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Dr. Jotham Musinguzi (right), Regional Director of PPD ARO, accepts congratulations on the 2013 United Nations Population Award from President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda (center) at State House in Entebbe in May. Also pictured (l-r) are Rt. Hon. Amama Mbabazi, Prime Minister of Uganda; Ms. Janet Jackson, Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Uganda; and Ms. Cecile Campaore, Deputy Representative of UNFPA in Uganda. Photo by PPD ARO.

NEW YORK, New York—Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, Regional Director of Partners in Population and Development Africa Regional Office (PPD ARO), received the 2013 United Nations Population Award at a ceremony on June 28 at the United Nations.  The award is given annually to individuals and institutions for outstanding work in population and in improving public health. 

Dr. Musinguzi has been a strong leader and advocate for family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH), population, and development throughout his career. He played a major role at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994, and was actively involved in negotiations on the Millennium Development Goals. He served as director of the Population Secretariat in Uganda’s Ministry of Finance for almost 15 years and as the senior advisor to the government of Uganda on FP/RH and population matters. Dr. Musinguzi has served as Regional Director of PPD ARO, a partner on the USAID-funded Health Policy Project (HPP), since 2007. 

“We are proud that Dr. Musinguzi has received this prestigious award, as it recognizes his leadership over the years, first within the Population Secretariat, and more recently as the head of the Africa Regional Office of PPD. HPP and the Futures Group are proud that PPD ARO is a full partner in our project and is expanding the reach of its work in the region,” said HPP Director Sarah Clark at Futures Group.

PPD ARO is an intergovernmental initiative that links 14 member countries through policy dialogue, networking, and sharing best practices and promotes South-South collaboration in reproductive health, population, and development. Through HPP, PPD ARO supports advocacy by policymakers, particularly Members of Parliament (MPs), by convening high-level policy dialogues and developing their capacity to promote family planning programs, inform policy dialogue, and advocate for increased funding for FP/RH.

“Partners in Population and Development is helping develop the capacity of high-level policymakers to become strong champions for family planning and promoting collaboration between ministries of health and national legislative bodies,” said Ellen Starbird, Director of USAID's Office of Population and Reproductive Health. “With Dr. Musinguzi’s leadership their contribution to more effective governance and strong health systems benefits communities in the entire region.”

In 2013, the advocacy capacity building supported by PPD ARO and HPP has resulted in several significant gains, including the funding of a new budget line for FP/RH commodities in Malawi and the creation of a new parliamentary network for population and development in Ethiopia. In Uganda, PPD ARO has worked with MPs to advocate for increased funding for FP/RH commodities. At a series of meetings convened by PPD ARO and HPP in 2012, Ugandan MPs committed to ensuring that President Museveni’s promise to increase domestic resources for FP/RH commodities from U.S. $3.3 to $5 million annually, announced at the London Summit, becomes reality. PPD ARO has supported the MPs through advocacy trainings and follow-up meetings, and on June 13^th the reading of Uganda’s FY2013/14 budget included U.S. $5 million from domestic resources for FP/RH commodities. This announcement marks the success of the MPs’ advocacy efforts and significant progress in increasing funding and meeting country and global goals for improved access to FP/RH services.
  

About the Health Policy Project

The Health Policy Project (HPP) aims to strengthen policy, advocacy, governance and finance for strategic, equitable, and sustainable health programming in developing countries. HPP is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by Futures Group, in collaboration with the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA), Futures Institute, Partners in Population and Development, Africa Regional Office (PPD ARO), Population Reference Bureau (PRB), RTI International, and White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood (WRA).

 
Learn more about Health Policy Project activities in repositioning family planning in Africa