In the Acholi Sub-region, the unmet need for family planning is approximately 39 percent, leading to a significant increase in teenage pregnancies. This issue has also been observed in the West Nile sub-region. The primary cause appears to be limited access to reproductive health services among sexually active youth.
Mr. John Bosco Olum, the Amuru District community development officer, pointed out that health facilities in the district lack the necessary infrastructure to provide safe spaces for young people, especially learners, to access information on sexual reproductive health. Supply shortages and stockouts in health facilities further compound the problem.
While teenage pregnancy rates decreased by 35 percent after the Covid-19 pandemic, parents in communities discourage their children from seeking sexual reproductive health services. In Zombo District of West Nile, teenage pregnancy prevalence is at 27.7 percent, surpassing the national average of 24 percent. This implies that 27 out of every 100 pregnant mothers in health facilities are under the age of 18.
Mr. Samuel Ucaki, the Zombo District community development officer, attributed this high prevalence to alcoholism and poverty, which drive young girls to engage in early sexual activities in exchange for material needs.
Mr. Bosco Odongpiny, the adolescent and gender officer for Lamwo District, highlighted the shortage of personnel and limited stock of family planning kits in handling the overwhelming demand for family planning services.
Dr. Charles Olaro, the Director for Curative Services at the Ministry of Health, recently announced that the government is revising several policies to address the issue of teenage pregnancies. He made this statement during a conference in Gulu City, convened by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to conclude its four-year Advancing Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (ANSWER) project, which benefited both refugees and refugee-hosting communities in the 14 districts of the West Nile and Acholi Sub-region. The project was funded by the Netherlands government with 25 million euros (about Shs98.5 billion).
Dr. Olaro reported that approximately 600,000 teenage pregnancy cases are recorded annually across the country. Mr. Daniel Alemu, the UNFPA deputy representative in Uganda, pledged continued support for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) activities to combat teenage pregnancies and control the spread of diseases.