Unmet need and the demand for family planning in Uganda

Uganda is the third fastest-growing country in the world. Contraceptive use is low, and the unmet need for family planning is high. This study examines unmet need in Uganda from 1995 to 2006, using data from three consecutive rounds of the Demographic and Heath Surveys. The study provides levels, trends and differentials in unmet need, the factors associated with unmet need, reasons for contraceptive non-use and the likely impact of reducing unmet need. Results show that unmet need is highest among currently married women. Unmet need is increasing among the all women group, currently married women, all sexually active women, and never married sexually active women, but remains low among never married women and formerly married women. Women in rural areas and in the Northern regions have significantly higher levels of unmet need. Unmet need for spacing is more prevalent than for limiting. While spacers and limiters tend to have more than two living children, spacers are significantly more likely to be without employment, live in the Northern region and have no contact with family planning in the media. Limiters tend to be older, rural women. Total unmet need is significantly associated with higher parity (2 or more children) and with living in the Northern region. Substantial proportions of women do not use, or do not intend to use contraception in the future due to the fear of sides effects and opposition from the husband or partner. Models estimate that modest declines in unmet need can substantially reduce the total fertility rate.