Deputy Speaker Tayebwa: "Gov't Should NOT allow proposed Contraceptives Usage in teenage Girls.

While on the floor of parliament on the 10th of October 2023, the woman member of parliament representing the people of Amuru District, Hon. Lucy Akello raised a matter of national importance, where it had been alleged that Government had earlier on had allowed girls from the age of 15 years to use contraceptive.

According to Dr Charles Olaro, the director for curative services at the Health ministry recently revealed that government is allowing girls as young as 15 years to access contraceptive services, a policy he also argues will reduce early pregnancies.

Hon. Lucy Akello further asked the Ministry of Health to explain if the age of consent in Uganda has been lowered to 15years from 18 & if Gov’t is no longer scared of HIV & effects of contraceptives on bodies of the teenagers.'

"Where is that plan coming from, have you done a study to find out the implications of the contraceptives on young girls who haven’t given birth? Even me who has given birth fear those things, what of the young girls? Yes, I fear and don’t use them, I use the natural method. Can you assure us that our children are safe with this policy you are coming up with?" Akello.

Though her motion was opposed by the deputy speaker of parliament, Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa. In his submersion, asks govt to reject proposed birth control for teenagers.

"This afternoon, I asked the executive not to approve the policy of allowing girls from the age of 15 years to use contraceptives. This was after Hon Lucy Akello, Woman MP for Amuru District raised this important issue on the Floor of Parliament. I equated this move to legitimizing sexual violence in Uganda. We cannot accept it. We pray that the devil doesn’t find his way and such thoughts should never come into the minds of our people because it would imply that we have given up on our girl children by formalizing defilement. That is clearly saying we have failed. We would rather strengthen the monitoring to ensure that we fight this vice but not legitimize it by giving such services, and I am glad it isn’t yet a policy"-Tayebwa.

Minister @MargaretMuhanga said that the news reports were alluded to by Charles Olaro, Director Curative Services at the Ministry of Health who posed it as a question & denied allegations that the Policy has been approved, but this prompted by the increase in teenage pregnancies in Uganda.

"We have so many teenage pregnancies, everyone who is sleeping with these girls knows that they are young & is defiling them, they are being married off to 65year old men. So, he suggested that should we lower the age of family planning to 15years & he was asking the audience. He is a medical doctor, he weighed the options, let the children get pregnant and die while giving birth, or let them take family planning if they can’t avoid it. Because it is in society. It was just a suggestion, it isn’t yet a policy," -@MargaretMuhanga