KAMPALA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) - Uganda's First Lady Janet
Museveni has launched a new family planning device called Moon Beads over the
weekend to help women control their pregnancies.
The device composed of a string of 32 colored beads
can help women know days when they can get pregnant, through counting the beads,
thus prevent unexpected pregnancy.
"I know that teaching or practicing family planning
for a backward population is very hard. But I urge you to work selflessly,"
Museveni was quoted by Sunday Vision as saying.
While launching the new device in Kampala, the first
lady called on local health service providers to ensure that such vital services
could also reach the needy people in the countryside.
The method requires an individual to move a ring
around different beads with different colors everyday starting from the red
bead.
Once the ring touches the white beads, it means it is
not safe for unprotected sex. When the ring moves to the brown beads it would be
safe.
Family planning is one of Uganda's key policies under
the Poverty Eradication Action Plan which focuses on saving women and children's
lives, reaching out to the youth and involving men in responsible decision
making.
The device is to be distributed throughout Uganda in
a five year project funded by the United States Agency for International
Development. Enditem
