The document summarizes the results of a 2012 citizen report card study in Uganda that assessed citizen satisfaction with family planning services. The study found that (1) over half of households visited health centers for family planning but many faced stockouts and rude staff, (2) most users were satisfied but some reported side effects and long wait times, and (3) there is a need to improve access through outreach, educate on methods, and address misconceptions.

1. Citizens’ satisfaction of family planning services in Uganda
In 2012, Forum for Women in Recommendation
The report card provides valuable feedback to improve
Democracy [FOWODE] a women’s family planning services and provides important
rights national non-partisan information to guide policy makers and other key
organisation, commissioned a study in stakeholder to address the key challenges in effective
Gulu and Luwero districts to measure delivery of family planning services.
citizens’ satisfaction with Family
Planning (FP) services using a Citizens’
Report Card (CRC). By collecting
Forum for women in Democracy in 2012 commissioned a Citizen’s Report Card (CRC) study in Gulu and Luwero Ministry of Health
• Devise strategies for targeting men to support
family planning through use of mass media,
feedback on the quality and adequacy districts to measures the levels of citizens satisfaction, access and utilization of family planning services, community dialogue, scaling up integrated outreach
services and use of fellow men as peer mobilizers.
of public services from actual users,
the CRC provides a rigorous basis and • Promote the use of alternative family planning
methods with fewer side effects such as rhythm/
a proactive agenda for communities
and civil society organizations to Problem and Grievances redress moon beads.
• Increase funding for family planning education
Use of modern family planning methods in Uganda has
engage in a dialogue with government consistently increased over the last decade from 14%
and advocacy to change people’s attitudes and
21%
and service providers to improve Had a problem while at health facility. Major behaviour.
in 2001 to 26 % in 2011. • Recruit more health workers especially those that
the delivery of public services (PAC, problems included Lack of FP commodities,
handle family planning issues.
2012). The tool not only facilitates impolite staff absence of health worker, bribes
prioritization of reforms and corrective
actions but also provides a benchmark
43 % of modern family planning users in
Uganda discontinued using the method
within 12 months.
or pay for services.
National Medical Stores
• Increase procurement and supply of family planning
on the quality of public services as commodities used by men, especially condoms and
enjoyed by citizens.
7% Paid some money to access family planning services
68% of these reported to have paid for injectables
surgical kits for vasectomy and those used by
women with fewer side effects such as moon beads
and surgical kits for sterilization.
One way of improving reproductive Only 23 % of women practice birth control. and majority of these [90%] paid to a nurse.
health care in Uganda is to ensure that Health Facilities
family planning services are accessible • Increase on community sensitization and outreach
and affordable. The Ministry of Health Access and Utilisation Quality and Reliability Satisfaction activities in a bid to popularize family planning
methods at community level.
(MoH) has put in place maternal • Partner with relevant partners such as village
mortality reforms which include Households Satisfaction with family planning services health teams, community development workers
Majority [90%] received the
improving family planning services. that visited a and Community Based Organizations to mobilize
required services whenever they
In line with these efforts, the use of health center 81% people to effectively participate in family planning
visited a health center programmes.
modern methods of family planning for FP services
• Carry out proper investigation /testing before
has consistently increased over the provision of a family planning method to get a more
past decade, growing from 14 per cent suitable one in a bid to reduce side-effects
of married women in 2001 to 26 per • Sensitise people on the side effects of family
17% planning and how they can manage them.
cent in 2011 (UBOS, 2012). However,
Households that 2% • Improve on provision of information on availability of
contraceptive prevalence rates are still free family planning services at government health
did not seek satisfied dissatisfied neither-nor satisfied
very sparse. Although women want facilities.
FPservices
to reduce the number of children that
they have, only one fifth of married Civil Society Organizations
690 households surveyed in Guluand Luwero • Should lobby government for increased funding for
Only 11% reported that the
20%
women (23 percent) practice birth of those dissatisfied cited bad attitude of health family planning services.
control due to many factors including:
misconceptions about family planning; 57% visited the health center during the last one year [63% of these were
women]. Half of them [50%] sought for injectable contraceptives.
health facility carried out
outreach services on family
workers, 18% were dissatisfied with long hours of
wait, 10% inadequate information and 8% health
• Undertake community sensitization on the
importance of family planning through the use of
lack of information; limited access; Choice is influenced by inability to be detected by husbands. Whereas planning within their villages the mass media and community dialogues.
facility being too far.
costs; limited decision-making 20% of these went with their partners. • Deliberately target men in their family planning
power on reproductive choices; and, campaigns through the use of Information,
75% waited for less Education and Communication materials and mass
opposition from male partners (NCG,
2012).
75% of the surveyed households did not know when the
government health facility received family planning
thhour to get served while
at the health center
media
• Develop health information packages about the
commodities. rights of men and their responsibilities in family
planning.
Source: Citizen Report Card on Family Planning produced by Forum for Women in Democracy in 2012. WEB| www.fowode.org | E-mail: fowode@fowode.org
Forum for Women in Democracy