Busoga’s King rallies fathers to end child marriage and teen pregnancy

IGENGE, BUGEMBE — When you step onto the grounds of the Busoga Kingdom headquarters in Igenge, Bugembe, the Kyabazinga William Gabula Nadiope IV’s message is hard to miss.

In bold letters, the banners read: Abasaadha Ne Mpango — “Men are the pillars.” To an outsider, it may sound like just another slogan. But in Busoga, it marks a cultural and political shift: men, often cast as the offenders, are being called to the frontline of the fight against teenage pregnancy and child marriage.

The message is deeply intentional. Leaders here say the silence and absence of fathers have been at the heart of the crisis that has derailed the future of thousands of girls. The campaign, driven by the Kyabazinga in partnership with UNICEF, is more than awareness- raising.

It is a grassroots movement to mobilize men, restore family responsibility, and confront issues once treated as private shame.

A CULTURE OF SILENCE

For decades, teenage pregnancy in Busoga has been hidden in plain sight. Girls who became pregnant quietly abandoned school. Families arranged early marriages as a way of “solving” the problem. Fathers rarely spoke about it.

That silence has proved devastating. Nearly one in four girls (about 28 percent) in Busoga become pregnant before the age of 19, according to Elizabeth Kalembe, head of research and planning for the Kyabazinga Initiatives.

It is a number higher than the national average of 24 per cent, and one that has barely shifted in two decades. For most girls, a pregnancy at 15 or 16 means the end of schooling, and with it, the loss of opportunities for her family and community.

“It is treated like a family issue, not a societal one,” said Babirye Yudaya, minister for Kyabazinga Affairs and executive director of the Kyabazinga Initiatives.

“But when a girl drops out of school, it is the whole community that suffers.” The Abasaadha N’Empango campaign was conceived as a direct response to the growing crisis of teenage pregnancy and early marriage in Busoga.

According to minister Yudaya, the Kyabazinga commissioned the Kyabazinga Initiatives, working alongside cultural leaders, government representatives, and development partners such as UNICEF, to design a program that digs into the roots of the problem rather than just its symptoms.

Those root causes, Yudaya explained, include the erosion of family and community values, widespread poverty, limited job opportunities, and fragile social norms that often leave young girls vulnerable. The campaign seeks to reverse that pattern by placing men and boys at the center of the solution.

Traditionally seen as the decision-makers and protectors in Busoga households, men are now being asked not only to guide but also to take responsibility.

“In the context of Busoga, ending teenage pregnancy means putting men and boys at the heart of change,” Yudaya said.

“This programme will mobilize them, inspire them, and empower them, while also holding them accountable, to end teenage pregnancies and early marriages.”

The Kyabazinga himself has embraced the role of advocate-in-chief. Last year, UNAIDS appointed him National Goodwill Ambassador to end teenage pregnancy and early marriage, a symbolic yet powerful recognition of his cultural leadership in global health.

Implementation of the campaign will cascade through the Kyabazinga’s cultural structures, clan heads, chiefs, and local committees. Every village will have a point person. Unlike government programs that often struggle to gain traction, this one is rooted in an institution people already respect and trust.

“This is homegrown by Busoga, for the Basoga,” said Dr. Esther Nyamugisa Ochora of UNICEF. “The allegiance here is to the king. That makes people listen in ways that politics or outside organizations cannot.”

THE SCALE OF THE CRISIS

The statistics are sobering. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (2020–2022), more than 130,000 girls in Busoga became pregnant in the last three years, and most of them never returned to school.

The consequences ripple far beyond classrooms. For health, the risks are stark. Adolescent mothers account for nearly one in five maternal deaths in Uganda, and their babies are more likely to die in infancy, often from complications at birth. Poverty cuts deep, too.

Families already surviving on less than two dollars a day sink even lower when a daughter is forced out of school. The crisis is also intertwined with violence and exploitation. Nearly half of women in Busoga report having experienced physical violence, while one in six has endured sexual violence.

Many of the teenage pregnancies recorded are not the result of choice, but of abuse or coercion.

“These numbers are not just data points,” said Elizabeth Kalembe, head of research at the Kyabazinga Initiatives.

“They represent children, girls who should be in school but are instead struggling with motherhood.” The ToT (Trainer of Trainers) workshops are designed to transform silence into action.

The volunteers selected from across Busoga, teachers, health workers, and youth leaders are being trained to go back to their villages and spark uncomfortable but necessary conversations. For many of the volunteers, the mission is personal.

Some have watched sisters and friends drop out of school. Others have seen children forced into marriage. Their commitment is fueled not just by training but by lived experience.

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