APOLOU ACTIVITY QUARTERLY REPORT FY2020, Q2: Jan-March 2020

Masons supporting businesses in the TOPIC to producing slabs and San-plats from February 11-13, 2020

This report is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report are the responsibility of Mercy Corps and partners and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. Apolou is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is implemented by Mercy Corps and partners.

❖ Acronyms AD – Adolescent Development NARWOA – Nakere Rural Women’s ANC – Ante Natal Care Activists CAHW – Community Animal Health NGO – Non-Governmental Organization Worker OA – Older Adolescent CATALYSE – Communities Acting Together ODF – Open Defecation Free to Advance Linkages Yielding Social OFSP – Orange Flesh Sweet Potatoes Engagement PLW – Pregnant or Lactating Woman CDC – Center for Disease Control PREP – Pipeline Resources Estimate Proposal CDO – Community Development Officer PYD – Positive Youth Development CIP – International Potato Center Q - Quarter CLTS – Community Led Total Sanitation RAC – Resilience Action Committee CSO – Civil Society Organization RT – Resource Transfer CU5 – Child under 5 years of age RWANU – Resilience through wealth and CU2 – Child under 2 years of age nutrition D4H – Dialogue for Health SACCO - Savings and Credit Co-operative DFSA – Development Food Security Activity SASA – Start Awareness Support Action DFID – Department for International SBC – Social Behaviour Change Development SBCC – Social Behaviour Change DHT – District Health Team Communication DLG – District Local Government SGBV – Sexual and Gender Based Violence FA – Field Agent SILC – Savings and Internal Lending FEG – Farmer Enterprise Group Communities FGD – Focus Group Discussion SLI – Sequencing, Layering and Integration FGM – Female Genital Mutilation SOP – Standard Operation Procedure FIDA – Women’s Law Association for ToC – Theory of Change Uganda TOPICS - Toilet Production and Information FMD – Foot and Mouth Disease Centres FY – Fiscal Year TUNADO – The Uganda National Apiculture HIB – High Iron Beans Development Organisation HUMC – Health Unit Management UNMA – Uganda National Meteorological Committee Agency IEC – Information, Education, UPDF – Uganda People’s Defence Force Communication US – United States IPTT – Indicator Performance Tracking Table USAID – United States Agency for IWD – International Women’s Day International Development JIESTA - Jie Students’ Association VHT – Village Health Team KAPDA – Karamoja Peace and Development VSLA – Village, Savings and Loan Association Agency VYA – Very Young Adolescent LEG – Livestock Enterprise Group WASH – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene MCG – Mother Care Group WFP – World Food Programme MCHN – Maternal, Child Health and WSC – Water Service Committee Nutrition M&E – Monitoring & Evaluation MoU – Memorandum of Understanding MTE – Mid Term Evaluation MUCOBADI - Multi-Community Based Development Initiative

❖ Table of Contents

❖ Activity Overview 1 ❖ Context Updates 1 ❖ Key Activity Highlights 2 ❖ Challenges 4 ❖ Purpose Updates 4 Purpose One: Inclusive and Effective Governance Contributes to Improved Nutrition and Food Security 4 Purpose Two: Adolescent Girls, Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) and Children under Five (CU5) are Nutritionally Secure 6 Resource Transfers (RT) 8 Purpose Three: Reduced incidence of WASH related diseases 8 Purpose Four: Improved Livelihoods and Income Support for Household Food Security 10 Resilience Challenge Fund (RCF) 12 ❖ Cross-Cutting Activity Updates 12 Gender and Young People 12 Adolescent Development (AD) 13 Social Behavior Change Communication 14 ❖ Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning 16

 Activity Overview The Apolou Activity is a USAID Food for Peace initiative with the goal to improve the food and nutrition security of vulnerable households in the Kaabong, Karenga, Kotido, Moroto, and Amudat districts of Karamoja, the most nutritionally vulnerable region in Uganda. The activity is implemented by a consortium of Mercy Corps (as lead), Save the Children, Whave Solutions, Tufts University’s Feinstein International Center, Karamoja Peace and Development Agency (KAPDA), Nakere Rural Women’s Activists (NARWOA), RiamiRiam. The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organisation (TUNADO), FIDA Uganda and Strong Minds Inc. Drawing on the technical expertise and contextual knowledge of this consortium, Apolou will ultimately improve the food and nutrition security of 310,000 direct participants. Apolou has four purposes grounded in social behavior change and supporting gender-transformative and resilience outcomes: 1. Inclusive and effective governance contributes to food and nutrition security 2. Adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and children under five (CU5) are nutritionally secure 3. Reduced incidences of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) related diseases 4. Improved livelihoods and income support household food security

The following report details our activities from January 1 to March 31, 2020, which corresponds to fiscal year (FY) 2020, Q2.

❖ Context Updates

COVID-19 Towards the end of the reporting quarter, Uganda recorded its first case of COVID-19. The Government of Uganda subsequently introduced increasingly restrictive measures to reduce the spread of the virus within the country. Measures have included the closure of borders, schools, non-food shops and the halting of public and private transport. This has resulted in the suspension of several Apolou activities and the evacuation of international and national staff from Karamoja. Apolou actively participated in the District-led Task Forces and with Agreement Officer Representative approval committed support to the Government of Uganda response through the provision of essential hygiene NFIs, airing of radio spot messages and printing of Information, Education, Communication (IEC) materials in local languages to support the dissemination of Ministry of Health approved messages.

Insecurity The region faced a number of insecurity incidences that ranged from cattle theft, cattle raiding and fire exchange between the warriors (Karamoja and Turkana) and the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) in the process of animal recovery. The insecurity cut across all Districts in Karamoja with Districts in Northern Karamoja most affected (Kotido, Moroto, Kaabong, Abim and Karenga). Districts in the south were relatively stable with the exception of Napak. This affected activity implementation by Development partners because it reduced on the time for being in the field. Led by the United Nations Department of Security and Safety, guidance was provided for field visits to be held only between 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM and at times no field visits could be made especially in areas that were susceptible to attacks. To address the situation, a number of dialogue meetings were held between the different ethnic groups in Karamoja and Turkana, inter district and cross border i.e. Kenya and Uganda. The UPDF and DLGs joined hands to ensure that the situation is brought to control. Important to note is that most of the dialogue meetings were supported or facilitated by development partners inclusive of Apolou Activity that played a critical role. The insecurity situation was challenged by the fact that guns were used by the Karamoja and Turkana cattle raiders and this resulted in loss of some lives and people wounded e.g. soldiers and civilians being killed. This resulted into the government reinforcing the UPDF presence in the region and

starting off with the second disarmament process based on voluntary basis. The disarmament process started from Kotido and Moroto and moved from sub-county to sub-county. By the end of March 2020 this security situation had stabilized and activity implementation resumed though challenged by COVID- 19.

Desert Locusts On Sunday February 9th, desert locusts entered Karamoja through Karita in Amudat. The swarm entered from North West Pokot in Kenya. Since then desert locust swarms continued threatening Karamoja by entering from Kenya into all Apolou Districts. The swarms were small and highly mobile not staying in one location for more than an hour or so. Mercifully, it is not yet planting season so their destruction has been limited. The swarms also primarily consisted of older less active desert locusts. However, there is a concern that these swarms may have laid eggs in areas where they passed in Karamoja and beyond. In the instance that these eggs hatch and release hoppers, the results could be devastating for communities who are beginning to prepare their gardens for planting. The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries technical teams and the UPDF are on the ground boosting surveillance and conducting spraying at night time when the locusts are less mobile. Apolou and Nuyok DFSAs continue to jointly monitor the situation and are using our respective community-based extension service providers to support the government surveillance effort and reporting.

