This document summarizes a model for engaging faith entities in family planning in Uganda. The model was implemented by JSI, FHI360, and partners to build the capacity of the Anglican Church of Uganda and UPMB to integrate community-based family planning. Key activities included identifying church and health facility partners, establishing a baseline of family planning messages, working with church structures to disseminate messages, and evaluating the impact on family planning uptake. The goal is to demonstrate how leveraging faith entities can increase access to family planning information and services in Uganda.

1. Marta Pirzadeh, MPH
FHI 360: Senior Technical Officer
CCIH Conference: July 15, 2017
A Model for Engaging Faith Entities in
Family Planning:
Creating partnerships in Uganda

2. • USAID-funded partnership
• Implemented by JSI and FHI360
• Provides grants management, technical assistance and
capacity building for community-based family planning
activities
• Partners with UPMB and CCIH to build the capacity of
Ugandan religious leaders to talk about family
planning/healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy
Advancing Partners & Communities

3. Background
• TFR in Uganda remains high (5.4).
• Unmet need: 28 percent of married
women; 32 percent of sexually active
unmarried women.
• Slow gains in overall service delivery;
need to identify barriers; teenage girls
and PPFP for young mothers
• Faith structures: significant resources
for FP/HTSP info and services but
underutilized; need for documentation.

4. Overview
Activities will:
• Improve capacity of the Anglican Church of Uganda and the
Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau (UPMB) to integrate CBFP
within Anglican Church structures
• Leverage complementary efforts in Uganda: E2A, Faith to
Action, IRH
• Align closely with USAID, FP2020, APC and Church of Uganda
goals

5. How we got here…
Education and
mobilization of
Uganda’s faith
community
Active engagement with
the faith community in
Uganda
Consultations, workshops,
and training of religious
leaders and lay members
Anglican
Church expressed
interest in HTSP
programming

6. Objective
• Establish multi-level holistic plan of faith networks to advance
family planning programs and services in Uganda.
• Conduct descriptive evaluation of “model” to assess effect of
activities on specific short-term outcomes (see model).
– Demonstrate how central church structures can use
congregations to promote FP/HTSP
– Show how leveraging faith entities can lead to increased
uptake of FP/HTSP

7. A Model for Engaging Faith Entities in
Family Planning
Clinic based FP Services
Linkages and
coordination

8. Four Health Centers
• Namutamba Health Centre III
• Kyando HCII-Mayuge St.
• Apollo HCIII-Entebbe Road
• St. Stephens Hospital-Wakiso

9. Partner Churches

10. A Coordinated Effort
• USAID
• APC (JSI/FHI)
• FHI 360/Uganda
• Church of Uganda
• UPMB
• CCIH

11. Key Activities
• Identify church structures and health facilities for program
implementation.
• Establish baseline of current messages about FP/HTSP in
sermons, CS activities and clinics.
• Work within church structure and social welfare groups to
diffuse FP messages.
• Pilot test the adapted materials and hold related trainings

12. Key Activities (2)
• Evaluate/review benefit of emphasizing services, pastor
training and mobilization of church groups.
• Compare baseline FP uptake to update after intervention.
Compare results by intervention dose if data permits.
• Disseminate lessons learned and adapt to other settings, as
relevant.

13. On the Horizon…

14. On the Horizon…