Family Planning Key to Uganda’s Vision 2040 Ambitions, Ministry of Health Says

Uganda’s ambitions of transforming into a prosperous and productive nation under Vision 2040 could be difficult to achieve without giving family planning greater attention, the Ministry of Health has said.

Dr. Chris Ebong, a Senior Medical Officer in the Department of Maternal and Child Health Services at the Ministry of Health, says family planning should no longer be viewed solely as a medical issue but as a critical development intervention capable of strengthening households, improving women’s productivity and producing a healthier and better-prepared population.

According to Dr. Ebong, appropriate family planning enables families to determine when to have children and the number of children they can adequately care for, educate, skill and ultimately prepare to become productive citizens.

“For us to achieve what we have put in Vision 2040, family planning is a big component,” Dr. Ebong said.

He explained that the importance of family planning goes beyond reducing the number of children in a household, noting that appropriate spacing of pregnancies can give parents an opportunity to adequately invest in the children they have while also allowing women more time to participate in economic and productive activities.

Dr. Ebong observed that pregnancy and caring for a young baby can affect a woman’s ability to engage fully in productive work.

“When you are pregnant, your production goes down. When you are still nursing a young baby, your production goes down. So for us to have that full potential in a woman, she must get pregnant when she is ready, and also spare some time for her to be productive,” he said.

He argued that Uganda’s development agenda should therefore place family planning among the issues that require attention from government, development partners, communities, journalists and the private sector.

“We need to take family planning not as a medical issue, but rather a developmental issue,” Dr. Ebong said, adding that it enables the country to maximize the potential of its population while ensuring families are able to raise, educate and equip their children.

His remarks come at a time when the Ministry of Health is implementing a number of measures aimed at improving the availability and accessibility of family planning commodities and information, including expanding services beyond conventional health facilities.

Government Targets Family Planning Commodity Availability

Dr. Ebong said the Government is continuously working to increase the availability of family planning commodities while also ensuring that services are brought closer to the communities.

He explained that family planning methods include natural methods, which largely depend on behaviour, as well as modern methods involving medicines, devices and procedures.

Modern methods can further be categorized into short-term, long-term and permanent methods.

Some short-term methods provide protection for periods ranging from one month to several months, while long-term methods can provide protection for several years. Permanent methods, meanwhile, are intended for individuals or couples who have decided not to have any more children.

Because individuals and couples have different reproductive intentions, Dr. Ebong cautioned against treating family planning as though there is one method suitable for everyone.

He also called on journalists reporting about family planning commodity stock-outs to provide specific information about which commodities are unavailable rather than making blanket statements that all family planning services or commodities are unavailable.

“Don’t make it blindly that the methods are not there. Section it which method is not there. Is it the short one? Is it the natural one? Is it the permanent one?” he said.

He explained that some people may only want to space their children for a particular period, while others may have reached their desired family size and want a long-term or permanent option.

Accurate reporting, he said, is therefore important because it enables the public to understand the choices available and make informed decisions.

More Resources for Family Planning Commodities

The Ministry of Health says it is using both government resources and partnerships with development agencies to increase the availability of family planning commodities.

Dr. Ebong said Government is increasing direct funding for the procurement of commodities while also working with development partners, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), to mobilize additional resources.

He disclosed that Government has a compact arrangement with UNFPA under which resources mobilized by Government can attract additional support from the development partner.

According to him, the approach is intended to strengthen the availability of commodities and address challenges associated with stock-outs.

The Ministry is also looking beyond public health facilities by expanding the role of private providers in family planning service delivery.

Dr. Ebong said people who cannot afford the commodities should continue accessing them through public facilities, while those who can afford them can obtain appropriate commodities from private facilities, pharmacies and other approved service points.

He said Government is deliberately introducing some family planning commodities in pharmacies to increase the number of places where people can access services.

“We think we should be able to have commodities for everyone,” he said.

He urged stakeholders to look beyond public health facilities when assessing the availability of family planning commodities and also consider whether commodities are available in private facilities for people who choose or are able to use those outlets.

Services Moving Closer to Communities

Beyond making commodities available, the Ministry of Health is also seeking to reduce the physical and time-related barriers people face when accessing family planning services.

