In a memo to all Hospital Directors, In-charge and implementing partners, the Ministry of Health Director General Henry Mwebesa ordered for the immediate withdraw of the National Guidelines and Service Standards for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights especially the 4th Edition that had been published in August this year.

In September, the Minister of Health for Primary Health Care Dr. Moriku Kaduchu declined to launch the same guidelines at the Family Planning conference in Kampala. “Ladies and gentlemen I knew many of you came knowing that we launching these guidelines today but am sorry to tell all of you and to disappoint you that we are not launching these guidelines together with a second document.”

The Minister reasoned that the Health Ministry did not own the guidelines and that they needed to consult other stakeholders first. However, these guidelines had already been published in the news. The rejected guidelines were among other intending to offer contraceptives to children as young as ten years.