Empowering Women for Better Reproductive Health Outcomes (EMPOWER) is a five-year programme funded under Accountable Grant Number 400034-401 by the United Kingdom (UK) Department for Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). This programme is implemented by Pathfinder International as prime and its downstream partners: Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation (Baylor Uganda), Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Uganda (AOGU), Communication for Development Foundation Uganda (CDFU), and Uganda Youth and Adolescent Health Forum (UYAHF). The goal of EMPOWER is to support the Government of Uganda (GOU) to reduce preventable maternal, neonatal, and child deaths in 80 intervention districts.

The EMPOWER programme aims to strengthen Uganda’s health system to provide quality reproductive and maternal health services, empower women and girls through informed family planning (FP) choices, and address harmful norms and misinformation to ensure equitable access to care across all 80 intervention districts. To achieve its goal, EMPOWER will implement strategic interventions and activities in collaboration with other implementing partners, the Ministry of Health (MOH), and district local governments (DLGs).

The key components include:

• Strengthening public sector health systems’ capacity to deliver maternal health services.
• Mentoring health workers on FP and maternal health.
• Tackling myths and misinformation about FP and demand generation.
• Tackling harmful traditional practices and gender norms that deny women agency over their own bodies.