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Quarantine Recurrent outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth Disease hit Karamoja every other year. In this quarter, FMD positive cases were confirmed in Kotido and Kaabong. The District Local Governments (DLGs) endorsed quarantine against the sale of live animals and animal products in markets. Income from the sale of livestock and livestock products is the mainstay of the Karamojong but because of the market ban as a result of FMD outbreak the food security status in the region has remained substandard. To minimize the negative impact of FMD outbreak and death of animals from curative diseases, Apolou continued to support preventative healthcare services by organizing treatment campaigns and supporting Kaabong and Kotido to carry out vaccination against FMD.

❖ Key Activity Highlights

Mid Term Evaluation (MTE) The contracted MTE team began their desk review and consultations with Apolou staff and relevant stakeholders. The MTE data collection tools were finalized and approved by Apolou leadership and USAID. Upon arrival in Karamoja, the team trained contracted enumerators on the tools. However, the data collection process was abruptly halted due to the rapidly changing COVID-19 crisis. Contract amendment processes are underway to ensure a seamless relaunch as soon as it is safe to do so.

Socialization Workshops The workshops shared with the broader Apolou team and partners went over the revised staffing structure and revision of technical approaches. The teams were energized around the proposed changes. Identified working groups proceeded to work together to identify solutions and next steps around critical issues including partnership strategy, review of technical strategies and Apolou’s facilitative approach.

Revision of technical strategies The technical team of Apolou developed twelve Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These documents contained information regarding i) what Apolou had proposed in the proposal, ii) learning from Growth Health Governance and RWANU, iii) Apolou ToC and IPTT, iv) what Apolou has done to date, v) gaps between what Apolou has done and what has been proposed and learned from evaluations, vi) outcomes that Apolou wants to achieve at household, community and systems level, vii) strategies to

obtain those outcomes, viii) collaboration needed with other sectors internal to Apolou. These SOPs were then shared with the Technical Support Unit of Mercy Corps which provided revised direction to sector teams. All learnings from the SOPs will be incorporated in the FY 21 PREP submission.

Visit from Mercy Corps Global Technical Support Leadership Apolou hosted Mercy Corps’ Vice President of Technical Leadership alongside the agency’s director of resilience and director of financial inclusion. The team visited Kaabong meeting with DLG officials and visiting sites in Kamion and Kalapata sub-counties. From the trip report prepared by the VP’s team, they highlighted that they were encouraged by the steps that Apolou were taking to strengthen integration of project activities and the inclusion of more intentional resilience approaches. As part of their recommendation, they shared that Apolou needs to consider how climate, animal pest/disease and human health shocks affect communities, and that the ToC needs to be reviewed to draw on resilience pathways and the refined ToC should highlight how program interventions and outcomes will address shocks and stresses.

Apolou Celebrates International Women’s Day (IWD) Apolou joined the rest of the world in marking International Women’s Day on March 8 across all districts. In collaboration with DLGs and other actors, Apolou supported the development of IEC materials in the form of banners, pre-event community dialogues and radio talk shows in line with the event theme “An Equal World is an Enabled World.” The theme focused on the obligation of the state and individuals to actively challenge all forms of discrimination and stereotypes that undermine women’s contribution in development. The IWD event provided a platform for communities to deliberately accelerate positive change towards gender equality and promote male partner engagement in maternal and child health.

Apolou Engages New Partners To enhance technical capacity, scale impact, and adopt a facilitative approach, Apolou entered into partnership agreements with seven new partners during the quarter summarized below: Partner Scope

Strong Minds Inc. Implement a mental health pilot in Mother Care Group communities in Panyangara and Kotido Town Council sub-counties. The partnership seeks to link improved mental health outcomes and improved food security.

FIDA Uganda FIDA Uganda will support Apolou’s Governance sub-sector to work with Elders to address harmful cultural norms in Kotido.

Harvest Plus Promote the production of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes and High Iron Beans across our Mother Care Groups and Farmer Enterprise Groups (FEGs) in Kaabong, Karenga and Amudat.

Microfinance MSC will improve access to agricultural financing to Apolou participants by Support Centre providing access to affordable, sustainable and convenient financial and business (MSC) development services to active registered groups.

Uganda National UNMA will support increased access, understanding and usage of contextually Meteorological relevant climate information and disseminate them timeously through Association (UNMA) community structures in Apolou Districts.

Centenary Bank Build capacity of Apolou supported Field Agents (FAs) to promote banking

services to our Savings and Internal Lending Community (SILC) groups through Centenary Bank. Centenary Bank will also establish more locally available ‘CenteAgents’ to extend last mile distribution of formal banking services.

International Potato In collaboration with Apolou, CIP will promote the production of Orange Centre (CIP) Fleshed Sweet Potato in Moroto and Kotido.

❖ Challenges Government Allowances Apolou received approval in mid-March for a series of activities. Until this approval was received, Apolou had to delay and modify several activities including all health system strengthening initiatives, Apolou’s partnership with UNMA, and governance activities. For example, only one out of a planned 34 Dialogues for Health (D4H) could be implemented as government officials declined to participate due to a lack of facilitation. Joint quarterly monitoring visits both at sub-county and district levels were also affected. The allowance policy continues to negatively impact DLG involvement and endorsement of Apolou activities in the field compromising the sustainability and ownership of Apolou’s work.

Partner Reporting Delays Apolou continues to face challenges with partner financial reporting, particularly Whave Solutions. Monthly financial reports and advances are delayed. Upon review there are several areas of concern and a delay from the partner in addressing the issues. This leads to a backlog in unclosed financial reports making it difficult for Mercy Corps to advance funds, and as such implementation in the field is negatively impacted. Mercy Corps has held several meetings with Whave Solutions over the quarter to address these issues. Mercy Corps is evaluating the relationship with Whave Solutions, in particular their expansion to Amudat and Moroto.

❖ Purpose Updates

Purpose One: Inclusive and Effective Governance Contributes to Improved Nutrition and Food Security Addressing the insecurity in Apolou districts and Karamoja, the governance team together with other peace actors (Karamoja Development Forum, Ekisil) co-organized meetings to promote dialogue among the different ethnic groups and Kotido District Peace Actors that resulted in increased collaborations. The dialogues included, the Moruitit peace dialogues, Civil Society Organization (CSO) crisis monitoring strategic meeting at Caritas Kotido, and Jie-Dodoth-Napore intercommunity peace dialogues at Lolelia sub-county which resulted in the return of more than 3,000 animals, that were herded at Kalosaris UPDF barracks. The Activity co-organized a regional peace dialogue in Moroto on February 5th, which resulted in the February 6th return of Jie animals which had been recovered and held at Loputuk in Moroto in October 2019, hence preventing planned Jie revenge attacks. The advocacy team conducted four pre-budget dialogues in Amudat and Moroto reaching 598 participants. Right-holders advocated for their priorities and as an outcome. Cheiwak village in Amudat prevailed over the sub-county leaders who conceded to include their priorities in the draft sub-county budget for FY 2020-2021. With 336 participants, the advocacy team conducted three community dialogues on the rights of special interest/vulnerable groups in Kotido whose aftermath witnessed an increased number of walk-in clients from those areas to FIDA-Kotido legal aid clinic for counseling and guidance.

