Govt taps PDM to curb teen pregnancies, boost school retention
A student interacts with officials in Kayunga District on July 5, 2025. PHOTO/KARIM MUYOBO
What you need to know:
- PDM to target schools as Uganda battles adolescent pregnancies.
The government plans to use the Parish Development Model (PDM) to help keep girls in school and reduce teenage pregnancies, according to the National Planning Authority (NPA).
Speaking during a population dialogue ahead of World Population Day in Kayunga District, Ms Judith Mutabazi, the NPA’s Manager for Population Program Coordination, said the PDM will be linked to schools to address poverty, which is a key driver of early marriages and school dropouts.
She said families often marry off their daughters because they cannot afford school fees or see them as a source of income through dowry.
“Education delays the age at which girls start having children. A girl who drops out at 12 is likely to begin childbearing early and have more children. But if she stays in school, she gains skills and is less likely to marry young,” Ms Mutabazi said on Saturday.
Under the new plan, the government will use the PDM to provide direct financial support to households. Officials say this will reduce the pressure on families to remove girls from school.
The government has so far disbursed over Shs2.1 trillion through the PDM, reaching over 1.85 million people through more than 10,500 SACCOs across Uganda.
Teenage pregnancy remains high in many parts of the country. According to the 2022 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey:
- 29.5% of adolescent girls in Bukedi had already given birth, and 3.6% were pregnant for the first time.
- In Busoga, 28.4% of girls aged 15–19 had become mothers, and 5.8% were currently pregnant.
Ms Mutabazi said under the National Development Plan IV (NDP IV), the goal is for every Ugandan child to complete at least 11 years of schooling, with an ideal target of 13 years up to university.
Uganda’s fertility rate has dropped from 5.2 to 4.5 children per woman over the last decade, but officials say more needs to be done to lower it further.
Derrick Okoth, Project Officer at Naguru Teenage Centre, said teenage pregnancy has stagnated at 24 percent for the past 10 years, with some regions higher than others.
“Our focus is on gender equality, sexuality education, and reproductive health services to empower girls to take control of their bodies,” he said.
The dialogue was organised by NPA in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Naguru Teenage Centre.
