By Judith Alowo
Busia district leadership has urged all private and public health care centers to offer reproductive health services.
The Acting District Health Officer, Fredrick Ouma, says that the health center should prioritize reproductive health services and create awareness about the availability and benefits of these services to women, men, and young people.
“create awareness at all health Centers, in outreaches and home care visits on issues of reproductive health to wipe out myths, misconceptions about reproductive health services like child spacing and planning for families,” Ouma said.
Ouma says this will reduce teenage pregnancies, increase a couple of years of protection (CYP), and also help reduce maternal deaths within the district.
Michael Kibwiika, Busia Resident District Commissioner (RDC), says it is a common practice for old men in Busia to marry young girls and impregnate them because they have no or little knowledge about reproductive health and rights (RHR). This has increased the number of school dropouts, unplanned parenthood, and children in the district. But Kibwiika is optimistic that with private partners supporting government programs aimed at offering reproductive health services, the people in the Busia district will benefit a lot from reproductive health services.
One such partner is Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU), which has offered free reproductive health services in the Busia district. Since April 2021, Busia district residents have benefited from family planning methods to improve their couple years of protection thanks to the free family planning services availed to them through the Breaking Barriers to Access (BBA-II) funded by Bergstrom Foundation, and run by Reproductive Health Uganda and its partners.
While addressing the district leadership at an annual project review meeting in Busia, Dr. Peter Ibembe, RHU Director of Programs, disclosed that we are all stakeholders in improving reproductive health services in the Busia district.
Dr. Betty Isiko, the RHU – BBA -II Project Coordinator says there are three health Centre III’s in Busitema, Buhebe, and Lunyo and six health centers II’s in Kubo, Buwumba, Buwembe, Mbehenyi, Bumunji and Busire that are now offering free reproductive health and family planning services in Busia district.
Edward Kiggundu, RHU Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator reports that 3,621 short term methods, 4,254 long acting reversible contraceptives and 45 permanent methods were offered to people in Busia district since June 2021.
Dr. Simon Lugoloobi, RHU Manager Technical Services believes that with the supportive environment from stakeholders, people in the communities and government reproductive health services will be accorded to the most vulnerable and underserved people in Busia district.
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