The advocacy team supported resilience action committees (RACs) to conduct four information sharing meetings. According to Nariamatolim RAC, an immediate outcome of these meetings was increased

school enrolment in Loketelaebu Primary School in Kotido from 840 pupils in 2019 to 1,257 in 2020 and the community started restricting sale of local alcohol (waragi). The following aspects contributed to the activity’s success:  Home to home visits jointly between the RACs and Local Council 1s.  Regular meetings between the parents, RACs and local leaders  Children returned to school closely monitored  RACs requested Local Councils 1s to register the children per household who are school going for easy follow up.

The following are lessons learnt for potential replication:  Continuous sensitization of the community using the local structures.  Use of traditional authorities in awareness creation and influencing positive change of norms towards education.  Use of the RACs as a recognized structure in the community  RACs being their own people selected by the community  Holding parents responsible for the education of their children

At the same time, RACs conducted two feedback meetings in Lokorok and Lokiding parishes (Kotido) reaching 215 participants and where duty bearers gave feedback. For instance, after a maternity ward in Lokiding - Lokiding H/C II – was struck down by lightning, duty bearers prevailed over the rehabilitation of the maternity ward as an outcome of the RAC meeting. RAC members reached out to the parish chief and raised the issue which was then forwarded to the sub-county during the planning and budgeting process and funds were allocated for rehabilitation.

The governance sector under advocacy conducted three CATALYSE trainings for 183 RAC members in Moroto and Amudat. Through these trainings, the three RACs and Parish Development Committees collected communities’ priorities for inclusion into their respective local governments’ budgets. With 191 participants, the Apolou team held seven WASH and environmental compliance integration meetings in Kotido, Kaabong and Karenga. As a result, the RACs in Nariamatolim, Kokuwam and Maru mobilized their communities to collect user fees for the repair of their boreholes that had broken down, and the boreholes have since been repaired by Whave Solutions under the Apolou Activity using the collected funds. The community collected UGX 200,000 (c. USD 55) for borehole repair and RAC representatives in the water Sub Sector contacted the hand pump mechanics. One borehole was repaired in each village.

In regards to work with the women and youth coalitions, activity staff trained 22 coalition members in leadership skills. As a result, the coalition drew and submitted their constitutions and documents for registration to Kotido DLG. The advocacy team backstopped ten RACs in Amudat and Kaabong, in resource mobilization and paperwork for their registration, which resulted in the RACs being registered with their LGs as grassroots organizations. Twenty participants worked with the Amudat Women’s Coalition and youth network to identify women and youth advocacy issues. Issues identified included female genital mutilation (FGM) and culinary discrimination against women and youth. This resulted in the development of youth and women advocacy strategy.

To enforce good governance, Apolou Activity staff supported the Kaabong Youth Network to sensitize the community in youth rights in Lolelia sub-county (Kaabong) reaching 66 youths. This has enabled youth to demand access to the Youth Livelihood Program from their sub-county leaders. The Apolou team supported the Jie Students’ Association (JIESTA) in Kotido to organize a youth week in Kotido, from 6th to 11th January 2020, during which there was ‘keep Kotido clean’ campaign, sports etc. that helped mobilize the youth, and increased their number in network activities. For the first time JIESTA in Kotido

conducted their Annual General Meeting to reorganize their leadership which helped to re-activate the association which had hibernated and enabled leadership reorganization.

Activity staff conducted three reflection meetings with Moroto, Kotido and Amudat DLGs to review advocacy plans developed by political and technical leaders during the advocacy and resource mobilization training held in Lira in August 2019 and Soroti in October 2019. The advocacy plans that were reviewed for Kotido included land grabbing and water for production. As an outcome, the district successfully visited Morualokwangat settlement communities with intense land disputes that lie at the border of Abim and Kotido. Actions from the meeting included the DLG meeting the president, speaker and the minister of local government over the boundary between Abim and Kotido. In Moroto and Amudat, the action areas have inadequate water production and sustainable environmental management, negative cultural practices and high illiteracy rates. In Moroto, a report was submitted to Mercy Corps on the activities they had implemented as per the action plans developed. These activities have empowered the districts to mitigate land related conflicts and lobby resources for the communities.

Activity staff conducted one partner coordination meeting in Moroto to follow up with partners on action points agreed upon in the previous meeting conducted on 9th March 2020. The team agreed to start conducting joint quarterly monitoring visits for selected sub-counties followed by coordination meetings to discuss findings of the monitoring visits. This will strengthen integration and collaboration with other Karamoja agencies and enhance sequencing, layering and integration of Apolou activities.

To strengthen the capacity of Apolou’s CSO partners, the governance team organized a three day learning event and exchange visit for KAPDA, NARWOA and Riamiriam at the Multi-Community Based Development Initiative (MUCOBADI) in Bugiri. MUCOBADI grew from a local community based organization that has implemented a host of grants with several USAID contractors and is among the few local organizations that USAID considered for a direct funding mechanism. Issues discussed included sustainability strategies, lobbying, and fundraising. As an outcome, the participants drafted an action plan that should be implemented and reviewed. Since MUCOBADI has not worked in Karamoja, it agreed to work in partnership with Apolou partners should there be an opportunity.

Purpose Two: Adolescent Girls, Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) and Children under Five (CU5) are Nutritionally Secure Mother Care Groups (MCGs) completed the last two lessons of Module 2: Lesson 5, a total of 30,917 participants were reached, of those reached 8,628 were pregnant women and 22,289 were caregivers of children under two (CU2); and Lesson 6, a total of 31,231 participants were reached. Of those, 9,090 were pregnant women and 22,141 were caregivers of CU2. Participants highlighted the lack of income to purchase various food types for a diverse diet as a key barrier to practice. To address this barrier, the MCHN and livelihood teams will develop an MCG plus module to train mothers on savings and financial literacy for better livelihoods. Apolou will also continue to provide vocational training to participants through its partnership with Enabel and support them to establish sustainable businesses. Apolou started to adopt and contextualize the MCG plus model that yielded good results during the GHG program. The model included vocational and financial skills capacity development for MCG members and an unrestricted grant to each MCG, it was rolled out to 38 MCGs in Kotido and 35 MCGs in Kaabong. To date, 30 groups exist in Kotido and 4 groups exist in Kaabong although they need some strengthening. The key challenge these groups experience is members have limited knowledge to carry on, sustain and diversify the model. Apolou plans to strengthen these groups alongside training new groups on vocational and financial skills. During the quarter 20 new groups were trained in partnership with ENABEL. Apolou plans to identify and train an additional 50 MCG groups on vocational and financial skills. In partnership with Harvest Plus and International Potato Centre (CIP) trained 55 staff and 52 district officials on the production of orange fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP) and high iron beans (HIB).

