Private clinics expand discounted family planning services to boost uptake
“The number of adolescent girls coming in for family planning services has gone up. Most of them prefer short-term methods, and we also provide counselling to ensure they understand the different options available to them,” Ganafa said.
Marie Stopes, UNFPA leadership and Ministry of Health officials after launching discounted family planning services in private health sector.
Private health facilities in Wakiso district are expanding access to discounted family planning services to ease pressure on public facilities and give communities more options for contraception.
The initiative, implemented through the Empower Private Project, has expanded its network from 300 facilities when it was launched in July 2025 to 690 facilities across Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono districts.
The project is led by Marie Stopes Uganda in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Population Services International (PSI) and the Ministry of Health.
Jane Frances Acam, a representative of the Ministry of Health under Nursing and Midwifery, said private facilities were being strengthened because they are often closer and more accessible to communities than public health facilities.
She said public facilities can be overwhelmed by the number of clients seeking services, resulting in long waiting times.
“The private sector is nearer and more easily accessible to the community than some public facilities,” Acam said.
She said the Ministry of Health is supporting the project to ensure that family planning services provided by private health workers follow national guidelines.
Private providers have been trained in family planning counselling, the use of medical eligibility criteria and the administration of different contraceptive methods.
Acam said the intervention was necessary because some clients already prefer private facilities, yet many private providers previously lacked adequate skills to provide a wider range of family planning methods.
At Lady Alinganyira Maternity Clinic in Wakiso, the project has increased the range of family planning services available to clients.
Esther Ganafa, the clinic's officer in charge, said uptake among walk-in clients was low before the project but increased after she and other health workers received training in counselling and the provision of different contraceptive methods.
She said the clinic currently provides long- and short-term methods depending on clients' needs. Intrauterine devices cost sh30,000, while implants cost between sh20,000 and sh30,000, which is cheaper than the normal price of sh50,000.
The clinic has also recorded an increase in adolescent girls seeking family planning services.
“The number of adolescent girls coming in for family planning services has gone up. Most of them prefer short-term methods, and we also provide counselling to ensure they understand the different options available to them,” Ganafa said.
Dr Ritah Tweheyo, the head of grants at Marie Stopes Uganda, said the expansion of private-sector services was partly a response to shrinking donor funding for family planning.
She said the project follows the Ministry of Health's total market approach, under which services are provided through different channels depending on people's ability to pay.
“Those who cannot afford services get them for free through government facilities,” Tweheyo said.
She said people who can afford part of the cost can access discounted services through partner private hospitals, medical centres, pharmacies and drug shops.
The project is also seeking to address gaps in access to condoms, particularly amid increased demand in Kampala and surrounding areas.
Acam said condoms, which provide protection against both unintended pregnancy and HIV, had faced high demand and occasional shortages.
Tweheyo said private pharmacies, drug shops and clinics could help bridge such gaps when free condoms were temporarily unavailable.
She also urged men to participate in family planning decisions by supporting their partners to choose methods that suit them and, where possible, contributing to the cost.
The project is also targeting misconceptions surrounding contraceptive use through community engagements and social media campaigns.
Tweheyo said misinformation about the health effects of contraceptive methods remains a major barrier to uptake.
“Our biggest problem and deterrent in family planning uptake is actually misconceptions,” she said.
She said trained health workers are being used to provide accurate information and help clients make informed decisions about the methods available to them.
A two-day campaign held on September 10 and 11, 2026, to assess and strengthen the Empower project at Wakiso district headquarters, saw partners discussing ways of maintaining family planning services beyond the project period.
Tweheyo said the long-term goal was to create a sustainable system in which people who can afford family planning contribute towards the cost, while free and subsidised services remain available to those with limited financial means.