Uganda’s reproductive health approach is under scrutiny as civil society organizations (CSOs) claim it’s failing to yield the desired results.
“One in four young people aged 15 to 19 has either had a pregnancy or having a child. In the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) of 2011 to 2016 we were at 24% and 2017 up to 2022, we are still at 24% and sometimes we even threaten to even go higher despite the heavy investment for many years,” said Jackson Chekweko, Executive Director of Reproductive Health Uganda.
Chekweko emphasized the negative consequences of this trend, citing the country’s reliance on its young population. “This has a negative consequence to us as a country since our future largely depends on the young people who constitute the majority. This means the approach to reproductive health is the wrong one.”
He questioned the effectiveness of current policies and leadership, urging a reevaluation of approaches to reproductive health. “This should keep ourselves asking if we are doing right. This is an indication of policy and we should be asking ourselves if our policies are right. Is our leadership making the right choices and making enough effort to make change? As a country, we have been talking a lot about values. When we want to talk of sexuality of young people, a number of our people run to our young people asking that they should abstain.”
However, Chekweko noted that a one-size-fits-all approach is not effective. “However, scientific evidence has shown that young people are diverse. We have young people who are either in school and stable families to whom the message of abstinence is appropriate and will heed to it. There is also a group of young people with different and difficult backgrounds and context within which they are growing. There is a lot of sexual abuse right from their homes like refugee camps and slum areas but also many of youths in these areas have resorted to sex for pay. The approach to them should be a message of safer sex practice.”
Chekweko insisted that different approaches and messages should be disseminated to different groups of youths. “We need to inform the young people that in case things go bad, emergency contraceptive can work to protect yourself against pregnancy. These are the messages which we are increasingly shying away from yet this is the reality and the end result is this unimpressive statistic.”
Philip Smith, Development Director of the British High Commission in Uganda, reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to supporting Uganda’s health outcomes and economic empowerment. “The UK’s partnership with Uganda has a firm focus on fostering the growth of Uganda’s economy by empowering women and girls. Alongside our support for girls’ education, eliminating gender violence, creating jobs and supporting female-led businesses, the UK is also helping to give women and men a choice about when they have a family.”
Smith highlighted the success of the RISE program, which has provided nearly 60% of all family planning services delivered in Uganda.
“We are proud of the success of the RISE programme, which has provided nearly 60 percent of all family planning services delivered in Uganda. As a longstanding partner to the Government of Uganda, we will continue to support improvements in the health sector, especially in ending the preventable deaths of mothers and children.”
Dr. Peter Ddungu, Deputy Country Director of Marie Stopes Uganda, noted the improvements in access to contraceptives brought about by the RISE program.
“When we started the RISE programme, long-acting contraceptive methods were not supplied to HC III level facilities by the National Medical Stores. Five years later, the commodity kit for family planning now includes these long-acting methods. This shift demonstrates that the country has recognized the capacity of public health facilities to provide these services, a result of the mentorship and support provided by Marie Stopes throughout the programme.”
