Making Family Planning Accessible to All through the Universal Health Coverage in Uganda

Denis Akankunda, Uganda Christian University
Angela Akol, Family Health International

More than 200 million women in developing countries desire to space or limit pregnancies but they lack access to family planning (FP) services. Of all women of reproductive age who are sexually active in developing countries, 57 per cent (867 million women) need access to contraceptive methods (1). Uganda has for long held a liberal policy on FP, which states that all sexually active men and women should have access to contraceptives without need for consent from partner or parent. Contraceptive use remains low, and one of the lowest in the world. As the push for universal health coverage (UHC) gains momentum in Uganda, prioritizing FP promotion should be given particular attention. In this book chapter, we present on key FP themes that are of development importance to Uganda. They include, population dividend, funding for FP services, social-economic dimensions of F, trends of unmet need for family planning, among others.