The Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on school girl-child aged 12-18 under URDT Programme in Mid-western Uganda

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on school-going girls aged 12-18 under the Uganda Rural Development and Traning Program (URDT) in Mid-western Uganda. The study adopted a descriptive design within a cross-sectional research design, using quantitative approaches. 339 respondents were randomly selected from among Epicenter Managers, graduates of African Rural University (ARU), as well as staff of the URDT Programme. The study was carried out in the six districts of mid-western Uganda, which were purposively selected. Data was analysed using SPSS, and presented using descriptive statistics whereas qualitative was analysed using content analysis and presented using verbatim quotations. Covid-19 had an adverse impact on the provision of necessary scholastic materials to the pupils. Findings indicate that the proportion of students who suffered from flue at least twice was 62.5% before the pandemic, it increased by 16.2% to 78.7% after the lockdown, confirming that the pandemic increased, or coincided with a post-lockdown increase in, the incidence of flu among school girls.