The informal milk value chain in Uganda controls most of the raw marketed milk, albeit of poor quality. A study was conducted to assess the milk handling practices, the bacterial quality and the associated health concerns of raw milk along the informal milk value in Nakasongola District. The cross-sectional study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to obtain information from key players. The qualitative data was categorized and presented into emerging themes. Bacterial contamination of 200 milk samples was determined by morphological and biochemical tests. The antibiotic susceptibility test was done by the disc diffusion method. Hand milking was carried out mainly by men (92.5%), and most never or rarely practised hand washing (67.5%) during milking. Milk was mainly delivered to mobile milk-collecting centres located under tree shades (50%). The quality of raw milk was affected by poor hygienic, handling and transportation practices. Most participants (75%) were aware of the dangers of drinking raw milk and the requirements to transport milk in metallic cans. Viable bacterial counts above the recommended limit were recorded in 76 samples (38%) that included Staphylococcus aureus (46%), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (29%), Escherichia coli (12%), Streptococcus agalactiae (8%) and Salmonella spp. (5%). The overall antibiotic resistance was 45% (34/76), which included resistant isolates of S. aureus (17/34), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (11/22), S. agalactiae (3/6), Salmonella spp. (2/4) and E. coli (2/9). The raw milk contaminated with antibiotic drug-resistant bacterial pathogens is of public health concern. Thus, measures to improve the quality of milk need to be designed for the pastoral community in Nakasongola district.

Between 2011 and 2014, the program provided more than 330,000 family planning services, mostly to rural women in the informal sector with little or no education. 70% of the voucher clients chose an implant and 25% an intrauterine device.

Charcoal and firewood contribute to greenhouse gas emissions in rural and urban areas. Although there is information about energy types used for cooking in Kampala urban environment, less is known about the correlates of charcoal and firewood consumption. This study investigated the predictors of charcoal and firewood use for cooking using the 2014 Uganda Census data set. Analysis was conducted on 41,250 households in Kampala City. Multinomial logistic regression model was fitted to predict charcoal and firewood use. Findings indicate that older household heads were more likely to use firewood than their younger counterparts. Charcoal and firewood were more likely to be used in households whose household heads were females, married and formerly married, and lived in dwelling units with two and more rooms. Conversely, chances of using charcoal and firewood decreased with the level of education, living in detached house and flat, and residing in shelter with cement screed or tile/concrete. The findings have several implications including long-term planning for improving formal education conditions, strengthening female empowerment, and upgrading dwelling conditions of the households in Kampala City.

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Background Despite its great effectiveness, safety and convenience for women who do not wish to have more children; female sterilization method uptake in Uganda is very low. This study aimed at establishing factors associated with female sterilization uptake in Uganda. Methods Secondary data were sourced from the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS). We analyzed all (18,506) women aged 15–49 years who were interviewed in the 2016 UDHS. This sample was categorized into women who were sterilized and those using other modern methods. We used a Chi-square test to measure the association between the current uptake of female sterilization by the women and selected independent variables. Multivariate analysis applied the complimentary log-log model to determine the net effect of selected characteristics on female sterilization uptake in Uganda. Results The overall prevalence of female sterilization among modern contraceptive users was 2%. Female sterilization uptake was highly associated with age of 30 years and older (OR = 34.49;, 95%CI:13.33–99.88), middle wealth status (OR = 0.65, 95% CI:0.47–0.92), women who had ever given birth to at least four children (OR = 3.19, 95% CI:1.63–6.22) and decision making by either the husband/partner (OR = 2.42, 95% CI:1.55–3.78) or jointly between a woman and her husband/partner (OR = 1.38, 95% CI:1.02–1.86). Conclusions The uptake of female sterilization was very low, and this was associated with; age, household wealth, parity and contraceptive decision-maker. The uptake of Family planning programs needs to focus on male engagement to increase joint decision making on family planning issues especially those relating to fertility limitation. Government and its other implementing partners need to scale-up efforts that increase accessibility to information on female sterilization services for women who have completed their fertility.

