OUR PROGRAMME OR THEMATIC AREAS
GOAL AND THEMATIC OBJECTIVES:
The Goal
Increased household food security, income, health and education of 50,000 rural Ugandan communities by 2025.
Strategic objectives
This goal will be achieved through five strategic objectives including;
- Improved health and nutrition status of 16,000 of children 0- 5 years and women of reproductive age.
- Improved access to clean and safe water, hygiene and sanitation services among 20,000 rural community households, 20 schools and 5 health centers.
- Improved livelihood and food security of 4,000 small-holder farmer households.
- Improved quality of education and life skills for 30,000 children and youth between the ages of 6-18 years.
- Improved accountability, responsiveness and effectiveness of Local Government and service providers in Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health, Livelihood and education sectors in Uganda, thus enabling the poor, marginalized people and communities to gain access to services to which they are entitled.
- A high performing organizational environment, underscoring the importance of good leadership in order to effectively deliver VADs mandate.
Improved health and nutrition
Over the next five years, VAD will work with Community/Government health centers both to reach out to mothers, pregnant women, adolescents and children below the age of five with sexual and reproductive health information such as access to adolescent sexual and reproductive Health (SRH) information, antennal care services and nutrition seminars, preparation of backyard gardens. Mothers and caretakers will also be reached with child health information such as immunization, nutrition, prevention of diarrhea, malaria and feeding practices. The purpose of these seminars and outreaches will be to help and support mothers with adequate nutrition information to prepare balanced deities of their children and improve on the nutrition outcomes (malnutrition, stunting, wasting) both the mother and children below five years. VAD will also mobilize the population to advocate for increased access to adolescent sexual and reductive health services (ASRH) as well as access to ASRH supplies like mama kits, condoms, and family planning supplies to mention. VAD will work with existing health centers staff, village health teams (VHTs), District and Sub-county Local Governments and partners in ASRH, WASH and general health across the target districts.
Improved access to clean and safe water, hygiene and sanitation services among 20,000 rural community households, 20 schools and 5 health centers.
Using both appropriate technologies and a rights based approach to water, sanitation and hygiene services, VAD will extend water to over 20,000 rural community households, 20 schools and 5 health centers across the target communities. VAD will work with the District technical staff to plan and extend water to through construction of deep boreholes, solar powered piped schemes in communities with higher population. During this strategic plan, we shall shift from construction of shallow water sources and adopt deep boreholes and solar piped water supply systems to bring water closer to the populations. In schools and health centers where piped water schemes will not be feasible, we shall promote rain water harvesting with at least 20,000 & 30,000liter tanks capacity. We shall also promote access to hygiene and sanitation services through the promotion of Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) & CLTs approaches. The hygiene and sanitation services will also promote access to Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) services to adolescent children in schools through the promotion of disaggregated sanitation and hygiene facilities, construction of changing rooms as well as menstrual hygiene management sensitization and promotion through IEC materials. Other activities will include establishment and training of Water and Sanitation committees (WSCs) and formation of School Sanitation and Hygiene clubs, talking compounds and advocacy for better WASH services from the duty bearers.
Livelihoods and food security
Under this objective VAD will adopt the Agricultural Value Chain Addition and Women Economic Empowerment in Agriculture (WEEIA) approaches to promote household food security and incomes. We shall work with youth and women groups to train them in agronomic skills to increase household food production and the surplus for sale after value addition. Youth and women famer groups will be trained and supported with postharvest handling technologies to reduce postharvest losses. Agro-industrialization, for selected value crop enterprises, agro mechanization, such as oxen and ox-ploughs to increase production. The farmers will also be supported with agro-inputs, improved seed and planting material varieties for higher yields, weather resistant and fast maturing for faster returns.
Selected agriculture enterprises will be developed for both household food security and income generation. Group dynamics will be used as the entry pointy to households and youth. The groups will be comprised of between 20-25 households/ youth per village/groups. All programme activities will be channeled through either youth or women groups. In the second year of the strategy, the groups after achieving household food security will be organized to form commercial enterprises and associations. The associations will organize, produce, buy and add value to household farmers produce and market for increased incomes. The groups will also be encouraged to start VSLA groups and supported to further boost production and value addition to selected enterprise produces. Youth and women through their groups will be supported with business and entrepreneurial skills such business management, branding and marketing, book keeping to start individual or group business enterprises to further enhance individual or household income as well as employment creation among the youth. Formed farmer groups and VSLAs will further be organized into agricultural based cooperatives to organize farmers for large scale production, bulking, and lager scale marketing of the farmers produce for better incomes.
