Family Planning Services in Bwindi

This report provides an update on Conservation Through Public Health’s (CTPH) initiative (#67801) on GlobalGiving, titled “Family Planning Services in Bwindi. Our last report was published in March 2025. By then, the campaign had received $710. To date, the project has received $860 raised of $50,000 goal.

Project Background

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) hosts 43% of the remaining mountain gorillas worldwide, highlighting its importance for conservation efforts. Nonetheless, the local communities encounter considerable difficulties, such as rapid population growth and insufficient access to family planning resources. In 2020, Uganda's modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) for women stood at 30.4%, with a national aim to raise it to 39.6% by 2025. The unmet need for family planning was reported at 17% in 2020, with a target to decrease it to 15% by 2025. This restricted access leads to increased poverty, greater strain on natural resources, encroachment on habitats, and the transmission of zoonotic diseases. CTPH integrates the One Health and Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) approaches in all its work around protected areas. PHE projects recognize the interconnections between human health, animal health and the environment, recognizing the need for sustainable resource management.

By improving access to health services, including family planning, while promoting environmental conservation, these projects help communities adjacent to protected areas like BINP achieve better health outcomes, manage natural resources effectively, and reduce population pressures on ecosystems. Therefore, the Family Planning Services in Bwindi initiative was launched to tackle these issues by training community volunteers, known as the Village Health and Conservation Teams (VHCTs), to deliver voluntary family planning services directly to households. By employing this strategy, the project seeks to enhance reproductive health, reduce poverty, and strengthen conservation initiatives.

Project Progress

Training of VHCTs on Family Planning This quarter, Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), in collaboration with Subcounty and Town Council Health Inspectors, Health Assistants, Midwives, and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) Community Conservation Rangers, conducted a refresher training for 430 Village Health and Conservation Team (VHCT) members, 51% of whom were women from eight frontline parishes encompassing 59 villages surrounding Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP). VHCTs pose with their IEC material after the training The training aimed to strengthen the VHCTs’ capacity to deliver integrated public health and conservation behavior change messages at the household level. Participants received performance feedback from the latest quarterly monitoring and were equipped with strategies to address key lagging indicators.

Additionally, VHCTs were trained on how to effectively use the newly developed Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials, which were also distributed to all VHCTs during the sessions. The training combined both theoretical and practical components to ensure confident and impactful community engagement. In addition, the training provided hands-on skills in family planning service delivery, with a focus on Sayana Press, including client screening, identifying side effects for referral, and addressing myths, misconceptions, and cultural barriers. The training also helped to strengthen referral pathways between VHCTs and health facilities to ensure improved access to services within the community. The annual refresher training of trainers is one of our strategies to increase the proportion of households around BINP that meet the Model household GREEN status (at least 9 out of 12 of our One Health model household performance indicators) which now stands at 61% up from only 22% when the house holds grading approach was launched just over three years ago in March 2022 What VHCTs say "Our family planning services have greatly helped me plan well for my family on how to space our children and have manageable children. This has greatly improved our life for the better and I am forever grateful for our family planning services." Rukundo Solomon, a VHCT from Mukono parish. "I benefited from CTPH family planning services. They have helped me look healthy and I am able to feed my children well on a balanced diet. I am also able to regain health after giving birth and before having another baby, which helps me to remain looking beautiful which has improved my lifestyle." Ninsima Allen, a community member from Kanyamisinga village, Mukono parish.

This report provides an update on Conservation Through Public Health’s (CTPH) initiative (#67801) on GlobalGiving, titled “Family Planning Services in Bwindi. “The project has so far received 9 donations totalling $710 raised of $50,000 goal.”

Background

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) hosts 43% of the remaining mountain gorillas worldwide, highlighting its importance for conservation efforts. Nonetheless, the local communities encounter considerable difficulties, such as rapid population growth and insufficient access to family planning resources. In 2020, Uganda's modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) for women stood at 30.4%, with a national aim to raise it to 39.6% by 2025. The unmet need for family planning was reported at 17% in 2020, with a target to decrease it to 15% by 2025. This restricted access leads to increased poverty, greater strain on natural resources, encroachment on habitats, and the transmission of zoonotic diseases. 

CTPH integrates the One Health and Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) approaches in all its work around protected areas. PHE projects recognize the interconnections between human health, animal health and the environment, recognizing the need for sustainable resource management. By improving access to health services, including family planning, while promoting environmental conservation, these projects help communities adjacent to protected areas like BINP achieve better health outcomes, manage natural resources effectively, and reduce population pressures on ecosystems. Therefore, the Family Planning Services in Bwindi initiative was launched to tackle these issues by training community volunteers, known as the Village Health and Conservation Teams (VHCTs), to deliver voluntary family planning services directly to households. By employing this strategy, the project seeks to enhance reproductive health, reduce poverty, and strengthen conservation initiatives. 

Project Progress

• Training of VHCTs on Family Planning: Initially planned for an earlier period, the training has been postponed to April 2025 due to financial constraints. The delay has affected the scale at which new VHCTs can be equipped with essential family planning knowledge and tools.

• Routine Household Visits & Family Planning Education: Despite financial constraints, VHCTs have continued routine household visits through the One Health Model Household initiative. One of the key indicators being assessed is the number of households with family planning needs met within a year around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP). This initiative emphasizes community engagement and awareness creation on voluntary family planning methods, ensuring continued access to essential information and services for families in need.

The percentage of families/households voluntarily taking up family planning services is gradually increasing from only 42% in 2022 to 50% in 2023 and 51% in 2024, implying that the majority of the households (5,406) in the 8 frontline parishes around BINP now use family planning services despite limited supply in the area.

Challenges

• Financial Constraints: A funding gap has delayed the training of new VHCTs, limiting the expansion of services,
• Limited Access to Resources: Community members still face challenges in accessing family planning commodities due to long distances and inadequate supply chains.
• High Demand for Services: The high unmet need for family planning continues to place pressure on available resources and trained personnel.

Next Steps

• Conduct the postponed VHCT training to the second quarter in May 2025 to strengthen service delivery, to improve the uptake of voluntary family planning around BINP.
• Continue household visits to promote awareness and access to voluntary family planning.
• Mobilize additional funding to ensure the sustainability and scalability of the project.

Long-Term Impact

This initiative contributes to reducing human-wildlife conflict by managing population growth, mitigating resource competition, and improving health outcomes for communities. It also plays a crucial role in conserving the mountain gorilla population by addressing the root causes of habitat encroachment and poaching.

Call for Support

We still need $49,290 to reach our project goal, and securing additional funding is essential for the successful implementation of VHCT training, family planning activities, and expanded community outreach. Your continued support will improve reproductive health services while also promoting conservation efforts in Bwindi.

Links:

• Visit our website for more information