The Power of Many: Inside TeamUp Uganda's Cross-sector Collaboration Model

How synergy, shared ownership, and ecosystem thinking are defining youth futures in Mityana and Kassanda.
It’s a buzzing atmosphere in the office building in Mityana, about two hours drive north of Uganda Capital Kampala. People are coming and going, Extensionists leave on the motorbikes, others gather to discuss over workplans and training schedules. Three organizations share this space and work together here: Action4Health Uganda, Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung and Whave Solutions. They call their joint approach TeamUp.
Creating higher impact in a more efficient way. Something most projects in smallholder family support in Uganda strive for. TeamUp Uganda is an approach that tries to live up to that expectation by leveraging the combined expertise, networks, and resources of three different organizations in the same project. “Multi-stakeholder based” and “cross-sectoral” are two terms mostly used to describe this specific approach of the the strategic TeamUp cross-sector partnership, in which Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS), Siemens Stiftung, Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung and the three implementing organizations Action 4 Health Uganda, HRNS Uganda and Whave Solutions a are working together funded by the Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ). Monica Basemera, Head of Program Coordination Unit, calls it an “ecosystem” - a complex universe that requires constant coordination.
“Synergy is the air we breathe”
Integrating agriculture, health and water as main sectors with three different organizations into one project to improve the life of Uganda’s youth population in Mityana and Kassanda districts is not always easy. And for sure it cannot be done at a relaxed pace. Identifying common goals and target groups, elaborating on joint work plans and coming up with collective assessments - there are plenty of reasons for the representatives of the three implementing organizations to get together frequently. And they managed to become one and to be seen as one. TeamUp today is a brand in Mityana and the young population appreciates the combined services they get from the three TeamUp implementers.
Read “From Villagers to Change Agents: How Youth Are Shaping Uganda’s Future” to discover personal stories of transformation from within the TeamUp communities.
“Sometimes it feels as if we are one big meeting”, Monica Basemera states winkingly. But she also appreciates the many advantages that come with the comprehensive approach: “Synergy is almost the air that we breathe.” Teaming up also means a lack of hierarchy - something all partners value. “It is very good, that our organizations are equal in this collaboration”, says Sarah Kintu, CEO at Action 4 Health Uganda - by pointing at the downside too: “Promoting TeamUp as a brand by simultaneously ensuring the visibility of each one of us, is a challenge.”
Furthermore, each component in this ecosystem comes with its own challenges. Take agriculture and coffee production for instance, the part, HRNS Uganda is responsible for. While it is widely accepted that Uganda’s small, family-run and often neglected coffee gardens must be turned into more profitable agribusinesses and made available to the youth, there are structural problems to face. Youth ownership of land is still rare; many elderly don’t trust them enough to hand over a plot. Besides, many youngsters prefer quick money, whereas it takes up to three years, before coffee plants bear enough fruit. To ease that, youth were organized in 180 TeamUp Youth Farmer Field Schools (YFFS) where they learn how to turn their farms into seasonal and longterm profitable businesses providing income and food.
The synergy among the three sectors enables better outcomes in terms of economic productivity, health, and long-term community resilience. There is strong synergy between agriculture and health, where economic stability improves access to healthcare. Continuous access to safe water improves agricultural productivity by increasing farmer resilience to climate change and reduces the disease burden in communities, hence reducing family expenditure on waterborne diseases. By integrating SRHR education into agricultural programs, TeamUp ensures that youth have access to information and services that enable them to make informed decisions about their health, reproductive choices, and the future, thus enhancing their productivity and quality of life.
Changing mindsets and tackling taboos
Whave Solutions, in charge of providing water points in the districts where TeamUp is operating, faces a different defiance, above all changing mindsets. “People in the past were often provided with water stations and boreholes for free. But maintenance was poor or non-existent”, says Frederic Bergeron, General Manager of Whave Solutions. “We have to convince the local population, that they need to pay a little amount to ensure maintenance, conducted by TeamUp youth groups, and thus, gain sustainable access to their water.” With successful community engagement: Almost 91% of borehole breakdowns are repaired within one day. And already 86% of households in the Whave Solutions areas have now access to protected water sources. On the national level this applies to 62% of households on average going down to 25% in some districts.
Health, in particular sexual reproductive health, being the third big component of TeamUps portfolio, is probably confronted with the most difficulties. Comprehinsive sexuality education is a taboo at local schools. In rural areas, adolescent pregnancy rates are high, while many parents believe that avoiding discussions about sexual matters with girls will help prevent the problem. A fatal error, that TeamUp tries to combat with workshops on sexual reproductive health, run by Action 4 Health Uganda. Additionally 4,900 youth had been reached by community level health workers codenamed ‘BEES’ or flying nurses who traverse villages to provide health education and access to modern contraceptives, as well as counseling. The work is appreciated on a district level, as Betty Enzaru, Assistant District Health Officer for Maternal and Child Health in Mityana, confirms.
Impediments and limitations
Binding stronger forces with the government as a stakeholder is another important element within the TeamUp universe. Isaac Golooba is the Principal Assistant Secretary at Mityana District Local Government and the Focal Person for TeamUp. “We are more than excited about this collaboration”, Isaac says. According to him, improvements are visible: many youth have changed for the better and take more responsibility. “The people around here realize that there is money in agriculture. It is no longer an activity for poor people.”
The district representative appreciates that the work of TeamUp matches the National Youth Policy, aiming at empowerment and advocacy, as well as government priorities such as health and WASH (Water, Sanitary and Hygiene). Nevertheless, “we as districts are supposed to implement the national plans. But we have no allocated budgets of our own. That is why we can only attach human resources, like health workers. ”Sometimes, even those resources are limited. Daniel Selemba, District Production officer in Mityana confirms: “We cannot serve our communities with our means. That is why we would wish for TeamUp to stay with us longer.” Currently, a TeamUp project phase in one area lasts four years before it moves to another, with the idea of replicating it in as many regions as possible. Comprehensive local structures, from youth clubs in the villages to Youth Empowerment Centers (YECs) on sub-county level up to the superior Youth Network at district level are supposed to keep the good work going. “We are aiming at strong and solid youth organizations, that remain active, when we are not there anymore”, TeamUp Coordinator Monica Basemera says.
Sustainability - the tricky thing
Yet, sustainability remains an issue. Some youth organizations are still not solid enough to make it on their own, and their business start-ups usually need about 5 years to run properly. Monica: “So, we are aware that the timeline of 4 years is rather short.” Drop-out rates of youth leaving to other regions, migrating to the city or following up on other projects for their life are also considerable. Especially for girls, empowering via TeamUp can become a tricky issue. “Men don’t want to marry educated and independent women”, says Godfrey Mukalazi, Gender officer working with HRNS Uganda. Finally, Monica Basemera observes a lack of collaboration with other organizations outside TeamUp. “NGOs around here do not talk to each other like we do. So, when we leave an area, we do not know, whom to pass the torch to.” But she is confident that the consistent dialogue of TeamUp with the government, private partners and NGO’s will support the long term sustainability of the program.
Still, the Ugandan TeamUp crew remains convinced, that their cross-sectoral partnership approach paves the road to success in the complex economic, social and environmental reality, that the country’s youth is facing.