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Uganda: Lack of Political Will Hinders Family Planning
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New Vision (Kampala)
5 July 2008
Posted to the web 7 July 2008
A. Bugembe
Kampala
LACK of political will is affecting the promotion of family planning in Uganda, a family planning expert has said.
"The Government has not uniformly and consistently supported family planning. It should clearly pronounce itself on the practice like it has done on HIV/AIDS and immunisation," said Elly Mugumya, the Executive Director of Reproductive Health Uganda.
Mugumya was addressing participants at a public debate on family planning and national development at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala on Thursday.
He noted that Uganda had not yet endorsed the 2006 Maputo Plan of Action, in which African health ministers agreed to adopt a plan to reduce maternal mortality, combat HIV/AIDS and reduce infant mortality. This would be by integrating sexual and reproductive health services into primary healthcare.
Uganda's population has continued to grow rapidly at a rate of 3.2% annually mainly due to persistent high fertility levels of about seven children per woman. One of the factors accounting for this high fertility is the high unmet need for family planning.
Angela Akol, the Director of Family Health International, said: "About 41% of married women in Uganda want to space or limit births, but they are not using contraceptives. So they are having more children than they desire yet the cost of living is increasing."
Akol said a high population strains the environment and economy. "The current per capita health expenditure is $7.2, while the health budget will have to increase eight-fold by 2020 to provide the basic package."
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She urged stakeholders to invest more in research and translate it into policy.
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