Family planning is a proven low-cost, best buy intervention that saves lives and highly contributes to economic development and social transformation of a country. Currently in Uganda, there is overreliance on unstainable and unpredictable donor funding for reproductive health including family planning (FP), hence the need for governments to step up local resourced investments for health. Although FP has received attention and increased political support at the national level, the same has not trickled down to subnational level. There is an urgent need to prioritize FP at the district level, decentralized structures now mandated to offer service delivery to citizens.

As subnational policymakers routinely plan and budget for development priorities, there is an opportunity to inform their decisions and ensure that women, couples, and young people’s reproductive health needs are met. This guide is a tool to help advocates engage local governments to prioritize family planning in planning and budgeting processes at the subnational level. It provides a step-wise process for advocates to promote transparency and foster local relationships with champions, government, and diverse stakeholders to address the family planning needs of subnational constituents.

The advocacy steps outlined here have been tested by family planning advocates. Though it is intended for family planning, the guide could easily be adapted for other health priorities.