Lillian Lamunu and her husband are both out of work and are struggling to look after their six children who all have Sickle Cell Disease. Lillian is worried that if she doesn’t do something soon she might end up having another baby.
She spoke to one of RHU’s clinicians who told her that they saw she had a lot of problems and a lot of children. The clinician suggested that she went and got family planning but Lillian wanted something more permanent.
“I want them to remove my tube. Let me remain with these six children. Because my children were all born with Sickle Cell Disease and keeping them is very difficult,” said Lillian.
She opted for tubal ligation but her husband was yet to grant her permission to undergo the surgery so that she stops giving birth. “I know that he might be convinced but I don’t know when” Lillian added.
One Ugandan commentator said that in Gulu like the rest of Uganda, contraceptive use was still too low and their uptake was still largely driven by male dominated culture and patriarchal values.
Lillian said that it was very expensive looking after her six children who all need daily medication. “I don’t have enough money for keeping them,” she said. Much of her time is spent in hospital with her sick children so she says that she is unable to get a job.