Nearly 4,000 sex workers have been offered a path towards financial security and alternative livelihoods through a social security scheme supported by researchers at Makerere University.The initiative, which started as a savings scheme, was partly designed to help sex workers prepare for life after the trade and reduce the likelihood of their children being forced into the same work because of financial hardship.The beneficiaries say the scheme has given them hope that their children can have better opportunities and avoid the vulnerabilities associated with sex work.Macklean Kyomya, executive director of the Alliance of Women Advocating for Change (AWAC), an organisation that brings together sex workers, said the initiative was conceived after they noticed that ageing sex workers were approaching retirement with little or no financial security.She said many were worried that their children could eventually enter the same trade because their parents had been unable to save enough to support them or invest in alternative livelihoods.Kyomya on sex workers and social security Apart from the health risks associated with sex work, Kyomya said ageing in the trade was particularly difficult because the period of relatively high earnings is often short.Some sex workers, she said, are eventually left with limited options and may encourage their children to enter the same business as a means of survival, while conventional social security schemes often exclude them.The sex workers initially organised themselves into savings groups, an initiative that attracted the attention of the Social Innovations in Health Initiative (SIHI) at Makerere University School of Public Health.The researchers helped formalise the groups by registering them and promoting the model in other parts of the country to encourage more sex workers to participate.Kyomya said SIHI provided a $20,000 grant (about Shs 78 million), which helped strengthen the savings groups and expand their membership.Members can save as little as Shs 5,000 and access funds for alternative income-generating activities, including agriculture, as well as school fees. They can also access health insurance through community-based schemes.Kyomya on the grantDr Phyllis Awor, a Makerere University researcher, said the programme selected social innovations with the potential to improve health outcomes.She said sex workers qualified for support because they are considered a key population in the HIV response and face risks associated with sexually transmitted infections and emerging infections.The initiative has also enabled some beneficiaries to leave sex work and concentrate on alternative sources of income, according to Kyomya. She said the model has since been selected by the ministry of Health and another donor for further support.The donor provided an additional $8,000 (about Shs 31 million) to assess whether the model could produce similar results if expanded to other parts of the country.The sex workers’ savings initiative is among several social innovations supported through the programme.Other beneficiaries showcased their work at an event where researchers discussed innovations aimed at improving health outcomes over the next decade, including an initiative helping teenagers in Busoga prevent repeat pregnancies.The post How Makerere scheme gave hope to 4,000 sex workers to age with dignity appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.