District officials included school teachers, agricultural officers and head teachers. Apolou staff cascaded the training to 210 out of 4,000 targeted MCG participants and MCAs, and plans to further cascade to participants across the five districts next quarter. To facilitate the uptake of health services and the adoption of sustained positive behaviors, 14,753 home visits were conducted by staff, promoters and lead mothers. Observed behavior change at household level included an increase in the number of live births attending 4+ antenatal care visits from 282 at the end of FY2 to 913 this quarter. This increase can be attributed to improved male involvement in maternal health through Male Change Agents (MCAs), advocacy through D4H and community dialogues for accessible and quality MCHN services, and increased contact between the neighbor women and the lead mothers.

MCAs peer-men and their spouses participated in a two-day training targeted at improving communication between spouses, increased partnership in decision-making, tackling negative cultural norms, and improving self-efficacy. A total of 810 MCAs and 782 of their spouses were directly reached, about 2,600 peer-men and their spouses were also indirectly reached through MCA-peer home visits. In partnership with Apolou’s Gender and Youth team, the DLG conducted a training on effective communication, partnered decision-making, effecting personal changes amidst barriers, and self-efficacy, alongside home visits to 1,240 MCAs. The home visits serve as a follow-up and provide an opportunity to support MCAs in adoption of desired health behaviors, achieving their goals and community appraisal and recognition of their work, and provide an opportunity to identify barriers and facilitators for desired behaviors at personal level. During the training, 901 MCAs received t-shirts to increase their motivation and visibility in the community. As role models the community identifies with the MCA interventions at their households, community meetings, community health dialogues, sharing testimonies, consultations with community members, and the manyatta wagons as part of the Eyok Kiyan campaign among others.

Three community health dialogues were conducted with an attendance of 153 participants, among the priority areas that emerged included maternal nutrition during pregnancy, breastfeeding mothers, alcoholism, shared workload, and birth spacing among others with five - 8-minute community-led videos were cascaded to 147 participants who generated action points after the discussions. Sub-county, parish, elders, and local council leaders were engaged.

Apolou assessed 13 health facilities to establish availability and utilization of approved health facility plans. Twelve of the health facilities had their work plans approved by the HUMC but most health facilities are not following the plans. This was due to inadequate follow-up and enforcement by the District Health Team (DHT) on the guidelines. Apolou will continue to strengthen this by engaging DHT and the sub- counties assistant secretary to enforce the health facility standards guidelines.

Apolou supported the Karamoja Health and Nutrition quarterly partners meeting held in Kaabong and was attended by 10 development partners. Apolou participated in four quarterly health and nutrition sector meetings in Amudat, Moroto, Kotido and Kaabong that were attended by key district officials. These meetings fostered learnings, coordination, and planning among stakeholders. Apolou managed to agree with Intra-health and the Malaria consortium to support integrated health outreaches and HUMC performance review meetings respectively.

To improve the mental health of participants to enhance food security and nutrition outcomes, StrongMinds commenced its community-based activities to provide group interpersonal psychotherapy to treat depression among men and women in the sub-counties of Panyangara and Kotido West in Kotido. Community members will be trained to screen and serve as peer leaders of therapy groups in their communities under mentorship of the staff to ensure the sustainability of activities. Community mobilizers were trained on how to screen for depression using the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) tool. A total of 376 participants were screened and 289 (53M 236F) were confirmed to have depression by the

staff. Twelve weeks of group talk therapy will start next quarter. 504 participants from the two sub- counties were also sensitized about depression. Panyangara Sub County and Kotido West Division of Kotido District were selected to pilot the screening and management of depression among communities to improve food and nutrition security, and wellbeing of household members. Activities accomplished during the quarter include identification and training of mental health facilitators, community mobilization and screening. Individuals suspected with mental health illnesses were subjected to screening, nearly 75% of people interviewed were confirmed to have depression. The root causes of their depression will be determined in the next phase of the activity. This intervention is intended to test the hypothesis that mental depression contributes to food and nutrition insecurity among individuals and households in Karamoja. Evaluation results from this 12-month pilot intervention will guide recommendations for the broader program.

Resource Transfers (RT) Apolou set up a meeting with WFP to share lessons learnt from Apolou’s pilot distribution during FY3 and gain a clear understanding of critical issues such as double dipping, participant lists sharing and distribution modalities that Apolou and MC were using to influence the revision of Apolou’s RT strategy and identified key opportunities for collaborative planning and advocacy. The team from WFP confirmed that they are currently not doing the food distribution to PLWs and CU2 due to limited funding. Both meeting participants agreed that Apolou can identify these vulnerable participants and continue with the support. Should WFP secure additional funding in the future, they will closely work with Apolou to ensure that the same households are not targeted.

As part of Apolou’s WASH market assessment, it became clear that the cost of WASH products is a barrier to uptake and that 90% of households interviewed had a monthly income of UGX 50,000. Separate FGDs conducted by the RT team indicated that most households prefer buying slabs if the cost was between UGX 10,000 to 30,000. Apolou will subsidize the cost by 80% of the selling price for the main products, such as concrete slabs, sanitary platforms, and those embedded with sato pans.

The team plans to engage the local masons and business communities trained within the different districts to provide the items at a subsidized price on a cost share basis. In that regard, the RT team and purpose three leads have written a concept note for the test pilot of 800 households with different wash products planned to start in May 2020.

Purpose Three: Reduced incidence of WASH related diseases The Apolou WASH component aims to improve WASH behaviors and practices and increase the availability of WASH products and services through national Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) and Follow up Mandona approach. The CLTS approach is complimented by the Clean Household Approach and innovative sanitation marketing to sustain WASH gains and move households up the WASH sanitation ladder.

Purpose 1 and 2 teams collaborated with the Purpose 3 team to trigger 13 villages with the participation of 867 community members to help them understand the dangers of open defecation and to embark on latrine construction to achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF). The team conducted 81 CLTS follow up visits to track progress, guide, and appreciate community efforts towards ending open defecation. The supported communities established 102 handwashing facilities and constructed 145 pit latrines ensuring 1,006 people had access to basic sanitation facilities. Narwarot, Sidok Sub county in Kaabong and Narengis, Kacheri Sub-county, in Kotido were two villages that passed ODF pending final ODF verification. The team also supported one ODF celebration for Nariewore village in Kaabong in the presence of sub county officials and Apolou staff and structures. The communities in the previous six ODF villages have continued using their latrines and other sanitation facilities.

Two villages (Narengis in Kotido & Narwarot in Kaabong) passed the test for ODF status out of the planned three for the quarter. A third village (Nariewore village) was declared ODF but the community celebration did not occur until Q3, and therefore was not reported.

While no new challenges have arisen during Q2 CLTS monitoring visits, previously reported challenges like latrine construction quality and damage from heavy rains remain concerns. After the heavy rains in Q1 and Q2, Apolou encouraged HHs to rebuild the latrines affected and almost 80 percent of the affected latrines were repaired/rebuilt by HHs. Ensuring that households comply with construction standards and use quality building materials is difficult because there are virtually no quality latrine products in local markets, household purchasing power is low, and other household needs are prioritized above sanitation. Therefore, Apolou has worked to identify locally available materials and techniques that can be used to strengthen latrine pit and superstructure design. However, coaching and supervising households to comply with these techniques requires intense and frequent follow-up from Apolou staff. These frequent visits do pay off. In addition to community ODF progress, other smaller process level results such as latrine construction progress at various levels and nutrition-sensitive Clean Household parameters are also realized. During Q2, through follow up visits 354 latrines were under construction with 121 pits under excavation, 145 pits slabbed, 47 latrines at walling, 41 latrines at roofing level. Clean Household parameters improved as a result of follow up include; 454 HHs with clean compounds, 244 HHs with bath shelters, 174HHs with refuse pits, 531 HHs with drying racks, 60HHs with poultry house and 284HHs with kraals present to separate animals.