Dr. Ebong said people seeking family planning services are generally healthy and should not necessarily have to spend long periods waiting in crowded health facilities alongside patients seeking treatment for illnesses.

The Ministry is therefore expanding access points by working with community health extension workers, pharmacies and selected drug shops.

The strategy is intended to enable people to access appropriate family planning services at times and locations that are convenient for them.

Dr. Ebong gave the example of someone whose only available free time may be on a Saturday afternoon, saying such a person should be able to access family planning services within the community without spending several hours at a health facility.

“We do not need to inconvenience anyone in getting family planning. It must be very convenient, and it must be accessible to everyone,” he said.

The Ministry is consequently taking services beyond conventional health facilities and closer to communities through trained community health workers, pharmacies and appropriate drug shops.

AI-Powered Family Planning Service Introduced

As part of the drive to make family planning information more accessible, the Ministry of Health has also embraced digital technology, including an Artificial Intelligence-powered family planning chatbot.

Daniel Aguma, a Senior Pharmacist at the Ministry of Health, said family planning programming has contributed to significant progress and innovation in the health sector, particularly in the way information and services are delivered.

He said Government, working with its partners, has created multiple mechanisms through which members of the public can access family planning information.

Among the new innovations is an AI-powered virtual family planning service provider that can interact with users and provide information on available family planning services and service points.

According to Aguma, users will be able to interact with the chatbot to find out what family planning options are available and identify nearby service points, including pharmacies.

The platform is also expected to help people understand possible side effects associated with family planning methods.

Aguma said the AI service can guide users on what certain side effects may look like, which ones may be manageable at home and which symptoms should prompt someone to seek medical attention.

He said the innovation, which is already running within family planning programming, could potentially be extended to other health programmes in the future.

COVID-19 Accelerated Digital Health Services

Aguma also linked some of the current digital health innovations to lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, when movement restrictions made it difficult for people to physically access some health services.

During that period, digital pharmacies and other digital health outlets began emerging as alternative ways of accessing certain health products.

Family planning commodities were among the products that increasingly moved through these digital platforms.

Aguma said people who need products such as condoms or emergency contraceptive pills can, where appropriate and through legitimate platforms, place orders online rather than necessarily travelling to a physical outlet.

He said family planning has therefore been one of the areas driving innovation in digital health service delivery.

Men Urged to Participate in Family Planning

The Ministry is also calling for greater involvement of men in family planning discussions.

Aguma said family planning should not be viewed as a responsibility belonging exclusively to women.

He urged men to actively participate in discussions with their partners and support them throughout their family planning journeys.

“Men out there, you are not exempted from this family planning conversation. You are very important as stakeholders in this family planning conversation,” Aguma said.

He also emphasized the importance of informed choice, noting that the availability of a wide range of methods means individuals need accurate information before selecting a method that best suits their circumstances.

According to Aguma, people should be able to work with trained health workers and service providers to identify an appropriate method and return for assistance if they experience challenges or discomfort.

He said family planning users should take an active role in decisions concerning their reproductive health rather than being passive recipients of services.

Family Planning and Uganda’s Future

The Ministry of Health’s renewed emphasis on family planning reflects a broader understanding of its connection to Uganda’s social and economic development.

For Dr. Ebong, family planning is ultimately about giving families the ability to make informed decisions while creating opportunities for women and men to participate productively in the economy.

He urged journalists and other stakeholders to take an active role in communicating accurate family planning information, arguing that the subject should not be left exclusively to doctors and other health professionals.

“I am confident that everyone in this country, when empowered, can actually talk about family planning nicely,” he said.

With Government increasing financing for commodities, partnering with development agencies, expanding services through private providers and community health workers, and embracing AI-powered platforms, the Ministry hopes to make family planning services more available, accessible and convenient.

The emerging approach is also shifting the family planning conversation from one focused solely on contraception and health facilities to one that connects reproductive choices with education, household welfare, women’s economic participation and national development.

As Uganda works towards the aspirations of Vision 2040, health officials argue that empowering individuals and couples to make informed decisions about when and how many children to have will remain an important component of building a healthier, more productive and economically resilient population.