Health workers at Nabukalu Health Centre III in Bugiri District have raised concern over the high number of teenage pregnancies, saying dozens of girls under the age of 18 give birth at the facility every month.
The health workers say the facility handles between 320 and 350 deliveries monthly, with teenagers accounting for between 80 and 100 births.
The figures have raised concerns about the health and welfare of adolescent mothers and their babies, prompting calls for stronger community sensitisation, improved access to family planning services and greater parental involvement in preventing early pregnancies.
At Nabukalu Health Centre III, teenage pregnancy remains a major challenge despite ongoing efforts to educate communities about reproductive health and the risks associated with early pregnancy.
Damalie Kiwumulo, a midwife at the facility, said the number of teenage mothers seeking maternity services was overwhelming, with some girls giving birth at just 14, 15 or 16 years of age.
“Out of the total number of between 320 and 350 pregnant mothers we work on monthly, 80 to 100 are teenagers, which is quite overwhelming to us since we get even those at 14, 15 or 16 years of age,” Kiwumulo said.
Among the girls affected is 14-year-old Jane Nabirye, whose real name has been withheld to protect her identity. She said she became pregnant while in Primary Four, attributing her circumstances partly to the poverty her family was experiencing.
Nabirye said she sometimes sought casual work to meet her basic needs, including helping her family cope with financial difficulties. She alleged that some men took advantage of the vulnerability of girls seeking work.
“I was in Primary Four when I conceived, but it was caused by poverty at home. There were school fees to pay, and sometimes we would go to work for different people. That is where we found men who convinced us,” Nabirye said.
Her account highlights the vulnerability of girls from economically disadvantaged households, particularly those whose access to education and other basic necessities is limited.
Poverty, school dropout and exposure to exploitative relationships can increase girls’ vulnerability to early pregnancy, underscoring the need for interventions that combine reproductive health education with child protection and economic support for vulnerable families.
Gabriel Odeke, the officer in charge of Nabukalu Health Centre III, said the district had continued to conduct community sensitisation programmes aimed at preventing unintended pregnancies, but the interventions had yet to produce the desired results.
He said the facility was working with World Vision to strengthen community outreach, although limited resources remained a major challenge.
“The district has tried to carry out sensitisation in communities, but the situation has not changed. Here at Nabukalu, we are working with World Vision, which is trying to help us support our outreach programmes,” Odeke said.
He added that district statistics indicated that teenagers accounted for approximately 22 per cent of mothers in Nabukalu, a figure he described as worrying.
Odeke also cited peer pressure as one of the factors contributing to teenage pregnancies, noting that some adolescents may feel pressured to obtain items such as mobile phones and fashionable clothes owned by their peers.
He said some girls entered relationships with older men in the hope of obtaining such possessions, exposing themselves to the risk of early pregnancy and other forms of exploitation.
Beyond teenage pregnancies, health workers and community members have raised concerns about disagreements between couples over family planning, with some women reporting that their partners oppose contraceptive use.
Some men reportedly prefer larger families, while women who want to limit the number of children they have say they face resistance from their partners.
Fatuma Nakisige said some women abandon their preferred family planning choices because they fear being forced out of their homes by their husbands.
“Our men attempt to chase us from their homes when we go for family planning. We therefore decide to do what they want to safeguard our marriages,” Nakisige said.
The accounts point to the need for greater involvement of men in reproductive health education and family planning discussions, alongside efforts to ensure women can access contraceptive services without fear of coercion, discrimination or domestic conflict.
Community members have also cited economic pressures and limited employment opportunities as challenges affecting household decisions about family size.
Health workers say reproductive health programmes need to promote shared responsibility between partners while ensuring that women and girls can make informed decisions about their health.
Bukhooli North Member of Parliament Jamali Ayagalachi has joined health workers in sensitising residents about family planning, responsible parenthood and the need for families to have children they can adequately support.
Ayagalachi said the growing number of girls becoming pregnant at an early age was worrying and called for stronger community awareness to help prevent teenage pregnancies.
As part of the initiative, the legislator distributed maternity kits to more than 400 women to support hygiene and maternal care during childbirth.
He said the initiative was intended to provide practical assistance to expectant mothers while creating opportunities to discuss reproductive health and the financial responsibilities associated with raising children.
“By giving out these Mama Kits, I am trying to sensitise them because I am worried about the number of girls conceiving at an early age. I do tell them what to do,” Ayagalachi said.
He urged parents to consider their financial capacity when making decisions about family size, noting that raising children requires resources to meet their needs, including food, education and healthcare.
“Raising a child is very expensive, so they should reduce the overproduction of children,” he said.
Ayagalachi also called on the government to expand healthcare infrastructure in Bukhooli North, saying several sub-counties and administrative areas in his constituency lacked Health Centre III facilities.
He cited Buluguyi Sub-county, Namayemba Sub-county and Namayemba Town Council as areas where residents need improved access to health services.
The legislator said expanding health infrastructure would bring essential services closer to communities, including maternal healthcare, family planning and reproductive health education.
“I have several sub-counties without Health Centre IIIs, like Buluguyi, Namayemba Sub-county and Namayemba Town Council, yet it is the government's policy that every sub-county should have a Health Centre III,” Ayagalachi said.
The concerns raised by health workers and community leaders highlight the need for coordinated interventions addressing the underlying factors associated with teenage pregnancy, including poverty, school dropout, peer pressure, sexual exploitation and limited access to reproductive health information.
They also underscore the importance of strengthening maternal health services, protecting vulnerable girls, keeping adolescents in school and promoting shared responsibility in family planning.
For Nabukalu Health Centre III, where health workers report that dozens of teenage mothers seek maternity services each month, sustained community sensitisation, adequate resources for outreach programmes and stronger support for vulnerable adolescents remain critical to addressing the challenge.