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Cristin Marona

December 11, 2014 

KAMPALA, Uganda—Uganda’s Ministry of Health launched the Uganda Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan, 2015–2020 (FP-CIP) on November 27, 2014. Full implementation of the FP-CIP will reduce Uganda’s unmet need for family planning to 10 percent and increase the modern contraceptive prevalence rate among married women to 50 percent by 2020. Full implementation is also projected to increase the number of women in Uganda currently using modern contraception from approximately 1.7 million users in 2014 to 3.7 million in 2020. The total cost of the plan is US$235 million between 2015 and 2020.

Strategic priorities were identified to ensure that the current gaps in family planning in Uganda are adequately addressed:

• “Priority 1: Increase age-appropriate information, access, and use of family planning amongst young people, ages 10–24 years”
• “Priority 2: Promote and nurture change in social and individual behaviour to address myths, misconceptions, and side effects and improve acceptance and continued use of family planning to prevent unintended pregnancies”
• “Priority 3: Implement task sharing to increase access, especially for rural and underserved populations”
• “Priority 4: Mainstream implementation of family planning policy, interventions, and delivery of services in multisectoral domains to facilitate a holistic contribution to social and economic transformation”
• “Priority 5: Improve forecasting, procurement, and distribution and ensure full financing for commodity security in the public and private sectors”

The USAID-funded Health Policy Project (HPP), implemented by Futures Group, supported the Ministry of Health throughout an intensive five-month process to develop the plan, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)/Uganda and Advancing Partners & Communications (APC). HPP partner Population and Development Africa Regional Office (PPD ARO)—along with the Ministry of Health and UNFPA—originally voiced the need for a FP-CIP in Uganda and remained an influential contributor throughout. HPP supported the ministry to conduct a comprehensive situational analysis, including a desk review and consultations; identify strategic priorities; and solicit strong stakeholder input (through over 30 group consultations, in-person meetings, and an online survey). HPP also helped the ministry develop an implementation timeline; determine costs; and develop an implementation framework (listing inter-connected strategic outcomes and priorities, expected results, and outputs with intervention activities and sub-activities) to elaborate quantified estimates for outputs (i.e., output targets).

Hon. Sarah Opendi, Uganda's Minister of State for Health, launching the Costed Implementation Plan.

“This document is a game changer,” said Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, PPD ARO’s regional director of partners, during the panel presentation on the main themes at the launch. He also emphasized that Uganda’s highest-level leadership is currently very clear and firm on progressing with family planning efforts.

Rt. Hon. Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, the prime minister of Uganda, signed the FP-CIP, writing, “The Government of Uganda is committed to providing the required leadership to coordinate and implement the FP-CIP, so as to ensure that every Ugandan has the right to health, education, autonomy, and personal decision making about the number and timing of their childbearing.”

At the launch, Professor Dr. Anthony Mbonye (director, health services, community and clinical, Ministry of Health and chair of the Task Force for the FP-CIP) stated, “I have known several cost-effective interventions. Above all, family planning is the most cost-effective intervention known in public health. Family planning helps couples space their children and to achieve their desired FP size. It also helps them on house savings. The CIP will help us mobilize resources to implement FP in this country.”

Also at the launch, Ms. Cecile Compaore, the deputy country representative of UNFPA/Uganda, stated, “Let us take advantage of the leadership demonstrated by the Ministry of Health and the commitment shown by the government to coordinate partners and stakeholders to increase access to family planning.”

Other attendees included officials and representatives from the Ministry of Education and Sports; the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MOFPED); the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development; the Ministry of Urban Planning; the Parliament of Uganda; and the Population Secretariat. A large number of district health officers were in attendance, along with other district leaders and representatives from civil society organizations and international donor agencies.

Uganda’s FP-CIP aligns with the Health Sector Strategic Plan III for 2010/11–2014/15 and related strategic plans for HIV/AIDS, reproductive health commodity security, reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality, and adolescent health policies. However, the specific aim of the FP-CIP is to specify the interventions and activities to be implemented and to itemize the financial and human resources needed to meet the comprehensive national FP goals. This will help women achieve their human rights to health, education, autonomy, and personal decision making about the number and timing of their childbearing, and support the achievement of gender equality.

Download the FP-CIP and learn more about HPP's work to support countries in attaining their ambitious Family Planning 2020 commitments here: http://www.healthpolicyproject.com/index.cfm?ID=topics-FP2020.