Busoga hospitals hit by scarcity of family planning items

JINJA. Hospitals in Busoga Sub-region have been hit by a stock-out of family planning items.

The kits include implant jadella, sayana press, depo-provera, emergency contraceptives, pills, male and female condoms, microgynon, injectable, implanon NXT and IUDs.
A visit to Bukatube Health Centre II in Mayuge District revealed that for the past five months, the hospital has been suffering scarcity.

Ms Sofia Kyakuwa, a nursing officer at the facility, said: “We have spent about five months without condoms and injectables yet we are in a trading centre with increased demand.”

“We only have sayana press, which is also not enough because we receive 80 of them a month instead of 120,’’ she added.
Ms Kyakuwa said cases of rape and defilement are rampant in the area which makes the lack of emergency contraceptives risky.

The director of Bugiri Hospital, Dr Stephen Isabirye, said the supply of contraceptives was constant; however, items such as jadella are out of stock.
“We have been having scarcity of Jadella for almost a year, Sayana Press, Injectaplan and emergency contraceptives for almost two months and have asked patients to buy them from the open market,’’ he said.

Female condoms shunned
Dr Isabirye said despite having a high stock of female condoms people have continued to shun them in Bugiri.
Ms Li llian Nabalyango, a midwife at Kamuli General Hospital, said since the year begun, the facility has been experiencing stock-outs of female and male condoms, sayana press, implanon and microgynon.

“I urge the government to ensure consistent distribution of family planning commodities to curb rampant stock-outs and provide women with a variety of choices.
“Implanon and sayana press are on high demand but are sometimes out of stock, prompting us to engage Marie Stopes,’’ she said.

The director of Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, Dr Edward Nkurunziza, said they usually experience stock-outs of family planning commodities before the next delivery.

The director Iganga General Hospital, Dr Charles Wako, said the shortage of some supplies for the past month affected service delivery.

A survey implemented by Jhpieogo, an international non-profit health organisation, indicates that some hospitals have endured stock-outs of commodities such as implants and IUDs due to high demand.

Government blamed
The Jhpieogo project coordinator, Dr Allan Katamba Semakula, attributed stock-outs to government’s failure to maintain its commitment to the funding.

Dr Katamba, said the scarcity in public facilities has caused low uptake in some districts, noting that some women prefer injectable methods of contraception due to their durability and convenience followed by condoms, pills and implants.

The spokesperson of National Medical Store, Mr Dan Kimosho, said: “Let me check and get back. I am out of the country and have to check.”

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