By KT Reporter
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is rooting for efforts that offer choices, especially for people in Africa and Uganda in particular, on how to make their families, rather than relying on prevailing circumstances.
According to the agency, most Ugandan couples predetermine the size of the family, or number of children they would want to have in their lifetime, but their dreams are usually dashed by circumstances that are beyond their control.
Gift Malunga, the UNFPA Representative in Uganda, says this should not be the case, but that economic pressures dictate so, affecting population quality.
“The issue is a lack of choice, not desire, with major consequences for individuals and societies. That is the real fertility crisis, and the solution lies in responding to what people say they need: paid family leave, affordable fertility care, and supportive partners”.
He was speaking at the launch of a partnership between the National Planning Authority, UNFPA and Stanbic Bank, at which the latter donated 200 mama kits, ahead of the World Population Day due on July 11.
This comes at a time when Uganda’s fertility rate has dropped by 35 percent over the last two decades, from 7 births per woman in 2002 to 6.2 in 2010 and 4.5 in 2024, according to the NPA. According to the authority, this is due to changing attitudes, economic pressure, and improved awareness.
“At UNFPA, we believe that every individual has the right to have the number and spacing of children they desire without coercion or force,” Malunga said, adding, “We urge governments to invest in health, education, skills development and supportive policies such as parental leave, and access to sexual and reproductive health information and services, to enable informed and voluntary reproductive choices”.
According to the latest UNFPA report, millions of people are unable to have the number of children they want, not because they are rejecting parenthood, but due to economic and social barriers.
Furthermore, the report reveals that more than half of respondents cited economic issues as barriers to having children, while one-in-five people said they felt pressured to have children when they did not want to.
One in three adults experienced an unintended pregnancy.
Commenting on the State of the World Population, John Tumwine, Head Public Sector Client Coverage at Stanbic Bank, said, “That reminds us not just of statistics and projections but of people, families and the future we are all shaping together.”
He said the donation of 200 mama kits is a small but significant gesture, because behind each kit is a mother who deserves safety, a newborn who deserves a healthy start and a community that benefits when care is extended at the most critical moment, which is birth.
Appreciating the critical role that NPA and UNFPA play in shaping inclusive policies and translating vision into tangible impact, Tumwine said, “Together, let us reaffirm our commitment to a Uganda where every mother delivers with dignity and every child begins life with hope.”
First launched globally on June 10 2025, the report emphasised that the real fertility crisis is not overpopulation or underpopulation, but rather the inability of individuals to realise their desired fertility goals due to a lack of reproductive agency.
Drawing on academic research and new data from a UNFPA/YouGov survey spanning 14 countries, the report also reveals that one in five people globally expect not to have the number of children they desire due to economic and social barriers, rather than a lack of interest in parenthood-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
