Four youth-led innovation teams, Bulamu Bridge AI among them, were each awarded Shs37 million at the End Teenage Pregnancy HackLab 2023, a combined Shs148 million for ideas that help curb teenage pregnancy in Uganda.

About the HackLab

The HackLab was launched in July 2023 under the UN Joint Programme on Gender-Based Violence in Uganda, led by UNFPA in partnership with OutBox Uganda and funded by the Embassy of Sweden. It invited young innovators to propose solutions for girls at risk of early and unintended pregnancy, with a focus on 16 districts: Abim, Amuria, Kaabong, Kaberamaido, Kiryandongo, Kotido, Napak, Nakapiripirit, Pader, Yumbe, Moroto, Gulu, Bundibugyo, Kamuli, Mayuge and Kampala.

The winning teams were Bulamu Bridge AI, Ndaba Innovation Hub, the Deaf Youth Network and Her Worth Foundation.

What we built

Our co-founder Teddy Nalwanji presented how Bulamu Bridge AI uses digital technology to tackle unintended pregnancy among Ugandan teenagers. Our app includes a period tracker that helps young people follow their menstrual cycle and learn about fertility and safe days, plus a virtual consultation platform where they can get confidential advice from certified health practitioners on family planning and reproductive health.

Why it matters

Uganda’s teenage pregnancy rate has stayed at around 25% for more than a decade. Surveys show that most women aged 20 to 49 began childbearing as teenagers. The drivers include limited access to reproductive health services, entrenched cultural norms, childhood sexual abuse, a 30% unmet need for family planning among adolescents, and child marriage, which affects about a third of girls before they turn 18.

Speakers at the event, including representatives of UNFPA Uganda, the Embassy of Sweden and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, called for more investment in youth-led innovation and for men and boys to be actively involved in ending sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy.