FAMILY planning services are key in the progress of any society. In a question and answer session, Frederick Womakuyu, interviewed Janet Jackson, the representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Hassan Mohtashami, the deputy representative, Wilfred Ochan, the assistant representative, Moses Muwonge, the adviser reproductive health commodity security and Moses Baluku, the lecturer of reproductive health at Makerere University, on the challenges of financing family planning in Uganda and the way forward. Below are the excerpts.
What are the benefits of family planning?
Access to family planning is closely linked to women’s status, empowerment and equal access to jobs. The household will benefit from a woman whose reproductive cycle is planned.
Couples will be able to plan, space and decide on the number and timing of their pregnancies. It lowers the maternal mortality rate, disability and infant and child mortality.
How much money does the Government allocate to family planning programmes?
Several parliamentary committees are asking questions pertaining to reproductive health (RH) and this includes family planning.
Projects under the Ministry of Health are under way but the exercise is complex. It will take some time, but it will give both the Government and development partners a strong baseline on which to move forward.
This will be in terms of a clear basis for determining annual increases in the national share versus expected external partners.
Uganda has become a member of the global coalition for RH commodity security. UNFPA will be both a keen observer and keen contributor to increased funds. We are working with the Government to diversify ways of supplying contraceptives.
Procurement of contraceptives is at the helm of any family planning. The Government of Uganda has, since 2005, allocated funds to procure contraceptives.
How much money do donors allocate to family planning?
The total amount of money the Government and donors spent on procuring contraceptives between 2005 and 2008 was sh48b.
About sh18b is budgeted for the next financial year. However, the challenges are enormous and twice this amount is needed.
What is the unmet need for family planning?
Over 41% of women aged between 15 and 49 years, cannot obtain family planning services. The reasons for this include: lack of access to contraceptives and lack of support from partners, family members or the community. Of this, 25% want to space births while 16% do not want to bear more children.
What are the challenges of financing family planning?
The main challenge is to secure funds for procurement of contraceptives. It is estimated that for the next five years, Uganda will require sh216b for family planning services. More than sh22b is needed annually.
The Government is already having difficulty meeting the other basic needs of people such as education, jobs, health services, housing and water.
About 50% of the population is below the age of 15 years. What are the implications of reducing funds?
Development efforts not matching the needs of the explosive population growth. Meeting people’s needs for family planning will spur development, bring nation-wide benefit and improve the standard of living.
What is the way forward for funding of family planning?
Government support can be strengthened for funding, including national and international donor support, private commercial family planning services, cross-subsidisation and user fees for family planning services.
In order to ensure every woman can choose, obtain and access quality contraceptives, Uganda, with the support of UNFPA, has developed a five-year reproductive health commodity security strategy.
Managers are key to creating and developing sustainable family planning services because they provide organisational leadership and vision. They champion the causes of the poor and underserved.