Prolonged rain, insecurity and limited materials for latrine construction have continued to hinder latrine construction progress during the quarter. Apolou will focus on ensuring construction quality of latrine pits and superstructures to ensure that completed latrines do not collapse during the rainy season. Apolou will also build capacity of community masons and natural leaders in latrine construction, especially in loose soil formation and high-water table areas, to enable them to guide households during latrine construction works to ensure durability and sustainability.

To review progress and address challenges in latrine construction, use, and maintenance Apolou conducted 47 review meetings with natural leaders in all operational districts and supported four exchange visits to facilitate cross learning and experience sharing. Following the review meetings, the natural leaders consented to mobilize communities, intensify efforts towards ODF, and support communities to reconstruct latrines that collapsed due to heavy rain.

To address limitations in WASH integration, layering, and to increase WASH coverage, Apolou presented a strategy refinement to MC that will be reviewed and incorporated during the FY21 PREP. The Purpose 3 team trained 81 Apolou staff to increase knowledge on WASH and to foster integration across the Activity. The team supported the WASH team in triggering sessions, and through the community health promoters conducted 232 home visits to both lead mother's and neighboring women with a major focus on WASH and nutrition behaviors at households. The Purpose 3 team conducted a clean household orientation session to Apolou structures in triggered villages to help them disseminate WASH messages to the wider community. As a result, 454 households were enabled to have clean compounds, 60 households constructed poultry houses, 284 have Karel to separate animals from human contact and 84 established handwashing stations in the compound.

Apolou employs market-based sanitation to scale up product offerings in Karamoja. Apolou procured and distributed start-up inputs to four businesses in each district in toilet TOPICs. The masons supported business entrepreneurs in the design of six WASH products. Business owners made 49 concrete slabs and sold 13 concrete slabs during the quarter. The team has also conducted eleven review meetings with

97 (49 females, 48 males) masons, where masons agreed to support communities to construct durable latrines and to work with businesses to make more products in TOPICs. Masons groups in Kakamar made 10 slabs, sold seven, and received 700,000 UGX. They now have embarked on Village Savings and Lending Association (VSLA) saving to generate more additional income for members. The team also identified 44 masons in newly triggered villages.

Integration, natural leaders, masons and other trained community structures participated in 17 Eyok kiyan wagon shows to demonstrate WASH behaviors and product promotion. The natural leaders and other trained community members demonstrated an ideal home, five critical moments of handwashing, and common diseases that are caused by poor hygiene and sanitation. The WASH team noted that while most of the community members are willing to acquire concrete slabs, price is a limiting factor. As noted in Purpose 2, the activity is looking at ways to subsidize the cost through cost share approach.

Under the sub-purpose of access to basic water sources implemented by Whave Solutions, Water Source Mapping of nine water sources was conducted to establish their existence, identify functional and partially functional water sources in the sub-counties of Panyangara, Nakapelimoru in Kotido, Kawalakol, Kapedo, Lolelia, Loyoro, and Sangar in Kaabong and two in Lobalangit and Lokori in Karenga.

Eleven community engagement meetings were held with 306 people in Kaabong and Kotido. Community by-laws, legal agreements, and community constitutions were formulated to guide the collection of user fees, operation and maintenance of the hand pumps, and the formation of the Water and Sanitation Committees (WSCs) whose role is to ensure that communities participate in the maintenance of their facility through payment of the monthly user fees. Out of the Community Engagement meetings 11 WSCs were formed but not trained. The WSCs are key to the sustainability of the water infrastructure, as they will be responsible for ensuring proper operation and maintenance of their water sources.

A detailed technical assessment of 11 nonfunctional hand pumps was carried out to ascertain the technical problems to enhance proper decision making during the time of rehabilitation in the districts of Kaabong and Kotido. The most common problems observed included; broken and rusted GI pipes, broken water tanks, ball bearings and broken pedestals, damaged aprons, drainage channels and missing inspection covers among others.

Out of the 11 boreholes assessed, seven water sources have been rehabilitated (2 Kotido, 5 Kaabong) with provision of cattle troughs built as extensions to the hand-pump installation to make use of spilled water. Boreholes constructed by other partners and DLG have had challenges of shallow soak pits that quickly fill up, burst and become a nuisance around the boreholes. Purpose Three is mitigating this by providing these cattle troughs to ensure that the water from the drains is collected and used for agriculture. Seven new contracts were signed out of the seven rehabilitated water sources in the Sub Counties of Kaabong and Kotido. Others are in the process of being completed. Fourteen old contracts were renewed with communities in Kaabong and Kotido.

Purpose Four: Improved Livelihoods and Income Support for Household Food Security During the quarter, farmers continued to uptake improved livestock management practices. Twenty-two livestock keepers constructed improved housing structures receiving technical guidance from Apolou. Following efforts made to educate farmers on animal feed preservation, in the quarter, Livestock Enterprise Groups preserved hay for dry season feeding and some preserved hay for sale. Through market linkages Nacuma Dairy Group of Lopuyo, Rengen Sub-County in Kotido sold 106 bales earning Eight hundred and forty thousand shillings (UGX 848,000).

Farmer interest and willingness to pay for animal health services increased during this quarter, with farmers purchasing preventative healthcare including spraying, deworming, anti-trips and prophylactic treatment using antibiotics on a 50/50 cost-share. A total of 88 preventative healthcare for 2,236 heads of cattle and 3,030 shoats. In Amudat, Achorichor Parish, Looro Sub-County, a total 16 farmers purchased preventative healthcare for 286 cattle and 95 shoats. The preventative animal healthcare services were provided by Apolou trained CAHWs under the supervision of the Sub-County Veterinary Officers. To strengthen private animal health service delivery, Apolou held a two-day refresher training for 100 CAHWs on business management and disease reporting. Trained CAHWs were equipped with veterinary equipment and invested their own money to replenish their drug kits.

TUNADO engaged 17 apiary champions in training on improved honey production, processing and marketing. Additionally, TUNADO collected 40 samples of honey and submitted them to the Uganda Bureau of Standards to conduct honey-physicochemical analysis to determine the ingredients of Karamoja honey and brand the honey based on its ingredients. Chemical analysis report of the honey was shared with Apolou. It was found that the results from all the honey samples meet the requirements of the standard EAS 36:2010 Specifications and were found to have essential fatty acids.