11 Introduction: There is a high teenage pregnancy in Lake Victoria Island and Mountain districts of 12 Uganda. Teenage pregnancy is highly associated with abortions, infant and maternal mortality, high 13 rate of unemployment, school failure and drop-outs and limited future career opportunities. This 14 paper identifies and explains the factors influencing teenage pregnancy in Uganda Lake Victoria Island 15 shoreline area and mountain districts. 16 Methods: The analysis focused on 405 girls aged 15-19 years, generated from the 2016 Uganda 17 demographic and Health Survey. Odds ratios with 95% confidence interval and p-values were 18 computed using appropriate logistic regression models to determine the presence and strength of 19 associations between the teenage pregnancy and independent variables. 20 Results: Age, residence, secondary or higher education level, female-headed households, marital 21 status (married), occupation, wealth index(rich quintile), and knowledge of ovulation cycle were found 22 to have statistically significant associations with teenage pregnancy. 23 Conclusion: Increased age, rural residence, occupation(not working), and knowledge of ovulation 24 cycle were statistically significant predisposing factors of teenage pregnancy in Uganda Lake Victoria 25 Island shoreline area and mountain districts. Teenagers in these study areas should be provided with 26 sexual education as well as teenage-friendly health services at health facilities that include a wide range 27 of options, as well as medically accurate counselling and information could mitigate teenage 28 pregnancy. 29 Keywords: 30 Teenage pregnancy, predisposing factors, Uganda 31 32 Introduction 33 Teenage pregnancy and childbirth to women less than 20 years old continues to be a major global 34 public health concern, affecting more than 16 million girls and young women worldwide (WHO, 2014). 35 Teenage pregnancy is highly associated with abortions, infant and maternal mortality, high rate of 36 unemployment, school failure and drop-outs and limited future career opportunities. As a result of 37 increased awareness of the socioeconomic consequences of teenage pregnancy, researchers and policy 38 makers have concluded that teenage pregnancy and childbearing is a serious problem (Gebregzabher, 2

Introduction There is a high teenage pregnancy rate in Lake Victoria Island and Mountain districts of Uganda. Teenage pregnancy leads to unsafe abortions, infant and maternal mortality, high rate of unemployment, and school drop-outs. This paper aims at establishing the factors influencing teenage pregnancy in Uganda Lake Victoria Island shoreline area and mountain districts. Methods The analysis focused on 405 girls aged 15–19 years, generated from the 2016 Uganda demographic and Health Survey. The chi-square test statistic was used to establish factors associated with teenage pregnancy. Unadjusted and adjusted binary logistic regression analysis were conducted on explanatory variables to establish the predictors of teenage pregnancy in the Lake Victoria Island districts and the mountain districts. Statistical significance was considered at 5% level. Results The findings show that teenage pregnancy rate was at 48% in the Lake Victoria Island districts and at 24% in the mountain districts. Predictors of teenage pregnancy include; aged 18 – 19 years (AOR=4.78, p=0.000, 95% CI 2.85 – 8.01), being in a female-headed household (AOR=0.46, p=0.004, 95% CI 0.25 – 0.85), being in a “working” occupation (AOR=2.22, p=0.005, 95% CI 1.28 – 3.85), belonging to the “rich” quintile (AOR=0.54, p=0.03, 95% CI 0.31 – 0.97) and knowledge of any family planning methods (AOR=18.37, p=0.008, 95% CI=2.17 – 155.5)., Conclusion The factors associated with high teenage pregnancy in the Uganda Lake Victoria Island shoreline area and mountain districts include; age, sex of household head, occupation (not working), socio-economic status and knowledge of family planning methods. There is need for programs that promote contraceptive use among teenagers and household wealth creation projects, with special attention to dwellers in remote and hard-to-reach areas of the country.

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