LIRA Regional Hospital, which would otherwise be the savior of women, has not had contraceptives for 10 months now.

Magdalene Akello, an enrolled midwife who mans the family planning clinic that was started in 1993, says: “I have been receiving clients from as far as Apac, Amalatar and Pader but at the moment, we lack contraceptives.

All we do is counsel our clients and refer them to private clinics like RHU.” They go back the next month, either pregnant or still looking for contraceptives.

Akello says they have been ordering contraceptives along with other drugs but only get the latter. “We got some from Aleptong Health Centre which were almost expiring because they got more than they desired. But they have also run out. We received drugs last month but still, no contraceptives,” she says.

She says the clinic used to get an average of 20 women a day. “Now we only work on those who want tubal ligation and men who want vasectomy and send away the rest.” Although they get about seven women per week, they limit the number because of lack of supplies.

The clinic has no permanent gynaecologist. Unfortunately, when the women do not get what they want, they give up. Akello says there are lower public facilities — Municipal Health Centre II and Ayogo Health Centre III, but people who come to the main hospital say there are no supplies there.

Geoffrey Lapat, a clinical officer in
charge of RHU Lira branch, says they
receive a minimum of 75 clients a day
for all services from Lira, Amolatar,
Apac and Pader districts.

They charge a minimum of sh500 for a three-months-cycle of pills, sh20,000 for implants, sh4,000 for IUDs, sh4,000 for emergency contraceptives and sh1,200 for injectaplan. “The people we receive can part with a small fee. Others are left out because they live far and can’t afford it,” Lapat says.

Most of the clients want tubal ligation because they have seven to 10 children and difficult births. Lapat says people know the benefits of family planning but cannot afford sh1,500 for a bodaboda to take them to health centres.

Dr. Petero Kusolo, the district health officer of Lira, says: “We are experiencing a lot of stock-outs. Contraceptives are given 100% as donations and orders take long to arrive.

We sometimes get longterm methods like implants but do not have the equipment or the doctors to administer them.” Kusolo says donors are stepping back so that the Government shows some
responsibility.