Dr. Amon Ashaba Mwiine, a lecturer at Makerere University’s School of Gender and Development Studies, told Nile Post that men’s exclusion from reproductive health programming has contributed to a narrow view of responsibility that burdens women disproportionately.
“There is a persistent perception that because a woman carries the pregnancy, the entire burden of reproductive health should fall on her. But pregnancy is a shared product. There’s always a man involved, and it’s essential that both partners are engaged,” said Dr. Mwiine.
He emphasized that programs need to go beyond acknowledging men's presence to actively involving them in decision-making and care responsibilities.
“It becomes very helpful when both partners understand that they are jointly expecting, and are jointly responsible for the care and well-being of that pregnancy,” he said.
According to Dr. Mwiine, transforming reproductive health into a shared responsibility would foster long-term gender equality and improve the success of health programs targeting women and adolescents.
He urged policymakers and health providers to abandon traditional frameworks that marginalize men and instead adopt inclusive interventions that encourage joint accountability in sexual and reproductive matters.
Alongside calls for male inclusion, experts have raised the alarm over Uganda’s unrelenting teenage pregnancy crisis, describing it as a national emergency that is being poorly addressed.
According to the Women Probono Initiative, nearly one in four Ugandan girls becomes pregnant before the age of 19—a figure that has remained unchanged for over a decade.
Rose Wakikona, the organisation’s Deputy Executive Director, blamed the government for failing to confront the root causes of teenage pregnancy, including limited access to sexual and reproductive health services and the weak enforcement of defilement laws.
“For the past ten years, every Uganda Demographic and Health Survey has shown teenage pregnancy rates fluctuating between 25% and 27%. This reflects a systemic neglect of adolescent sexual health needs,” Wakikona said.
She condemned the continued reliance on abstinence-only campaigns, arguing that such approaches ignore the realities of sexually active adolescents.
“We are not providing condoms, contraceptives, or even basic maternal services for girls under 18. Yet we expect teenage pregnancy rates to drop,” she said.
Wakikona also revealed that Uganda’s justice system is failing survivors of sexual violence. Only 1% of defilement cases result in convictions, she said, with many perpetrators escaping justice through bribes or informal settlements.
“Our justice system is failing survivors of sexual violence,” she stressed.
Call for Comprehensive, Youth-Focused Reforms
To address the crisis, Wakikona proposed a comprehensive response that includes:
- The provision of age-appropriate contraceptives
- Comprehensive sexuality education in schools
- Special courts to fast-track sexual violence cases
- A government-funded support scheme for survivors to access medical and legal assistance
“We cannot bury our heads in the sand and pretend teenagers are not sexually active. The real question is, are they having safe sex? If not, what are we doing about it?” she asked.
Wakikona further called for a national dialogue on Uganda’s age of sexual consent, noting that current laws often conflict with the lived realities of adolescents and may hinder effective policy responses.