By Uganda has placed the fight against maternal mortality at the centre of this year’s World Population Day (WPD) commemoration, with government officials pledging to strengthen grassroots health services and community development under the Parish Development Model (PDM).
Speaking during a media briefing in Kampala ahead of the national celebration, the Minister of State for Planning, Hon. Amos Lugoloobi, said the event scheduled for Friday, July 11, at Busaana Town Council Grounds in Kayunga District will highlight how improving maternal health is critical to the country’s socio-economic transformation.
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“Too many women in Uganda still die from preventable pregnancy and childbirth-related complications,” Lugoloobi said. “This year’s theme, Promoting Population Health and Well-being through the Parish Development Model, is a call to action. We must ensure that every woman and girl has access to the health services they need wherever they are.”
Lugoloobi emphasized that reducing maternal deaths is not only a health priority but a development imperative. He said integrating maternal health into the PDM a multi-sectoral strategy for shifting households out of subsistence will strengthen the delivery of essential health services in rural communities.
Pre-event activities in Kayunga District have included free health camps offering cervical cancer screening, antenatal check-ups, HIV testing, and family planning services. These, the minister noted, are “practical steps toward ending maternal deaths” by bringing care closer to underserved populations.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is expected to preside over the national event, which will also feature the commissioning of the Kayunga–Baale–Galiraya–Kasokwe Road. The road is expected to boost access to markets and public services, further anchoring development efforts in the district.
World Population Day is marked annually on July 11 to raise awareness of population issues and their links to development. Uganda’s 2025 observance aligns with the country’s Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV) and the ambitious Tenfold Growth Strategy, which aims to expand the GDP from USD 53.7 billion to USD 500 billion by 2040.
Hon. Lugoloobi urged local governments and development partners to rally behind maternal health as a national priority. “Improving maternal health is not only a responsibility of the Ministry of Health. It’s a duty for all of us, from the parish to the presidency,” he said.
