The Cost Effectiveness of Family Planning Services in Uganda

Abstract

Although Uganda has devoted an increasing amount of resources to health interventions, funding for reproductive health services as well as general health sector remains inadequate. This study examines the cost effectiveness of four family planning interventions, namely, oral contraception, female sterilization, injectables, and condoms. Using the 2006 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey and the Uganda National Household Survey data we estimate cost effectiveness ratios in relation to the number of births averted for women aged 15-49 years. We find that only one out of five women using some form of contraceptive and a quarter of the women using contraceptives rely on traditional methods that are less effective in preventing child births. With regard to efficiency, we find that injectables are the most cost effective intervention. Nonetheless, we do not recommend solely targeting women in the reproductive age category with this particular method of contraception without due regard to differences in physiology and socioeconomic characteristics.