Mbale

The districts Mbale, Bu­tebo, Bukedea und Budaka in eastern Uganda have a population of over 872,165 and are important centers of regional agriculture. Despite their potential, they face a number of challenges, especially in the health sector.

Access to basic health services is hardly possible for many people in these remote rural areas. The situation in the field of obstetrics is especially critical. The few state healthcare facilities are often overfilled and poorly equipped. Although Uganda has achieved progress in their healthcare system throughout the country, like a reduction in child mortality, medical provision remains severely limited in these districts.

An additional barrier is the inadequate infrastructure, which makes access to the above-named districts more difficult during the rainy season and provision of essential medical supplies even more precarious.

Creating Common Solutions

In close cooperation with the organization Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum (UYAHF), the German Doctors and the Swiss Doctors have initiated a new medical project staffed by a local team and volunteer doctors to rectify these deficits. We aim to sustainably improve medical provision in this hitherto neglected region.

The project will be implemented in four state healthcare facilities per district and their catchment areas. These consist of various measures in the healthcare sector which should sustainably contribute to overcoming the existing structural deficits and to provide an improved and sufficient medical provision for the regional populations.

Project ­start: January 2025; medical missions begin in May 2025

Number of volunteer doctors: Two doctors at each facility for six weeks or three months

Partner organization: Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum (UYAHF)

Structure: The local colleagues and the volunteer doctors work in rotation in four state healthcare facilities per district. Quarterly outreaches for medical consultations are additionally offered in remote areas.  A further priority is work with a young target group, for whom, for example, health-information activities in schools and forums for young mothers are planned.

Project areas: Mbale, Butebo, Bukedea, Budaka

Frequent health problems: The most frequent health problems in these districts are malaria, pulmonary infections, and undernourishment. There is also a growing need for services in connection with mother-and-child health, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis.  

Project­ goals:

• Basic medical provision for vulnerable populations
• Strengthening of mother-child health
• Prevention and health information
• Promotion of health awareness
• Training of local health workers

Target group: Our target group consists of all individuals who require medical services.

Many people in this rural area are confronted daily with the lack of basic medical services, from the lack of diagnostic equipment to a lack of medicines. Above all, the impoverished population is excluded from the expensive private health insurances and left out on the cold, health wise.

We cooperate closely with 16 local healthcare facilities to strengthen the provision of basic healthcare in the region and to provide access to healthcare services for the rural population. These are manned by our voluntary doctors in rotation according to a fixed schedule. This close cooperation serves not only to cover the acute need. It is also our goal to strengthen the healthcare personnel in the long term, to exchange knowledge, and establish ‘best practices’ from which the population in the districts  Mbale, Butebo, Bukedea und Budakawill will also profit in the future.  

Mobile clinics bring the urgently needed medical aid to rural areas

We conduct medical consultations in remote areas on a quarterly basis to serve the needs of the population. These offer not only basic medical provision but also urgently needed help in recognizing chronic diseases, like hypertonus or diabetes. They also serve as a contact point for health advice, information, and follow-up.

Many children grow up without an awareness of a healthy lifestyle; young mothers are often left on their own when it comes to healthy nourishment or family planning. To interrupt this vicious cycle in the districts, we rely on sustainable and targeted education provided by people on site who want to strengthen the basic healthcare provision in their communities.

A central component of this measure is ongoing education of healthcare personnel, like village health teams, social workers, and peer mothers. They are taught by state-educated trainers and learn to pass on their knowledge about disease prevention, hygiene, nourishment, family planning, and first aid. These specialists are often the first such contact persons in the communities and provide valuable input directly where it is most urgently needed.

Together with our local partner organization, Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum (UYAHF), we organize educational activities to promote health awareness in the communities. The aim of these events is to strengthen health awareness, to refute myths, and to enable individuals to better protect themselves and their families.

A particular priority is our work with young people. School outreaches convey important knowledge to children and youths about their health. We create forums for young mothers, often still teenagers, in which they learn about healthy nourishment, family planning, and disease prevention.

The districts Mbale, Butebo, Bukedea und Budaka are located in eastern Uganda, near Mount Elgon. They are primarily populated by small farming communities which grow basic foodstuffs like millet, rice, peanuts, and corn, as well as coffee and cassava. Livestock, especially goats and cattle, is also common. Despite intensive farming, many households suffer from nourishment insecurity due to droughts, floods, and poor harvests.

These districts are confronted with high poverty and illiteracy rates. The poverty rate in the  Budaka district is 43.9 percent, which means that almost half of the population must survive on less than one US dollar a day.

Illiteracy is a widespread problem, especially in rural areas. This strongly limits the chances for a better life. Although state primary schools are almost free, many children must leave school early. Hidden costs, like for school uniforms, books, and meals, make school attendance for many families financially prohibitive. A further reason for dropping out of school is that girls marry early, which strongly hampers their educational opportunities.

Living conditions in the districts are often very simple. Many families live in small, provisional houses with sheet-metal roofs and adobe walls. The infrastructure is usually inadequate. The streets are lined by numerous kiosks which sell food, used clothing, and household goods.