and young girls.
According to Mworeko poor feeding is dangerous to those who are on ARVs. She says medical experts claim that poor nutrition can affect the absorption of the drugs in the body.
Over 45 people living with HIV in Wakiso and Kampala have consistently called her telephone number requesting for food relief because the situation is really bad.
The USAID report highlights a six-month interference of antiretroviral therapy due to COVID-19 could lead to more than 500,000 deaths from AIDS-related illnesses.
25.7 million people living with HIV and 16.4 million people taking antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa could have experienced treatment interruptions due to COVID-19. HIV services were closed and supply chains to deliver antiretroviral therapies disrupted or service providers are overwhelmed.
The COVID-19 lockdown has made it difficult for vulnerable people to access critical health services, particularly in remote communities.
At the border districts of Uganda where public transport is still restricted, mothers and pregnant women living with HIV walk more than 34 Kilometers to access antiretroviral treatment to prevent transmitting the virus to their babies.
Some mothers give birth on roadsides which risks the mother passing the virus to her baby, and herself developing health complications as a result of poor medical care.
Shamim, a 16-year-old-girl laments the anxiety under which she lives. She has had unprotected sex but feels uneasy doing the HIV test.
‘‘Am not sure if I have not been infected with HIV. I hope to test and find out my status.’’ Shamim said sadly.
She narrates stories in Kisenyi, a Kampala City slum, of girls who have been sleeping around with different men for survival.
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