IPPF Africa Region Director Promises to support Reproductive Health Uganda

By Samuel John Mwesigwa

Kampala, Uganda: The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Africa region Director has committed to helping Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) become more self-sufficient in the areas of transferring knowledge, technology, and experience to boost Uganda’s sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services.

Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, the IPPF Africa Region Director who is on a three-day visit to Uganda, says Uganda used to have a struggling SRHR services sector to the extent that it was difficult to access SRHR’s services, but that has now changed courtesy of RHU and its partners, thanks to strategic investment in advocacy, financial management, and governance, as examples.

“I would like to appreciate the self-sufficient and compliant systems developed over time by Reproductive Health Uganda to match the global development trends in promoting SRHR’s services in Africa,” Marie-Evelyne said. We owe you to help you become ever more self-sufficient in terms of financial mobilization, strategic and business planning, and if anything like training is needed or upgrading financial management systems, we can be of help.

In the last five years, Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) and its partners moved from 13th position to third, behind Nigeria and Ethiopia, in 1st and 2nd position, in terms of providing family planning and SRHR’s services on the African continent.

Jackson Chekweko, RHU Executive Director (ED), says that what has worked for the organization is efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This translates into more than 1.5 million clients on average who receive family planning and SRHR’s services. The total in the last five years is just above seven million services offered to different clients by Reproductive Health Uganda.

RHU Board Chairperson Nathan T. Kipande appreciates the support RHU continues to receive from the Africa Regional Office, especially in terms of funding, policy direction, and technical assistance.

He says Reproductive Health Uganda is committed to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), including increasing access to information and services for our youth, and for the vulnerable, the hard-to-reach, and the many people now living in humanitarian settings of want and extreme squalor.

IPPF Africa Region Director Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry said IPPF and Uganda (RHU and partners) have lots in common and will continue to harness social enterprise for RHU to invest in social income-generating projects, self-sufficiency, and business synergies in many of SRHR’s areas.