Quality Education and life Skills Development
VAD with support from partners will mobilize resources to improve the learning environment for children especially the girl child. In schools, we will support schools with both physical and learning infrastructure such as classroom blocks, teacher houses, school feeding, chairs, books and instructional materials to most underprivileged communities, schools and children across the target areas. The girl child will also be supported to stay in school through the provision of Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) services such as changing rooms, washrooms, MHM items and services. The schools will be sensitized on menstrual hygiene management, sexual and reproductive skills and HIV/AIDS prevention, and care and management information. Schools will also be supported with water and sanitation facilities where separate stances for both girls and boys will be built.
VAD will adopt the child to child approach in training and sensitization about MHM as well as lobby and advocacy for key stakeholders to put these facilities in place for the girl child. Other skills to be promoted include, communication, assertive skills, sex education and HIV/AIDS prevention among adolescents. Children ambassadors will also be enhanced to further address the economic polite of the very under-privileged across the schools.
Organizational Capacity Development
VAD with support from partners will mobilize resources to improve the learning environment for children especially the girl child. In schools, we will support schools with both physical and learning infrastructure such as classroom blocks, teacher houses, school feeding, chairs, books and instructional materials to most underprivileged communities, schools and children across the target areas. The girl child will also be supported to stay in school through the provision of Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) services such as changing rooms, washrooms, MHM items and services. The schools will be sensitized on menstrual hygiene management, sexual and reproductive skills and HIV/AIDS prevention, and care and management information. Schools will also be supported with water and sanitation facilities where separate stances for both girls and boys will be built.
VAD will adopt the child to child approach in training and sensitization about MHM as well as lobby and advocacy for key stakeholders to put these facilities in place for the girl child. Other skills to be promoted include, communication, assertive skills, sex education and HIV/AIDS prevention among adolescents. Children ambassadors will also be enhanced to further address the economic polite of the very under-privileged across the schools.
Policy advocacy and governance
“If were are to meet the poor and marginalized people’s and community’s demand for clean and safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, better health, livelihood and education and their rights to those services are to be realized , Local Government and service providers will have to be more responsive and accountable”.
During this Strategic Plan period, we shall work with grassroot movements, community based and civil society organizations to build their capacity to organize and support local communities, the poor and marginalized populations to demand and make their voices be heard about the desired services. Local Government and services providers will then be compelled to act on what they hear in regard to the clarion call to improve service delivery. VAD will set up Advocacy Committees, who will be trained in Advocacy and good governance fundamentals who will act as champions in advocating for better service delivery, reaching out to different duty bearers and hold their duty bearers social accountable.
Organizational Capacity Development
VAD is committed to providing a working environment where everyone can be successful in their roles and where they feel valued and able to make a real and lasting contribution. This section, describes strategies for people competences, skills and culture necessary for realizing the strategic objectives. VAD has a Human Resource (HR) aspiration of ensuring that its human capital plans and strategies are developed and implemented in such a way that they serve the mission and objectives of the Organization.
For us to realize this ambition, we shall have to exhibit exceptional leadership and management qualities that allow both a physical and psychological safe working environment, maintain an adequate supply of qualified prospective employees who are continuously developed for excellent performance. We shall not work alone or in a vacuum, but shall collaborate with local, national and international network alliances in the respective sectors, external stakeholders and partners to identify, develop and integrate tools and systems that meet our mandate.
To achieve such a reputation for international excellence VAD requires professional human resource and a working environment that is conducive for high performance. The 2020 – 2025 strategic plan has been designed to have VAD engage in governance, advocacy and influencing and specialized services delivery a notch slightly higher than the previous strategic period. Our levels of engagement shall be at the district level targeting the District Development Plans as the entry point influencing access to social services through local and national networks and alliances up to the National level and downwards through Local Government and NGO partners. This shift has called for an internal alignment of responsibilities and resources to match this challenge and this will take effect with the inception of this strategic plan.
This alignment and resources placement shall be also informed by a skills audit that will guide on areas of recruitment (new positions) / replacement, promotions and skills development for all VAD human resources. Key identified capacities for VAD in the new Strategic Plan include Capacity Building, Monitoring and Evaluation, Fundraising & Fund Management, Finance and Administration, Water Resource Management, Health Promotion, Agriculture and Livelihoods and Community Development Specialist.