Rwanda: Breaking the Silence Around Sexual and Reproductive Health
[New Times] Alexa Gabriella Mugisha spent years believing that the severe pain she experienced during her periods was normal.
Alexa Gabriella Mugisha, a 22-year-old student at African Leadership University, had dealt with severe period pain for years, believing it to be a normal experience. Doctors suggested she manage the discomfort with painkillers and alternative coping methods. At 19, she insisted on a scan that revealed a three-centimeter fibroid.
After medication failed to alleviate the pain, she was prescribed hormonal contraceptives, which regulated her irregular periods and ceased the discomfort. Mugisha's experience prompted her to establish "Our Sisu," a women-led community project focused on workshops, mentorship, and conversations about relationships, marriage, motherhood, and sexual and reproductive health.
Some women have shared how they became mothers without adequate knowledge about childbirth, contraceptives, or postpartum depression, highlighting how information gaps can be perpetuated across generations. Dr. Gilbert Mbaraga, a medical officer at AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Rwanda, explained that financial, social, and health system barriers can hinder access to sexual and reproductive health services.
Even with Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI), costs like transport and meeting other payments can discourage individuals from seeking care. Adolescents and young people face additional challenges, including a lack of reliable information about contraception, family planning, HIV prevention, and other reproductive health services.
Social attitudes can also prevent people, especially unmarried adolescents, from accessing these services due to fear of judgment. Mbaraga emphasized the importance of creating confidential, respectful, and non-judgmental environments in health facilities where young people can seek care without shame. To improve access, services should be brought closer to communities through outreach programs and community health workers.
Health professionals should leverage social media to provide reliable information, particularly to young people who increasingly rely on digital platforms for health-related queries. Adequate supplies, trained staff, well-equipped youth corners, and private spaces should be prioritized in health facilities to ensure young people feel comfortable seeking care.
Written by urgent.news from AllAfrica's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
