Kabale District Health Officer Alfred Besigensi, says that Health centre III and IVs’ were unable to provide the services because they were not considered on the list of entities that received supplies from the National Medical Stores. This has now changed.
Kabale district has finally started providing free long term
family planning services at Health Centre III and IV. The facilities were initially providing short term
methods like condoms and contraceptives to people in need, while those who needed long term services were referred to Kabale Regional Hospital or seek private services.
Kabale District Health Officer Alfred Besigensi, says that Health centre III
and IVs’ were unable to provide the services because they were not considered on the list of entities that received supplies from the National Medical Stores. This has now changed.
Besigensi says that the district was only depending on
private partners like Maries topes International and Reproductive Health Uganda
that would conduct some outreaches at some health centres. He adds that the approach was not reliable because the outreaches were not regular.
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Besigensi says that they have already sensitized all the
staff at health centre III and IV to popularize the availability of the
services to that locals start benefiting.
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Andrew Mubangizi, the in-charge of Maziba Health Centre IV in
Ndorwa East county says that the intervention will save mothers from the long distances they trek to hospitals seeking for long term services.
He says that every month, the facility would register
30 people especially mothers seeking long term family planning services.
Mubangizi says that the intervention is a result of
repeated petitions to the district health department and Ministry of Health by Kabale
Women in Development, a non-profit Community-based organization in conjunction
with the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF). The entities conducted a survey
and found mothers' suffering without the services.
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Records from Kabale district health department indicates
that 2,706 people received long term family planning methods across private and
public health facilities in the district between January- June this year.
Among them, seven conducted vasectomy, 15 tubal ligations, 265
received copper-bearing intrauterine devices, 820 received five-year implants, 14
received the four-year implant and 1,585 received 3-year implants services.
