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Health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng says the Government is working on new initiatives that will incentivise the uptake of family planning services in the country.

One of these, she says, will involve dissemination of more information about family planning, so couples can make informed decisions when it comes to the number of children they wish to have.

She was speaking during the launch of the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2023, which has shown a slight decline in the country's fertility rate.

In demography, the fertility rate of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over their lifetime.

According to the report, released on Thursday last week, Uganda’s total fertility rate now stands at 5.2, a drop from 5.4 in 2006.

Commenting on the finding, the minister said she had expected a more significant drop if the country is to make progress it needs.

“People need to be empowered with information to know why they need to do certain things. We know that, especially when we are handling epidemics,” she said, adding: “When you empower people with information, they will do the right things”.

The minister said the Government has long served family planning services “as a commodity”, rather than empowering the population with information about why they need to plan their families.

“That is why our demand is still low, I think I saw that we are at 60 percent,” she said.

She said once more information about family planning is disseminated to the population, demand for family planning services will grow and so will the unmet need for contraceptives.

According to the report, the Karamoja region has the most fertile women in Uganda. 

On average, a woman in the Karamoja region, which is located in northeastern Uganda, produces 6.7 children in her lifetime.

This is followed by Bukedi, Busoga, Bunyoro, and Toro with 6.5, 5.7, 5.5, and 5.3 children, respectively. Other regions with high fertility rates include Teso, 5.4 children; Acholi, 5.3 and West Nile 5.1.

On the other hand, the areas with the lowest rates are Kampala with 3.7 children, and Lango with 4.6 children. Ankole and Kigezi tie at 4.7 children.