In Uganda, climate change-related disasters, including floods, landslides, windstorms, and hailstorms, account for over 70% of natural disasters, destroying an average of 800,000 hectares of crops and resulting in economic losses exceeding UGX 120 billion annually.
These health workers believe that family planning will enable mothers to have manageable numbers of children, allowing them to maintain their health and reduce the risks of unforeseen birth-related emergencies during delivery.
While immediate postpartum family planning is one of the high impact practises that Uganda can use to bridge the gap in contraceptive use, researchers at Makerere University School of Public Health say only less than 5% of mothers are enrolled on a family planning method immediately after birth.
At least 4036 cases of abortions have been recorded in the different health facilities Gulu District over the past 15 months. Gulu Regional Referral Hospital alone received 1317 cases in need of post-abortion care and registered 7 deaths.
The backbone of the center is HIV/AIDS counseling; antiretroviral therapy, voluntary medical safe male circumcision, family planning, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission - PMCT, adolescent and child counseling services.
Joy Biira, a Nursing Officer at Kasese Municipal Health Center III, says they have registered an increase in the number of women seeking family planning services since the lockdown started.
According to the District Health Officer - DHO, Dr Solomon Asiimwe, the district has a high teenage pregnancy rate of 25.6 per cent and a fertility rate of 7.8 per cent which is way above the national fertility rate of 5.4 per cent.
Annet Dungu, head of maternity at Nabweru Health Centre IIIs, says the numbers could be more because those who seek post abortion care services in private facilities are not captured.
Bamwoze is credited for lobbying for water projects and free family planning services for the people through the family life education program FLEP. Bamwoze, the pioneer Bishop of Busoga Diocese succumbed to leukemia on February 11.
WHO records indicate that the number of women getting pregnant within twelve months after delivery is increasing. From 2017 to 2018, the number increased from 65 to 69 percent in Uganda.
Research conducted by the district health department in partnership with Kabale Women in Development KWID a Community Based Organisation indicates that the turn up of men in 2017 in both public and private health facilities was at only 20 percent, while for women was over 70 percent.
While the national average fertility rate stands at 5.4 percent, the levels in Karamoja are higher with 7.9 percent. The report shared by United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA with the regional leaders on Thursday shows that majority of the population in Karamoja are children with a average age of 15 years.
Faith leaders from across the world has today made a commitment to be family planning advocates and ensure rights for comprehensive family planning for the youth, in line with their teaching.
Governments and humanitarian organizations have been called upon to increase funding and build the capacity of government health facilities around refugee settlements to provide family planning services.
The number of women using modern methods of contraception in Uganda increased by 1,076,000 in 2018, bringing the total number of women now using modern methods of contraception to 2,790,000 .
According to the report, since 2012, 46 million more women and girls who want to avoid pregnancy or delay pregnancy have begun using a modern method of contraception in the worlds 69 poorest countries.
Moroto, like the entire Karamoja region, has recorded a poor response to family planning services over the years as a result of negative public perception and lack of adequate information regarding family planning services. In some places, family planning fueled domestic violence and led to the separation of couples.
This follows a move by American President Donald Trump to reinstate the Mexico City Policy; a part of the US law that banned using US foreign aid for abortion-related activities. Under previous Republican administrations, the restrictions in the Mexico City Policy applied specifically to US family planning funds, totaling approximately USD 575 million.
