The 2022 Uganda Demographic Health Survey (UDHS), conducted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) indicates a slight drop in fertility rates, teenage pregnancies, and child mortality, among other indicators.
The UDHS report was carried out across 20,631 households randomly selected in a total of 135 districts countrywide. All women aged 15-49 and men aged 15-54, whether they were regular residents of the chosen households or overnight guests, were included in the interviews.
For households selected for the male survey, water testing was conducted, and height and weight measurements were taken from eligible women, men, and children aged 0-59 months.
The latest results from UBOS show that the country still has a high fertility rate, although it witnessed a drop from 5.4 children per woman in 2016 to 5.2 in 2022.
The regions with the highest fertility rates are Karamoja 6.7 percent, Bukedi 6.5, Busoga 5.7, and Bunyoro5.5, while the lowest rates are observed in Kampala with 3.7 percent.
There was also a drop in Maternal and Child Mortality rates. Uganda has made significant improvements in her health indicators with a reduction in maternal mortality rates that have dropped from 366 to 189 deaths per 1,000 thousand live births. This includes all deaths in the period of pregnancy, irrespective of the cause.
Regarding child health, while more children are receiving immunizations, there haven’t been significant changes in mortality indicators compared to 2016. In 2022, 36 out of every 1,000 infants were dying, a slight decrease from 43 out of every 1,000 in 2016.
Child mortality declined between 2001 and 2022 was highest in West Nile, Ankole and least in Teso.
For children under five, the mortality rate dropped from 64 to 52 out of every 1,000. Neonatal mortality, representing babies dying before one month of age, decreased from 29 to 22 out of every 1,000 babies. Respiratory illnesses were a significant factor in these deaths.
Teenage pregnancies have stagnated at 24%, and they’ve even increased in urban areas.
UBOS collected data on various aspects, including marriage, family planning, maternal and child health, domestic violence, HIV information access, and nutrition, interviewing 19,077 women and 5,097 men from both urban and rural households in 2022.
Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng acknowledged the small improvements but emphasized the need for increased funding, better health education, and more healthcare personnel to bring about significant changes.
She also expressed concerns about the method used to collect immunization data, suggesting the need for digitization.
Dr. Aceng stressed the importance of education and family planning to address this issue. On a positive note, more women are delivering at health facilities, leading to a decrease in maternal mortality from 333 per 10,000 live births in 2016 to 189 in 2022.