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Family planning eludes villages over funding gaps
A medical staff demonstrates to school girls how to use a female condom at a Health camp in Masaka District in 2015. Leaders and health officials have asked the government to increase funding for family planning services in rural areas. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The Advance Family Planning initiative aims to increase the financial investment and political commitment needed to ensure access to quality, voluntary family planning to achieve the global goal of expanding access to quality information, services and supplies.
- Some of the districts where the initiative is implemented include Bududa, Mbale, Sironko, Kween, Kapchorwa, and Soroti.
Leaders and health officials have asked the government to increase funding for family planning services in rural areas.
The officials made the remarks during celebrations to mark 13 years of the Advance Family Planning initiative Mbale City last week.
Mr Paul Wakooko, the Sironko District health officer, said: “Because of the low funding, sensitisation is low, affecting service uptake. We depend so much on NGO funding that when they leave, there is always a big gap left.”
Dr Erisa Mulwani, the Budaka District health officer, said the low uptake of family planning services is affecting government efforts to fight poverty.
“Family planning issues are important because they contribute in the long run to the economy and welfare of the population,” he said.
He advised the government to look at ways of improving the family planning methods so that they have fewer side effects.
Mr Alfred Mwanga, the Kapchorwa District health officer, said the negative cultural and religious beliefs about family planning, including myths and misconceptions, hamper access to the services.
“Communities still think that family planning causes sterilisation, which is not the case. Family planning helps in child spacing for easy management of families,” he said.
He added that there is a need to carry out massive sensitisation on the family planning usage targeting men.
Mr Milton Kamoti, the Bududa District chairperson, said:
“Family planning is a security issue. Couples should ensure that they have a specific number of children they can manage because the world economy and poverty levels are so worrying,” he said.
Ms Regina Mutuwa, the Mbale District chief administrative officer, said health centres lack family planning products.
“When women go for family planning services, they are supposed to take methods of their own choice but sometimes they are forced to take the method not of their choice because of the limited commodities in the health facilities,” she said.
Mr Jackson Chekweko, the Reproductive Health Uganda executive director, said: “If we want to break the poverty cycle, then the government needs to invest in family planning as a priority.”
