On 26th September 2026, Partners for Healthy Individuals and Communities (PHIC) joined the Ministry of Health Uganda and other development partners in Namisindwa District to commemorate World Contraception Day 2026, held under the theme “A Choice for All: Agency, Intention, Access.” Partners at the commemoration included Jhpiego, Reproductive Health Uganda, Marie Stopes Uganda, CEHURD Uganda, DKT Uganda, PSI Uganda, Pathfinders Uganda, UNFPA and Makerere University.
Namisindwa was not chosen at random. Teenage pregnancy in the district stands at 27%, alongside some of the lowest contraceptive uptake in the country. These are statistics that are difficult to sit with, because behind every figure is a young person whose education, health and future are at stake. The Ministry of Health, PHIC and partners came together in Namisindwa with a shared commitment to change this trajectory.
PHIC’s Executive Director, Daniel Watenga, used the platform to highlight PHIC’s work with adolescents and young people, from SRHR education in schools and youth health camps, to community outreaches and the training and mentorship of health workers to deliver quality, youth-responsive family planning services in public health facilities. He called for improved access to responsive adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, including services that help prevent teenage pregnancy.
PHIC also joined partners for the successful launch of the National Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan III (FP-CIP III), reaffirming the importance of collective action for better SRH outcomes for adolescents, young people and communities across Uganda.
The event was also encouraged by commitments from Members of Parliament in attendance, Hon. Peace Khalayi and Hon. John Musila, who pledged to lobby for improved health budget allocations and to work with stakeholders to address teenage pregnancy. PHIC welcomed these commitments and will continue to engage, follow up and hold leaders accountable to the promises made to our communities.
PHIC thanks the Ministry of Health, our fellow partners — Jhpiego, Reproductive Health Uganda, Marie Stopes Uganda, CEHURD Uganda, DKT Uganda, PSI Uganda, Pathfinders Uganda, UNFPA, Makerere University — and in particular the Hivos Regional SRHR Fund, whose support makes PHIC’s adolescent and youth SRHR work possible, as well as the leaders who committed to action. A choice for all means agency, intention and access, and we will keep working until every adolescent and young person in Uganda has all three.