Under agronomy, 122 farmers were supported by Apolou to improve their traditional granaries to reduce post-harvest losses by putting structures to trap rats and plastering the inner part of the granary with animal dung to minimize pest infestation. Under the partnerships with Harvest Plus and CIP, eight private OFSP vine multiplication sites were established in Kotido and Moroto. A total of 107 Apolou staff, school patrons, district agriculture officers, school head teachers and vine multipliers were trained on agronomic practices of OFSP and HIB. So far, 30 farmers resourced with permanent water sources from Karenga and Kaabong were able to harvest OFSP vines from the multiplication sites established by Apolou Activity and planted OFSP vines in their individual homesteads to increase access to planting materials. The OFSP vine multiplication centers established by Apolou will serve as a source of OFSP vine cuttings to be distributed to 3,000 farmers in this cropping calendar. To increase farmers' awareness of shocks and stresses, Apolou harmonized seasonal weather forecast advisories with local government line departments and disseminated them through radio spot messages both in English and local languages radio stations in Kotido and Moroto. Messages highlight seasonal forecasts and advisories on disaster preparedness and agricultural production which will be disseminated to communities for the next 2 months and cascaded through Apolou community structures to the final user. Apolou has entered into a MoU with UNMA to generate contextualized climate information products and dissemination.

Apolou trained 20 participants in tree nursery bed establishment as a business in Amudat and Moroto. Participants learnt various technologies on tree nursery development and management practices, basic principles and criteria for evaluating seedling quality, suitable soil media for potting up seedlings and cuttings, transplanting seedlings and cuttings into pots, significance and importance of attending seedlings in the nursery, and entrepreneurial skills in tree seedlings production. In addition, Apolou technically backstopped ten participants trained on tree nursery bed establishments as a business on how to fill the business proposal template. A business plan is one of the requirements in order for the trained participants to benefit from the ecosystem restoration grants. To-date at least six nursery sites are already established or improved with over 20,000 tree seedlings of Kei-apple, Neem, and Acacia local varieties potted.

In this quarter, the formation of SILC group continued. The team continued with the verification of SILC groups with 232 out of 252 groups so far entered into the CommCare database. The total number of participants reached so far is 5,049 versus the life of activity target of 28,000 participants. A joint evaluation with district officials was conducted of 43 FAs to certify them as Private Service Providers.

Apolou held a series of joint monitoring visits to SILC groups during their savings meetings with district officials. The focus of the visits was to bridge capacity gaps as evidenced in SILC groups and ensure smooth graduation of FAs into Private Service Providers based on satisfactory performance in target communities. Capacity gaps identified include self-reliance, following proper meeting procedures, accuracy in record keeping, agent behavior, SILC group registration and linkages to youth livelihoods and women economic empowerment grants through the district community development office.

Apolou shortlisted 617 women and youth to be engaged in 28 different off-farm enterprises. Program staff mobilized and conducted business management training for 183 participants who chose retail shops and general grocery businesses. The training equipped participants with knowledge and skills on entrepreneurship, business planning, pricing and record keeping in preparation for receipt of their business start-up grants.

Resilience Challenge Fund (RCF) In March 2020, Apolou concluded the hiring process for the Animal Health Manager. The candidate, Dr. Maureen Kamusiime, is a veterinarian who has spent the last eight years working in the Livestock sector in Karamoja with Mercy Corps. Maureen is well connected with district and National officials within the sector. Advertisements were posted for four Livestock Officers to be based in Kaabong and Amudat. Apolou started the search for technical support to lead a study into the relationship between animal health, disease control systems and pastoralist household resilience. The selected consultant will also support to develop a research and learning agenda in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries. The technical work should begin in April 2020.

The Animal Health Manager will lead strategy development, implementation and technical oversight for the Resilience Challenge Fund. This position will ensure close collaboration with the other Apolou Activity teams, government stakeholders, USAID and other implementing partners in Karamoja. The position will have full responsibility and accountability for the achievement of the Resilience Program outcomes.

The Livestock officer will be at the forefront of implementing the Animal Health component for Resilience Challenge Fund (RCF) Activity within the broader Apolou Activity. The Livestock officers will work in close collaboration with the Apolou Activity livestock team, government stakeholders especially the district veterinary offices and other implementing partners in Karamoja. The position will have the responsibility to improve veterinary governance and increased public and private investment in disease prevention, surveillance, control and response systems in Karamoja.

❖ Cross-Cutting Activity Updates

Gender and Young People Apolou participated in a rapid mapping exercise of violence against women and children in Amudat, as a follow-on to the 16 Days of Activism held in FY3/Q1. The mapping exercise re-affirmed that FGM remains a challenge in Amudat. Apolou supported the district to participate in an anti-FGM cross-border campaign meeting in Alakas, Amudat. The meeting was attended by district officials from Uganda and Kenya. Key resolutions made included the need for a rescue center for girls, work with village health teams (VHTs) to identify survivors and perpetrators of FGM and continuous community education. In collaboration with the AD mentors, Apolou conducted safe space sessions with 747 adolescents on the SGBV referral pathway to equip the adolescents with the skills to respond to SGBV. Sessions were

integrated with a topic on “power” adopted from SASA approach1 to build the social assets of the adolescents to understand the power they have within them in saying no to some of the retrogressive cultural norms such as forced early marriages and SGBV.

Apolou integrated economic empowerment into positive youth development (PYD) approach orientations for youth coalitions in Amudat, Kaabong and Moroto. This was to trigger attitudinal change among the youth to identify and explore economic opportunities available within Karamoja. In addition, other gender integration initiatives targeted Economic Empowerment groups and FAs by emphasizing the importance of partner involvement in economic activities. The Gender & Young People team supported MCAs to roll out Module 1 Part III of the MCHN training curriculum aimed at enhancing the capacity of MCAs in role modeling of positive health behaviors such as shared domestic roles in latrine construction and joint decision making.

Apolou supported the Karamoja Regional Elders forum in Moroto to influence the development of an anti-SGBV campaign strategy. The strategy aimed at addressing the existing retrogressive cultural practices such as FGM, early forced marriages, alcohol abuse and SGBV which undermine women and adolescent girls’ Sexual Reproductive Health and ability to attain positive maternal child health and nutrition outcomes. The elders resolved to support the government and other development partners in eradicating illicit brew which is considered a major contributor to domestic violence and to sensitize the cultural leaders in the shrines on positive norms and beliefs. This will address gender equality, joint decision making and increase women’s participation for improved MCHN outcomes.

In February, Apolou conducted a quarterly meeting for SGBV task force members (volunteers) who were trained in FY3 Q1 to facilitate community level SGBV response and referrals to services. Sixteen lead volunteers were identified to coordinate activity implementation and monthly report collection.

Adolescent Development (AD) The AD team held eight mentor reunion meetings with 453 adolescent mentors, mentor supervisors, master trainers and VHTs in their respective sub-counties to review progress of the mentorship, share experiences, and document change stories. The meeting allowed participants to reflect on the changes in the life of adolescents. A mentor from Naoyagum Parish, who reflected on the personal hygiene of the adolescents said, “They look different from the other children in the community, they are smart”. Other participants said adolescents gained the confidence to talk openly without fear and some know their rights, especially the girls who challenge forced and early marriage in the community. Some adolescents also joined saving groups that exist in the community. They have started saving UGX 1,000 per week in Kawalakol-Karenga while around 15 adolescent girls and boys joined the formal schools. This change is not limited to adolescents, but also to the mentors who provide mentorships in the safe spaces. One female mentor said her teaching skills have improved and feels like enrolling to study and become a formal teacher. VHTs who participated in the meeting also confirmed they conduct home visits to provide counselling and refer or escort adolescents to access adolescents’ friendly services in nearby health facilities. For example, in Asokanon village in Karita Sub-county, six adolescents were referred to Karita health center for safe delivery, two of which were in the adolescent safe spaces. During this quarter, the main challenges faced were insecurity and rain, which resulted in low participation and interruptions of safe spaces. The participants agreed to continue to reschedule interrupted sessions and to continue to conduct home visits to adolescents to encourage their attendance.

