The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Katikkiro of Buganda Kingdom Charles Peter Mayiga has appealed for a review of Uganda’s population control strategy. Mayiga says that poverty is a key issue in the country’s population growth that should be prioritized.
According to Mayiga, the government and other population control players should ensure that people are meaningfully employed or engaged in economic activities which will eventually deter them from going into acts that result in giving birth.
“…Because the economic activity is extremely exhausting and people will have to rest so they will not go into acts that result in giving birth. But also economic activities enable you to get the ordinary amenities which everyone wants in a home,” said Mayiga.
He was on Wednesday interfacing with officials from Population Media Centre-PMC led by their National Representative Patrick Lubowa Bwanika who sought to partner with Buganda Kingdom in different development activities like the ‘Mwanyi Telimba’ campaign which aims at empowering people economically.
The Population Media Centre is an entity engaged in production of drama skits through which they educate masses about reproductive health, nutrition, women rights and environmental conservation.
According to a statement recently tabled before Parliament by the Minister of State for Planning David Bahati, Uganda’s population has grown fast over the last decades from 16.7 million in 1991 to 34.9 million in the 2014 Census. The population is currently estimated to be 44.5 million and projected to increase to 56 million in 2030 and 102 million in 2050.
The key drivers for the rapid growth according to the Ministry are high fertility and declining mortality resulting in a high population growth rate of 3.0 per cent.
“We must prioritize the well being of the ordinary people. The leaders especially must be concerned about how people live. We must be concerned about the standards of living. That can only happen if we initiate strategies that can be of the economic benefit to the ordinary people especially in the villages,” Mayiga added.
He said that organizations involved in the welfare of people and concerned about fertility must rethink the strategy towards population growth. He noted that somebody who doesn’t earn will still find it very difficult to take of the few children he or she has to school or provide them with medical care yet somebody who earns can comfortably take care of many children.
Patrick Lubowa Bwanika, the Population Media Centre National Representative said that key partnerships with different entities in the country will help create a great impact regarding population growth.
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