Ugandans now live longer

Feb 22, 2007

Ugandans now live longer than before. Life expectancy for women has risen to 50 years and for men to 48 years. That is up from 43 years in 1995, according to the latest government statistics.

By Flavia Nakagwa

Ugandans now live longer than before. Life expectancy for women has risen to 50 years and for men to 48 years. That is up from 43 years in 1995, according to the latest government statistics.

“The improvement shows that government policies and programmes were making a difference in people’s lives,” said state minister for planning, Omwony Ojwok, during a breakfast meeting with the Partners in Population and Development.

He pointed out that the Poverty Eradication Action Plan, designed in 1997, had addressed critical issues in education, health and modernisation of agriculture, and brought about macroeconomic stability.

“The economy has grown at an average of 6% per year for the last 15 years. Poverty has reduced from 56% in 1992 to 31% in 2006. The prevalence of HIV has been reduced from a high 30% in 1992 to 6.4% in 2006.”

He, however, admitted that the nation is still faced with many challenges, especially in the areas of reproductive health, population, family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention.

“The health of mothers and children still remains a national concern,” Ojwok declared. Without universal access to reproductive health, he predicted, the Millennium Development Goals and the targets of the International Conference on Population and Development would not be achieved by 2015.

He noted that Uganda’s population currently stands at 28.6m but is projected to hit 127 million people by 2050. It will then hold the 13th position worldwide.

“Ugandans should be assured that the Government is intensifying its planning processes and focusing investment in a quality population that would be educated, healthy and productive enough to spur economic growth,” Ojwok added.

The executive director of Partners in Population and Development, Harry Jooseery, said the commitment on matters of reproductive health was very low among African leaders. HIV/AIDS, he said, is a major concern but it should not be addressed separately from reproductive health.

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