Kampala — Population experts have advised policy makers to focus on improving people's quality of life.

With the country's population increasing by over a million in the last year, the experts advised the Government to invest more in housing, education, health, communication and transport infrastructure.

"The increase in population means that there is going to be stress on the available resources," said Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, the former director of the Population Secretariat.

Musinguzi was speaking at the launch of this year's annual population report on Wednesday.

The report, launched by the Population Secretariat, shows that Uganda's population has increased by 1.2 million.

The report also projected that Uganda's population would reach 29.6 million, up from last year's 28.4 million. With a 3.2% annual growth rate, Uganda's population is the seventh fastest growing in the world.

The report noted that a high population growth also implies that land fragmentation would increase, resulting into low agricultural productivity, hence, food insecurity.

It also showed that there would be problems in accessing clean water, education and health services.

Musinguzi urged the Government to put more money in health programmes like family planning and reproductive health, especially for women.

Population Secretariat acting director Dr. Charles Zirarema noted that 12% of women of the reproductive age group are undernourished, while 38% of the children below five years are stunted. He urged the Government to focus on education and nutrition.

Elly Mugumya, the executive director Reproductive Health Uganda, formerly Family Planning Association of Uganda, said the population increase meant that there was an unmet need for family planning.

Mugumya attributed it to financial constraints.

"About 41% of married women who want to either space or stop giving birth cannot access family planning services. The level of contraceptive use is low at 24%," Mugumya said.