July 11, 2014_ Uganda today joined the rest of the world to celebrate World Population Day with a call on government to support efforts that promote young people’s aspirations. The celebrations held at Angwekibange Primary School gardens in Dokolo District were held under the theme ‘ Investing in young people today to ensure a bright future for Uganda’.The Vice President of Uganda, Hon. Edward Ssekandi presided over the celebrations on behalf of the Predident of Uganda, Yoweri K. Museveni.
In a speech read for him by the Vice President, President Museveni called on all Ugandans to participate in the forthcoming Census due on August 28, 2014 to facilitate government’s planning process. He said although government cannot control the population growth, it can, through proper planning, ensure that citizens have manegeable families with adequate facilities.
While inspecting the stall for Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), Hon. Ssekandi who was given a copy of the Tobacco Tontrol Bill 2014 committed his personal and the entire government’s support to the TC Bill. He was informed that currently, 15.1 % of girls and 20.6 % of boys smoke, a dangerous trend that needs to addressed as we focus on empowering young people to contribute meaningfully to socio _ economic development.
The Minister for Finance Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Matiya Kasaija said that Uganda’s population growth is at 3.2 % , which he said puts pressure on services particularly health and education. He stressed the need for responsible reproductive health practices to address the challenges.
The Ag. Director Population Secretariat Charles Zirarema revelealed that currently, 78% of Ugandans are young people aged 15_24, which is likely to increase with the high fertility rate of 6.2%. This, he added, calls for proper planing to devise programmes aimed at addressing the related challenges.
Various reproductive health services including cancer screening, HIV AIDS testing & counselling were freely provided to the local populace who turned up big numbers.