Uganda
We work with the Government of Uganda and local organizations to improve access to high-quality health care and reduce maternal deaths.
MOMENTUM is partnering with nearly 40 countries to accelerate progress and advance USAID’s work to save lives and improve health outcomes for women, children, families, and communities in all of their diversity. MOMENTUM brings together specialized technical and country expertise through six distinct yet integrated awards with the depth and breadth of experience to spur reductions in maternal, newborn, and child mortality and morbidity.
In Uganda, two MOMENTUM projects—Country and Global Leadership and Private Healthcare Delivery—work at the national level and in eight districts to help the country’s young and growing population access the health care they need to live long, productive lives. We collaborate with the Government of Uganda and local organizations to help more children access health care and to reduce maternal mortality by reaching mothers with reproductive health care. We also worked with health facilities across the country to help them stay clean and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reaching Ugandan Mothers with Reproductive Health Care
Voluntary family planning helps prevent maternal mortality by enabling women to choose whether, when, and how often to have children. It also decreases the number of high-risk births and complications during pregnancy or childbirth.1 MOMENTUM Private Healthcare Delivery works with the Uganda Private Midwives Association (UPMA), a national network of midwives and health facilities, to increase access to high-quality family planning, including in the period right after childbirth. MOMENTUM also works alongside UPMA to make improvements to its organizational governance and management capacity.
UPMA’s network includes more than 700 facilities across the country, and MOMENTUM provides direct assistance to 40 facilities in three urban districts: Kampala, Mukono, and Wakiso. UPMA will use learnings from the experience to build capacity throughout its network.
Read our blog to learn about our work with one of these midwives, Miriam Nabatanze Bwete, and check out our blog on USAID Learning Lab to learn more about our collaboration with UPMA.
Preventing Childhood Mortality
While Uganda has made steady progress in fighting infant and child death, there are still wide disparities in child health across the country.2 MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership is working with the Ugandan Ministry of Health to promote Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM)—a proven, equity-focused strategy for delivering key child health interventions to hard-to-reach communities. Together with the Ministry of Health-led iCCM Working Group, we developed an iCCM investment case for Uganda with clear financing requirements and evidence for sustaining iCCM services at scale, which is being shared throughout the government and with key donors and stakeholders.
Download MOMENTUM’s full investment case for iCCM in Uganda here.
Helping Health Facilities Maintain Essential Care During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic made it harder for women and children around the world to safely access essential health care. To combat the spread of COVID-19 and its effect on health care in Uganda, MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership partnered with the Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau from July 2020 to May 2022 to help 50 public, private, and faith-based health facilities in the southwestern districts of Kabale, Kasese, Kanungu, Kisoro, and Rukungiri prevent the spread of COVID-19. Working with the facilities and local governments, we provided quality improvement training and coaching, promoted data use for decision-making, helped complete minor repairs for drinking water and sanitation at health facilities, and provided resources on infection prevention and control (IPC). MOMENTUM also developed a guide to essential IPC supplies for health facilities in all service levels and contexts. The guide, which is the first resource to list all essential IPC items in a format similar to the well-known WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines, has been shared with districts and health facilities.
For more on MOMENTUM’s activities in Uganda to improve facility readiness in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and IPC, see our resources here.
Our Achievements in Uganda
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40 health facilities supported to provide family planning
MOMENTUM supports 40 Ugandan facilities in providing high-quality family planning counseling and services.
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50 high-volume health facilities supported with WASH and IPC activities
From July 2020 to May 2022, MOMENTUM provided support for WASH and IPC activities at 50 high-volume health care facilities.
MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: Jhpiego, Save the Children, Uganda Ministry of Health, Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau, mWater
MOMENTUM Private Healthcare Delivery: PSI Uganda, Uganda Private Midwives Association
Interested in partnering with us or learning more about our work in Uganda? Contact us here or check out our regional reference brief.
Learn more about USAID’s work in Uganda.
References
- Stover, John, and John Ross. 2010. “How increased contraceptive use has reduced maternal mortality.” Maternal and child health journal 14 (5): 687-695.
- United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. Levels & Trends in Child Mortality: Report 2020, Stillbirth and Child Mortality Estimates. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund. 2020.
Last updated February 2024.