The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, has committed Parliament of Uganda’s support to follow up recommendations agreed to at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) Summit in Kenya.
At the 2019 summit, countries made a case for scaled-up investment, and moving the world towards achieving sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.
The Deputy Speaker told a meeting of African and Asian Parliamentarians at the Kampala Serena Hotel on Tuesday, 17 August 2021, that the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in Uganda caused a lockdown including closure of schools, affected the growth of the girl-child.
“Teen pregnancies have been on the rise particularly during the COVID situation. With the schools closed, girls have been conceiving at home because they do not go to school. A lot has to be done to talk to the teenage girls,” Among said.
“Attention must be paid to the deepening of inequalities on the continent and to ensure that the human rights of the most marginalised left behind, are protected,” the Deputy Speaker added.
The three-day meeting organised by the Asian Population and Development Association in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund is a follow up on the ICPD25 commitments.
She also said that whilst the world still had unfinished business with the ICPD commitments made at the first meeting in 1994, the Parliament of Uganda was playing a key role through legislation and appropriation, where women and youth groups have been funded.
“As you go back to your respective Parliaments, please ensure that you make strong laws that protect the women and youth, make appropriation of monies that support marginalised persons and carry out oversight to make sure these monies are used for the right purpose,” Among told the meeting.
The Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, said that as the population grows, its demands increase thus the need for MPs in Africa and Asia to advance the lives of their constituents through legislation.
Dr Jotham Musinguzi, the Director General of National Population Council observed that many recommendations of the ICPD remained a distant reality.
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