The Community Agenda

  By Dr. Simon Peter Kayondo Dr. Simon Kayondo Under normal circumstances, gynecologists (doctors who specialize in female reproductive health) should be attending to mothers and prospective mothers with pregnancy or child birth complications in maternity wards; but as fate would have it, members of the Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Uganda (AOGU) have also joined the Sexual, Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) advocacy movement for obvious reasons. As a member of AOGU, I think this move was long overdue given the not so impressive maternal and child health statistics in our country. For a long time for instance, the teenage pregnancy rate has stagnated at a high of 25% with some regions and districts way above this national average. The situation became worse at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to have a high rate of maternal mortality due to preventable causes like unsafe abortion, child marriage, teenage pregnancy and poor access to SRHR...

By Umar Weswala: Dr. Mary (R) chatting with VP Alupo (C)  The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Representative Dr. Mary Otieno has lauded the government of Uganda for coming up with and implementing strategies aimed at preventing as well as managing cases of teenage pregnancies in school settings. Doctor Mary Otieno was speaking at a national event in commemoration of the World Population Day 2023, held at Alebtong Boma grounds in Alebtong District (Lango Sub-Region) on 11 th July. In her remarks, she singled out the `Revised Guidelines on the prevention and management of teenage pregnancies in school settings in Uganda` through the Ministry of Education which she said has given many girls a second chance to pursue their studies, acquire 21 st century skills and live their dreams. She gave an example of Deborah Atai, a young mother she met during last year’s World Population Day commemorations in Kumi District. VP Jessica Alupo Becoming a mother in her tee...

  By Yoweri Kaguta Museveni: UNFPA File Photo I would like to thank the people of Alebtong for hosting this year’s World Population Day. The WPD2023 theme is in line with the priorities of the NRM government: to guarantee education for all children, good health for all people, and jobs and wealth for all the homesteads in Uganda. These are the conditions for achieving the goal of social economic transformation of society. The population must be educated and highly skilled, healthy i.e. free of diseases in order to increase their life expectancy and embrace the modality of working for money in the four sectors of commercial agriculture, industries, services and ICT. Therefore, it is on the account of the NRM’s early interventions to improve access to maternal health and immunizing the children against the killer diseases that Uganda’s population had managed to grow from 14 million people in 1986 to 48 million people now. Life expectancy has also risen from 43 years in 1986 t...

By Umar Weswala: The Government of Uganda has been commended for its efforts in addressing population challenges, including the implementation of evidence-based policies and programs that prioritize the health and welfare of its citizens. This was contained in a statement issued by UNICEF Uganda in commemoration of this year's World Population Day. In Uganda, the national commemoration is being held in Alebtong District (Lango Sub Region) under theme: prioritize Education,: Prevent school dropouts and increase household incomes. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is expected to be the guest of honour at the main event.  Read the full statement from UNICEF below: On World Population Day, UNICEF advocates for quality care and services.   KAMPALA,  11 July 2023--On the occasion of the World Population Day, UNICEF celebrates the progress made by Uganda in managing its population and advocates for further balancing population growth and the availability of resources for qua...

By Dr. Mary Otieno: On behalf of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, I am very honored to be part of this occasion to commemorate the World Population Day. When we held the national celebrations in Kumi district last year, we were privileged to listen to a story from a young lady called Deborah Atai from Kalaki district, who was a victim of teenage pregnancy. Becoming a mother in her teens, Deborah was forced to live with her partner and one unintended pregnancy led to two more unplanned for pregnancies for this young teenage girl, who had now dropped out of school and was also unemployed. Her future seemed bleak to her but with support from partners in sexual reproductive health, Deborah was able to access correct information and services and made the decision to go back to school. Thanks to government strategies like the `Revised Guidelines on the prevention and management of teenage pregnancies in school settings in Uganda` through the Ministry of Education, girls like ...

By Umar Weswala Mr. Dan Alemu from UNFPA  The United Nations Population Fund Country Representative Dr. Mary Otieno has urged the government of Uganda to fully fund the National Obstetric Fistula Strategic Plan in order to achieve the strategic goal of eliminating fistula. This was contained in a speech read for her by the UNFPA Deputy Country Representative Mr. Daniel Alemu during the national commemoration  of this year’s Fistula day yesterday in Hoima City. The National Obstetric Fistula Strategic Plan 2020/2021 - 2024/2025 was launched during last year’s commemoration of the Fistula Day in Zombo District by the State Minister for Health in Charge of General Duties Hon. Anifa Kawooya. In her remarks, Dr. Mary Otieno stated that much as significant progress has been made by government and partners, more needs to be done to eliminate Fistula by 2030. According to the UDHS 2016, at least 1 in every 100 women has obstetric fistula in Uganda. Women who suffer complic...

  By Umar Weswala: Country Rep. Mary Otieno signed on behalf of UNFPA The government of Uganda has signed a Compact with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) under the UNFPA Supplies Partnership , aimed at increasing the supply of modern contraceptives and lifesaving maternal health medicines in the country. This is in addition to the past and recent pledges and commitments made by the government both at local and international fora. The compact was signed on 10 th May 2023 at Sheraton Hotel Kampala by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Hon. Matia Kasaija and the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health Dr. Diana Atwine on behalf of the government of Uganda, and the Country Representative Dr. Mary Otieno on behalf of UNFPA. Minister Kasaija signed on behalf of the gov't of Uganda At the signing ceremony, the Minister Kasaija said that, the compact agreement is an emphasis of Uganda’s commitments to invest in overall health and wellbeing of the Uga...