1 SASA (Support Awareness Start Action) approach is an evidence informed intervention used for community norms change. It is structured to help communities identify on their own, the existing retrogressive cultural norms, come up with the desired change, the resources that they have, plan and implement the changes through community groups. It is adapted from Raising Voices Uganda.

Apolou Adolescent Mentors continued to roll out mentorship sessions to girls and boys in the safe spaces using Apolou Safe Spaces Learning for the Future Mentors Flip Chart. Currently, VYAs aged 10-14 years were on module 3-My Relationships and the OAs aged 15-19 years were completing module 5-My Future and are now ready to be linked with economic strengthening and livelihood activities. We were on track, because we planned to finalize the training of OAs by April-May 2020 and VYA by December 2020 for cohort 1. For Cohort 2, our plan was to start learning in groups by June 2020. This means OA were to complete by February-March 2021 (about 8-9 months), and VYA by October-November 2021. However, all these time targets will be pushed by about 3 months.

Monitoring data across the safe spaces show that the percent of planned safe space sessions implemented increased in this quarter. In quarter one, 71 percent of planned safe space sessions were held by mentors, while 86 percent of planned safe space sessions were held in quarter two. The improvement is due to and increased supervision from staff and mentor supervisors as well as timely reporting by adolescent mentors. The overall attendance of adolescent boys and girls in mentorship sessions was 68 percent in this quarter. Insecurity in the region that persisted for about three months in addition to the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic accounted for the decrease. For example, in Kotido, eight safe spaces located in the Moru-anadou village in Rikitae parish closed due to insecurity. The community relocated the safe spaces to Lomokori village in Rikitae parish and learning resumed in March 2020. While the security situation is normalizing, the COVID-19 pandemic suspended all 640 safe spaces starting from the fourth week of March. This will likely delay the completion of safe space mentorship activities.

To ensure that mentorship sessions in safe spaces are delivered with adherence to session structure, with quality, and the use of agreed schedules and methodologies, the supervisors continued to provide onsite mentorship and coaching to adolescent mentors using quality improvement and verification checklists (QIVCs). In quarter two, the average cumulative number of supervisions conducted by supervisors increased from 682 (65 percent of expected supervision visits) in quarter one to 962 (75 percent of expected supervision visits) in quarter two. This improvement is attributed to the recruitment of new supervisors and the frequent reflection meetings that emphasize the importance of close supervision.

The Apolou AD team conducted a two-day Adolescent Safe Spaces Learning Workshop with 32 participants representing various stakeholders including Local Government, master trainers and mentor supervisors and Apolou staff from different purposes to facilitate discussions on lessons learned from cohort one. The participants came up with strategies on how to improve the quality of monitoring data collected, including committing to conduct planned supervisions and mentorships sessions, sharing success stories, and collectively agreed on recommendations critical for successful recruitment, training, supervision, mentorship and integration. Following the learning workshop, the team held four reflection meetings with 53 master trainers and mentor supervisors to provide feedback, discuss on the quality of implementation, and to emphasize critical steps to the success of the adolescent safe spaces.

Social Behavior Change Communication Apolou community structures embraced the branded campaign as it has familiar features i.e. name, images and music, which plays out during radio magazine and wagons. Brand recognition is increasing but requires further promotion for deeper penetration. There is high public demand for the branded campaign stickers whereby individuals affectionately display them on their premises, vehicles, and motorcycles. Local government officials appreciate the brand so much that campaign stickers are displayed on various office items in all the districts, while the Kotido chairperson and Moroto Resident District Commissioner have placed Eyok Kiyan stickers on their official vehicles.

Apolou finalized the development of the Integrated Handbook for Eyok Kiyan / Kengalanena Sessions, a comprehensive booklet outlining basic content about all the Apolou purposes and cross-cutting

components. The SBC team will conduct orientation sessions for Apolou teams in respective district offices as soon as normal operations begin after the current lockdown.

Using the Eyok Kiyan wagon implementation guide, Apolou conducted 27 purpose-led Eyok Kiyan Wagons in all five districts (6 Amudat, 4 Moroto, 13 Kaabong/Karenga and 4 Kotido) with participation from approximately 6,482 (approximately 75% female) community members. Each purpose leading the Wagons identified key behaviors to promote during the events. This process also involved at least 300 (172 female, 128 male) community volunteers such as VHTs, Mother Care Groups (MCGs), Male Change Agents (MCAs), RACs, Community-Based Animal Health Workers (CAHWs), FEGs, Livestock Enterprise Groups (LEGs), mentors, and natural leaders. Some of the Wagons (3) planned in the end of March were disrupted by suspension of activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will resume in the next quarter contingent upon guidance by the local government.

Apolou facilitated three SBC working group meetings bringing together 13 organizations including new members, such as USAID Integrated Community, Agriculture, and Nutrition (ICAN) Activity. DLG officials are not part of the Karamoja SBC Working Group. It is a forum for implementing partners to share experiences. Partners attend voluntarily and freely incur costs of participation. Initial discussions as to whether to involve DLG officials found that there would be a need for a budget to cater for their participation, which no partner was willing to incur. Secondly, we noted that some partners covered more than one district thus it would require all the districts invited for every meeting. Thirdly, we found it hard to determine a specific DLG official to involve from a particular district various sectors and partners work with different district departments. Thus, the K-SBC-WG is a platform for partners only.

One of the major actions was the review of the Maternal, Infant, Young Child and Adolescent Nutrition counselling flipchart, which members recommended to be customized to the Karamoja context. Apolou consulted the health promotion division of the Ministry of Health, which permitted Karamoja SBC Working Group (K-SBC-WG) to revise the document and submit the draft for approval before production. In addition, Apolou conducted nine advocacy visits to local government departments and officials including Local Council V, Community Development Officers (CDOs), and Local Council III to provide updates about the progress of the Eyok Kiyan/ Kengalanena campaign and to seek continued support and participation in Apolou activities.

The WASH team conducted a session with all staff in Kotido to present details of the radio magazine program and show how they could play more active roles in the production and implementation of radio activities. The session involved a discussion about the overall SBC strategy, branded campaign (Eyok Kiyan), and the place of the radio magazine in the SBC channel mix. The participants agreed to take action to include positive deviance stories in the upcoming Apolou newsletter, to share radio program schedules with all staff more widely, and to conduct proper monitoring to ascertain the contribution of radio to the Eyok Kiyan campaign. The SBCC team also convened a two-day review meeting for community reporters in Kotido, as a refresher activity on implementation of the Eyok Kiyan radio magazine program and to provide an opportunity for sharing lessons, experiences, challenges and recommendations. The participants reviewed the recorded episodes, presented reports from respective sub counties, and gave a general overview of their experiences.

