Marie Stopes Asks Govt to Invest in Family Planning services

Civil society organizations that offer reproductive health care services are calling on the Government to invest more finances in family planning, amidst fears that donors could pull out.

 Speaking during the Partnership Day in Kampala, Marie Stopes country Director  Dr. Carole Sekimpi said government funding will ensure that family planning services will not be interrupted in case of donors stopping their funding.

 A total of 970,549 unintended pregnancies were prevented last year thanks to the intervention of Marie Stopes Uganda. 

According to Dr Sekimpi., their regional training officers provided mentorship to 1,102 public health workers in the provision of long-acting reversible contraceptives which resulted in increased uptake of these services and the prevention of 444,148 unsafe abortions country wide

 She explains that contraceptives are  not only critical for the health of mothers but also for the country to have a quality population which is productive.

 “When a woman chooses the number and timing of the birth, she has the opportunity to recover between births. If she is an adolescent, she gets to start having children at an age when the body is mature. Because you know teenage pregnancy has a higher rate of complication as during pregnancy and childbirth.  And we are talking about quality children, not quantity children, children you can send to school, children you can take to  the hospital, children you can discipline and guide” she explained.  

 Dr. Sekimpi added that their target is to have everyone who wants access to contraception to have it by 2030.

“ One of the primary objectives of our 2030 strategy is to provide voluntary, high quality Sexual Reproductive Health-SRH services to women  and girls, with the aim of reaching 80% of those in the highest need” Dr. Sekimpi stated.

To achieve this, Marie Stopes Uganda is focusing on sustainable means of delivery and funding so that women and girls they are currently serving will also have options in the future.

 “We are committed to ensuring everyone is supported to make decisions about their bodies and their future, from a choice of contraceptive method to a choice over where, and how to access care” she added

In his  remarks, Dr Charles Olaro  the Director Clinical Services at the ministry of Health noted that “family planning is critical for safe motherhood and family planning can prevent poor outcomes for women and children”.

 Investing in family planning makes it possible to avert unwanted pregnancies and avert maternal death as well as abortion, according to Dr. Olaro.

“You can not get people out of poverty if you are not able to address aspects of population control.  So that’s why family planning is important.”

There has been a decrease in institutional maternal death, with 82 mothers dying per 100,000 live births.He said  it is important that the government  commits to invest in  reproductive health.