GONE are the days when it was considered a prestige and sign of male prowess to have a large number of children because it made a lot of socio-economic sense then so the Basoga have now been urged to produce only manageable sizes.
Senior Presidential Advisor on Poverty Alleviation in charge of Busoga notes with concern that there are men who produce so many children with different women leading to the high number of single mothers in the region.
Mutyabule’s concern is directed at couples unable to properly cater even for the basic needs of their children like shelter, food and clothing, let alone education and health of the family members.
“…its only wise to have only the number of children you can provide for, not just having as many as you can, there are couples especially men who are guilty in this aspect, but this trend must change…”,Mutyabule remarks.
She also encouraged couples to have mutual and honest dialogue on reproductive health issues as opposed to men dominating and dictating on their spouses who traditionally have very little say.
Most women, especially those with low levels of education in the rural areas are not enlightened because they lack proper information and knowledge on reproductive health matters.
“…lets remove all the barriers through healthy and respective communication to enhance harmony related to good sexual decision making and healthy sexual relationships which include consent and pleasure…”, Mutyabule appealed.
The issues of childbirth and a high fertility rate, commonly referred to as Total Fertility Rate (TFR) have remained very sensitive in Busoga and many parts of the country where different leaders including religious, cultural and political always advocate for numbers.
Mutyabule says families can only engage in wealth and job creation activities when the parents are capable of providing all the welfare related issues like nutrition, health and education.
“…but if every year the woman is in the labour ward while the man is running everywhere, running to friends and relatives for assistance, then that family cannot get out of poverty…”,she pointed out.
In the past when the general health situation was not yet greatly improved, most parents would produce many children because some would not survive early childhood due to killer diseases.
Children were also considered a big source of free labour in families as education was not greatly valued as today so many couples were forced to produce many to support agriculture and grazing of livestock.
With apparent reference to the oft-quoted creation story recorded in Genesis 1:28 where God blessed Adam and his wife Eva and instructed them to ‘…be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it…”, the former President Mothers Union in Busoga Diocese cautions against interpreting the Bible out of context.
“…why should we painfully see sickly ,malnourished children suffering without education, while some dying prematurely because even God does not support the notion of producing children you cannot care…”,she said.
She also calls for a mindset shift among some parents who produce recklessly under the excuse that the NRM government led by President Yoweri Museveni will take care of them saying the government’s duty is to provide an enabling environment for citizens to engage in meaningful and gainful economic activities.
Mutyabule says some births are risky, meaning the health and life of the mother is at risk during and after certain types of child birth that lead to an increase in maternal and infant mortality rates.
What you need to know:
The Total Fertility (TFR) refers to the average number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime if she were to pass through her child bearing years conforming to the age specific fertility rates of a given period.
According to the 2022/23 Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) report, the fertility levels in Uganda have declined over time from seven children per woman to five between 1995 and 2016.
Available data also shows that Busoga is having the most fertile women standing at 6.9 children per woman higher than the national average fertility rate of 5.4% which experts attribute to nutrients in the body and ignorance about family planning methods in the two regions.
According to experts, risky births are defined as birth that are too closely spaced, or when the mother is too young or too old, or when the mother has too many children and all these can cause death or injury to the mother and her child or both.
Busoga also has a high teenage pregnancy rate of 25% compared to the national average of 24%with pockets of severe food insecurity, high school dropout rates where only 41% enrolled pupils complete primary education, 7.2% complete UCE level and only 2.8% complete UACE level.
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