View the latest family planning advocacy news from our partners.
Summary: On March 31, 2021, the Parliament of Uganda passed a national health insurance bill that outlines the general structure for a first-ever national social health insurance scheme in Uganda [1]. It was passed with a pre-set benefits package that includes a range of essential health services including family planning counseling and services.
In September 2020, cultural leaders from the Lango Kingdom in northern Uganda for the first time signed a joint/group resolution to promote family planning. The resolution, which impacts all eight districts in the Lango region, will focus on educating communities about family planning and integrating family planning into the kingdom’s budget and development plan. Lango Kingdom’s cultural leaders are custodians of local traditions and important influencers of community values and health seeking behaviors.
On April 29, 2019, the Mbale district resident district commissioner (RDC) issued a directive requiring all district media houses to allocate part of government airtime for health issues, including family planning. This directive is an important advocacy win; it will allow the district working group to leverage existing government resources to disseminate family planning messages—without having to secure additional funding.
February 13, 2019
In June, Kapchorwa district council in Uganda approved a framework developed entirely by local community stakeholders to monitor and track family planning supplies to the last mile. The first of its kind, the plan does not require funding and involves all stakeholders in the commodity supply chain to ensure that each one safeguards access to family planning and reproductive health commodities.
On March 9, 2018, the Uganda Ministry of Health approved and adopted a civil society organization (CSO) engagement strategy for the implementation of the country’s Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) Investment Case for the Global Financing Facility.
In December 2017, Uganda’s Bushenyi district chief administrative officer directed sub-county governments to allocate one percent of their total budgets to providing youth-friendly services, including family planning.
In November 2017, the Kanungu District local government, one of Advance Family Planning’s (AFP) focus districts in Uganda, launched its first ever five-year strategic plan for family planning. The plan outlines the district’s priorities for improving family planning from 2016 through 2020.
On November 6, 2017, the Mbarara district chief administrative officer (CAO), Fred Kalyesubura, issued a directive to all health facilities to dedicate a specific day to provide youth-friendly health services. The services will include family planning.
Advance Family Planning (AFP) and PAI’s new case study highlights the results of AFP’s first international advocacy diffusion workshop and the impact SMART advocacy efforts can have on achieving meaningful change in a variety of settings and issues—from improving health worker training in Nig
In a startling move, the Government of Uganda deferred the launch of the much-anticipated and vital 2017 National Guidelines and Service Standards for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
The second Uganda National Conference on Family Planning in September ended with Advance Family Planning (AFP) focus districts winning the majority of the inaugural 2017 Family Planning Best Performers Awards.