…a new organisation! Marie Stopes Uganda (MSUG) is one of the country’s leading non-governmental providers of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, operating as part of MSI Reproductive Choices. Established in 1990, it works to expand access to affordable, high-quality reproductive healthcare across Uganda, with a focus on women, young people, and underserved communities. The organisation aims to reduce barriers to care by offering client-centred, confidential, and accessible services in both rural and urban areas.

MSUG uses an integrated delivery model that combines fixed health centres, mobile outreach clinics, and community-based providers known as “Marie Stopes Ladies”. It also runs a national contact centre that provides counselling, information, and referrals, alongside social franchising (BlueStar clinics), public-sector partnerships, and social marketing of reproductive health products to broaden access and choice.

Its core services include family planning and contraception, maternal and antenatal care, post-abortion care, STI screening and treatment, cervical cancer screening, and general reproductive health services, supporting both immediate health needs and longer-term wellbeing. For example, the BUUZA Campaign (“Ask” in Luganda) encourages women and couples to seek information early about fertility, pregnancy, and contraception. By using WhatsApp and toll-free lines to connect clients with trained clinicians, BUUZA reduces delays in antenatal care and helps prevent unmanaged complications.

For the Africa Evidence Network (AEN), Marie Stopes Uganda is a practical example of evidence-informed health service delivery in a complex, resource-constrained context. The organisation routinely uses service data, monitoring systems, and client feedback to improve programme performance and address access gaps, particularly for marginalised populations. Its use of multiple delivery channels also demonstrates how evidence can inform decisions about what works best for reaching different population groups.

For AEN members, MSUG provides a useful case of how evidence is embedded in implementation, how adaptive learning strengthens service delivery, and how partnerships across public, private, and community actors can be leveraged to improve health outcomes. It illustrates how evidence is translated into practice in sexual and reproductive health programming, with clear implications for equity, scalability, and health system strengthening in Africa.