| 01-05
March, 2010
First
Lady of Uganda Lauds the AFP Project
Kampala, Uganda —
The
First Lady of Uganda, H.E Janet Museveni,
has welcomed the Advanced Family Planning
(AFP) Project, which will help decrease
maternal deaths in Uganda. She noted
that family planning, which is not
only about spacing children but also
preparing for birth, is a big component
in maternal health. Advance Family
Planning (AFP) launched in Uganda
in March2010.
Mrs. Museveni made the remarks while
meeting the AFP project team from
Baltimore, led by Prof. Duff Gillespie,
at State House Entebbe recently. The
team accompanied by Dr. Jotham Musinguzi,
the Regional Director for Partners
in Population and Development Africa
Regional Office (PPD ARO), Beth Fredrick
and Maureen Greenwood. According to
a State House statement, the officials
briefed Mrs. Museveni about the increasing
demand for family planning in Uganda
and how the project could help increase
resources to meet the demand. Gillespie
said the project aims at increasing
funding and improving policy commitments
at all levels. The on-going activities
include reproductive health advocacy,
leadership development, knowledge
and innovation.
“Giving couples the ability
to choose the number and spacing of
their children will have tremendous
life saving benefits. This is especially
needed in Uganda where maternal mortality
rate is still very high,” said
Jotham Musinguzi, the Director of
Partners in Population and Development,
Africa Regional Office (PPD ARO).
“With the growing demand for
family planning services, it is imperative
to achieve greater political and financial
commitment to support long-term availability
of quality family planning services,”
he explained. The project aims to
capitalize on providing evidence to
policy makers of how family planning
stands to benefit the economy if they
invested more resources.
AFP is an evidence-based, three-year
effort supported by the Bill and Melinda
Gates Institute for Population and
Reproductive Health and the David
and Lucile Packard Foundation.
[
] |
|
|
