German project to improve access to health care
Jun 06, 2010
UGANDANS are known to be developers of excellent project proposals in East Africa, but many fail when it comes to implementing them.<br>So Uganda’s neighbours borrow the write-ups, implement them and succeed.
By Chris Kiwawulo
UGANDANS are known to be developers of excellent project proposals in East Africa, but many fail when it comes to implementing them.
So Uganda’s neighbours borrow the write-ups, implement them and succeed.
But a Health Action project spearheaded by the German Foundation for World Population (DSW) in partnership with Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU), Tanzania 4H, and the Institute for Education in Democracy is due to reverse this trend.
Sarah Nyombi, Ntengeru North MP, launched the project on May 28.
James Kotzsch, DSW director in Uganda, said the project will work with civil society organisations (CSOs) that have been empowered to advocate for health issues by increasing their capacity to formulate policy priorities, monitor their implementation and hold decision makers to account.
Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania will receive 1.5m euros (sh4b) from the European Union to run the project.
The programme is expected to contribute to more effective and inclusive health policies, programmes and budgets, to achieve health-related Millennium Development Goals
The project will target vulnerable and marginalised populations like women, children and people living with HIV/AIDS.
Launched in Uganda in 1994, DSW has been working on promoting reproductive health, population and development issues.
“Donors seem to have realised the contribution of reproductive health towards development as a whole,†Kotzsch says.
Wakiso, Bulisa, Mukono and Kampala, especially in areas with high poverty indexes and poor health indicators, will be targeted.
Jackson Chekweko of RHU says the project is timely. “Uganda loses about 6,000 women to pregnancy related complications annually and 41% of married women who need family planning services cannot access them,†he says.
Chekweko says Uganda has a teenage pregnancy rate of 25, one of the highest in the world. This and the ever increasing population are partly due to Uganda’s high fertility rate (6.7 children per woman) and a population growth rate of 3.2%, the third highest in the world.
He says while the Government is committed to improving reproductive health, this is not translated into action. “In 2008, sh10.7b was required to procure contraceptives but only sh1.458b was allocated.
And even then, the actual expenditure was only 6.4% (about sh93m),†he said.
He says the Healthy Action gives advocacy groups opportunity to rally behind fellow non-state actors and ensure they build the capacity to advocate pro-poor budgets and health policies that address disparities.
“As a country, we need to take steps to fulfill our obligations as stipulated in international commitments, including the Abuja Declaration and Maputo Plan of Action to have budgets that reflect the needs and aspirations of the poorest and most vulnerable groups. This will help spur development,†Chekweko says.
The resolutions called for increased funding towards reproductive health as a way to development.
UGANDANS are known to be developers of excellent project proposals in East Africa, but many fail when it comes to implementing them.
So Uganda’s neighbours borrow the write-ups, implement them and succeed.
But a Health Action project spearheaded by the German Foundation for World Population (DSW) in partnership with Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU), Tanzania 4H, and the Institute for Education in Democracy is due to reverse this trend.
Sarah Nyombi, Ntengeru North MP, launched the project on May 28.
James Kotzsch, DSW director in Uganda, said the project will work with civil society organisations (CSOs) that have been empowered to advocate for health issues by increasing their capacity to formulate policy priorities, monitor their implementation and hold decision makers to account.
Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania will receive 1.5m euros (sh4b) from the European Union to run the project.
The programme is expected to contribute to more effective and inclusive health policies, programmes and budgets, to achieve health-related Millennium Development Goals
The project will target vulnerable and marginalised populations like women, children and people living with HIV/AIDS.
Launched in Uganda in 1994, DSW has been working on promoting reproductive health, population and development issues.
“Donors seem to have realised the contribution of reproductive health towards development as a whole,†Kotzsch says.
Wakiso, Bulisa, Mukono and Kampala, especially in areas with high poverty indexes and poor health indicators, will be targeted.
Jackson Chekweko of RHU says the project is timely. “Uganda loses about 6,000 women to pregnancy related complications annually and 41% of married women who need family planning services cannot access them,†he says.
Chekweko says Uganda has a teenage pregnancy rate of 25, one of the highest in the world. This and the ever increasing population are partly due to Uganda’s high fertility rate (6.7 children per woman) and a population growth rate of 3.2%, the third highest in the world.
He says while the Government is committed to improving reproductive health, this is not translated into action. “In 2008, sh10.7b was required to procure contraceptives but only sh1.458b was allocated.
And even then, the actual expenditure was only 6.4% (about sh93m),†he said.
He says the Healthy Action gives advocacy groups opportunity to rally behind fellow non-state actors and ensure they build the capacity to advocate pro-poor budgets and health policies that address disparities.
“As a country, we need to take steps to fulfill our obligations as stipulated in international commitments, including the Abuja Declaration and Maputo Plan of Action to have budgets that reflect the needs and aspirations of the poorest and most vulnerable groups. This will help spur development,†Chekweko says.
The resolutions called for increased funding towards reproductive health as a way to development.