Apolou collaborated with three radio stations (Ateker Moroto FM, Radio Maria and Voice of Karamoja) to air the Eyok Kiyan radio magazine program spots, positive deviance episodes and talk shows. The Apolou SBCC team conducted onsite training of respective radio presenters and managers to enable them to understand the context of the SBCC campaign, how to involve listeners in the radio programs, and how to download and upload content within the Radio Basket platform. The second phase of broadcasting the Eyok Kiyan campaign commenced in March 2020 on the Ateker Moroto FM, Radio Maria

and Voice of Karamoja. To date the radio stations aired 120 radio spots for SBCC campaign theme song- Eyok Kiyan, providing an overview of all Apolou activities, nine episodes and three (3) talk shows on proper water and sanitation, and prevention of domestic violence. Episodes include: Rose Nali successfully resisting forced marriage with the help of Aunt; Monica influencing her husband to construct a good family house; Kokuum village residents embracing their chairman’s call and constructing latrines; and Esther overcoming the odds to access ANC with the help of VHTs. Available data from Radio Basket shows favorable community feedback as listeners actively contributed to the talk shows through phone calls. In order to involve women and the elderly in the Eyok Kiyan radio magazine, Apolou conducted community listening groups based on the recorded positive deviance stories in different areas. Of the 100 planned sessions (20 per district), 110 (110%) sessions took place. Approximately 1,266 people of whom 802 (63%) females participated in the listening sessions in respective districts.

The SBCC team convened seven consultative sessions with 34 elders across all districts focusing on prevalent myths, which are barriers to behavior change, and how to bust the myths through the elders’ words and songs. The elders composed 25 songs recorded for use at the beginning and end of radio episodes. Apolou presented a list of beliefs that the elders reviewed, verified, and gave ideas on how to ‘bust” them. As the topics were family, the elders provided very rich input and viewed their involvement as a form of recognition of their power to be a catalyst for behavior change. They also advised that some beliefs in Karamoja vary from clan to clan, so care should be taken to tackle them in relevant communities.

❖ Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning The MEL team experienced delays in the WFP verification process based on new requirements for hiring and contracting enumerators. Additionally, delays have been experienced due to concerns around COVID-19. In the interim, WFP is supporting remote, statistical matching to cross check Apolou’s participant list with the WFP database. The fuzzy matching process will help to expedite the process as soon as it is safe to resume household verification.

The MEL team designed an Activity Targets Tracker (ATT) that will be used by the Apolou team to track activity level targets. The ATT is a tool that will be used by the teams internally for process monitoring and during review meetings to ensure that teams are on track as per the workplan and budget.

Tufts University - Feinstein International Center The main achievement in this quarter was the coding and analysis of all data from the midline data collection and the start of the briefing paper preparation. The briefing papers will cover key themes, as discussed with MC. The first three briefing papers described below are drawn from the qualitative data, and the fourth from the quantitative data include: Youth interaction with financial services; Youth and life events; Youth adaptations and innovations as part of their livelihoods; and Market access, decision making, and changes in market engagement.

The study seeks to understand the ways in which market expansion, including increased commoditization and monetization, have (or have not) provided opportunities for the population. The qualitative component focuses specifically on youth and seeks to shed light on their experiences, aspirations, and interactions with economic, financial, and aid systems in a sub-region that has seen rapid change in the past decade.

Tufts has shared draft papers with Mercy Corps and is looking forward to engaging in dissemination. Given the COVID 19 pandemic, the dissemination will either take place remotely or after lockdown is lifted.

Apolou will identify good practices that can be widely adopted through learning from experiences with the monetization and commoditization of the economy in Karamoja and how this has benefited the local population. Apolou will also use the results to adapt or improve on the existing interventions. Apolou will be able to enhance adaptive management for Apolou Activity interventions as we learn how participation in market activities affects livelihoods, equity, vulnerability, and food security, with a focus on coping strategies, resilience, and the different forms of market engagement. The focus on youth should enable Apolou to steer programs towards the strengths of youth, such as their engagement in innovative diversified strategies and interest in market-oriented agriculture.

Planned Activities for the Next Reporting Quarter

Purpose One:  Training of RACs on CATALYSE  Continued identification of women and youth groups in the community to identify advocacy issues.  Review and development of the next three years CSO strategic plans  Continue with pre-budget dialogues in the community  Conduct quarterly review meetings with Peace Committees  Engagement meetings between CSOs, Government, RACs and Community members.  District and Sub County Coordination meetings.

Purpose Two:  Support the seed transfer activities by mobilizing and sensitizing program participants considering majority are MCG members.  Plan for ration transfer to pregnant, lactating women and children 6-23 months.  Plan and conduct a training for Apolou CSOs, women and youth coalitions on multisectoral nutrition programming to increase understanding of stunting reduction actions.  Complete drafting and printing of module 3 for the MCG lesson rollout.  Participate in MoH and District Task Force COVID19 meetings and activity implementation  Support entry of MCA, MCG training and home visit output data into CommCare.

Resource Transfer:  Participant registration and verification for food transfer  Conduct market assessment to establish food prices  Identification of groups for IGAs under Gender and Youth  Carry out food transfers using paper vouchers for June and July  Post Distribution monitoring

Purpose Three: Save the Children  CLTS follow up at household level  Training of Apolou structures on safe water chain and Clean Household Approach  ODF verification  Review meeting with Natural Leaders  Mentorship meetings with masons and business entrepreneurs  Training on local narrow pot making and reusable sanitary pads  Sales promotion through manyata wagons

Whave Solutions  Continue to carry out water source mapping  Conduct water source technical assessments  Continue to maintain and monitor the functionality of the rehabilitated water sources with the help of the WASH Service Technicians  Carryout 30 community engagement meetings in the targeted sub counties  Continue to rehabilitate water sources in the communities  Carry out water quality testing of the water sources  Formation and training of 30 water user committees in the targeted sub counties

 Signing of 30 new service agreements in the sub counties  Refresher training of 100 WSCs in the targeted sub counties  Renewal of expiring contracts in Kaabong and Kotido  12 WSCs sub county quarterly meetings in Kaabong and Kotido

Purpose Four:  Seed transfer to 10,000 participants  Post Distribution Monitoring of seeds  Disbursement of small grants to youths  Rangeland management activities - Clearing of rangelands  Distribution and planting of fruit seedlings and fodder trees

Gender and Young People:  Home visits to MCAs to support implementation of developed action plans  Supportive supervision to SGBV volunteers  Quarterly review meeting for SGBV volunteers  Interest profiling/skills identification for youth  Re-print 500 visual materials on SASA for norms change  Community dialogue sessions with traditional authorities and structures  Document the role of cultural leaders in the promotion of women’s rights  Radio talk show recording on realigning customary laws to the gender perspective

SBCC:  Radio magazines i.e. record and air radio magazines  Development of trigger videos  Eyok Kiyan shows

Adolescents:  Continue with roll out of safe space curriculum  Mentor reunion meetings  Recruit and train new AD mentors for cohort two  Procurement of bicycles and back packs for the new mentors

MEL:  Onboarding of enumerators and continuation of WFP verification progress  Post Distribution Monitoring for WASH Distribution, Seed Voucher and Food Voucher activities  Continuation of Internal DQA planning and implementation  Data validation for data entered into the CommCare system and field spot checks for different activities planned by the program teams.  Tufts IFC will conduct dissemination events including interactive workshops and validation sessions for quantitative and qualitative midline reports.