- Men no longer go to churches.
- The faith leaders want to look for them in bars,and at boda stages.
- They need the information more than women because they produce many children from different women.
Image: ALICE LUBWAMA
Faith leaders have called all stakeholders to create awareness about family planning and advocate for financing of the services and commodities if the country is to meet its National targets and global commitments.
Under the National development plan 3,Uganda has to reduce Teenage pregnancy rate from 25 percent to 15 percent,reduce Neonatal mortality rate from 27/1000 to 19/1000 live births,reduce unmet need for family planning from 17 percent to 10 percent and increase modern contraceptive prevalence rate from 39 percent to 50 percent.
Speaking during a dialogue on accountability for family planning commodity financing organized by Faith for Family health initiative in Kampala , the faith leaders led by Bishop Amos Magyezi of North west Ankole Diocese said that Government should also promote accountability for family planning services by disclosing resources disbursed to the health facilities so that they can be trucked.
`Use every available opportunity to advocate for family planning ,"Bishop Magyezi said .He also called for continuous engagement of communities and promoting awareness about the importance of family planning to foster demand and utilization of commodities.
Magyezi said there is need to support the religious leaders through their structures so that they can engage men at the grassroots on why they should have health families.
He said that community dialogues with men will be very good, because men no longer go to churches and have left the faith to women and children .
'Men needs to be more sensitized than women because they are responsible for producing children they cannot afford to take care of.
He has also asked the believers to interpret the scripture of creation with in its contents because its not one couple who is supposed to multiply and fill the earth but its for all human beings created on earth.
''That's why we're advocating for health families so that we have God's creation in good condition," Magyezi added Father Constantine Mbonabingi from the Orthodox Church also a board member of faith for family initiative said under this interfaith organization they have managed to teach over 200 religious leaders on how to advocate for family planning commodities and create awareness among the people.
He said it has not been easy to convince other faith leaders to accept family planning methods,but they are beginning to appreciate why they should have health congregations who are not malnourished.
``For us religious leaders we are still committed to create awareness about family planning but Government should also provide the commodities because there are still not enough",Mbonabingi said.
Image: ALICE LUBWAMA
Speaking at the same function the assistant commissioner budget and finance department ministry of health Dr Richard Kabagambe asked all stakeholders including the religious leaders to create demand to increase uptake of family planning commodities.
He said it is a big contradiction to say Government is not putting in money when even the little put in commodities has no demand. '' A health center is full of commodities at the end of the day no body is picking them,they expire and cost Government to destroy them,"Kabagambe said.
He said the last financial year National Medical stores needed over 1.4 billion shillings to incinerate expired Medical supplies at Nakasongo and much of the stock were family planning commodities.
The Executive Director and founder Faith for Family health initiative Jackie Katana said the meeting attended by Mps,civil society organizations, ministry of health officials and religious leaders was aimed at following on the commitments made in January 2023, to have 25 percent of the money being allocated to general reproductive health dedicated to family planning as a priority.
"We are glad that the commitment has been done in the budget of 2023-2024. Katana said that they will now truck this money to see whether it is disbursed and how it will be spent.
''As we truck how the resources are being disbursed and spent ,we are going a head to make sure that the commodities supplied meet the demand so they dont expire,"Katana said