Uganda

About Uganda

Republic of Uganda, also known as the ’’Pearl of Africa’’, is a landlocked country it borders with Lake Victoria and Lake Albert in East-Central Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania.

Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region lying within the Nile basin, and has a varied but generally a modified equatorial climate. Although generally equatorial, the climate is not uniform since the altitude modifies the climate. Uganda’s elevation, soil types are predominantly warm and wet climate which impart a huge agricultural potential to the country. They also explain the country’s large variety of forests, grasslands and wildlife reserves. The official languages are English and Swahili, although a number of local languages exist.

Leading causes of Morbidity and Mortality

Malaria was still the leading cause of morbidity and mortality accounting for 32% of all admissions, followed by pneumonia at 8.5% and respiratory infections at 5.4% of all admissions.

Top ten annual notifiable diseases and conditions

AFP, cholera, neonatal tetanus, meningitis, dysentery, measles, malaria, guinea worm, rabies, plague, typhoid fever and, yellow fever

Top ten causes of morbidity

Malaria, No Pneumonia - Cough or Cold, Urinary Tract Infections, Intestinal Worms, Gastro-Intestinal Disorders (non-Infective), Diarrhea-Acute, Skin Diseases, Pneumonia, Other Eye Conditions, Injuries (Trauma due to other causes)

Top ten causes of mortality

Malaria, Pneumonia, Anaemia, Other Neonatal Conditions, Premature baby, Injuries: Road Traffic Accidents & Boda boda Injuries: (Trauma due to other causes), New TB cases diagnosed: Bacteriologically confirmed & clinically diagnosed, Hypertension (Old & Newly diagnosed cases

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

  • The Uganda Sanitation Fund Program was implemented in 40 districts. At least 7,901 of the 11,354 villages and the average latrine coverage now stands at 96%.
  • A total of 30,341 new hand washing facilities were constructed across all the 40 USF districts targeted by the program
  • Overall, 79.8% of households in Uganda had access to improved sources of drinking water
  • 96% of households were within 3 km of the main drinking water source

Nutrition

  • EAC Partner States are operationalized Regional Centers of excellence for higher medical training, research and service delivery for Nutritional Sciences and dietetics hosted by the University of Burundi

 

Innovations and Best Practices within a country

  • Investments in health infrastructure has continued and this included construction of new and rehabilitation of old infrastructure at various levels, provision of medical equipment and hospital furniture.
  • Conducted Indoor Residue Spraying in 1.3 million housing units in 26 districts in eastern and northern Uganda protecting 17% of Uganda's population
  • Improvement in ART coverage from 73% to 86%
  • The Integrated Human Resource Information System (iHRIS) has been established in all LGs and central institutions
  • IPT2 coverage for pregnant women increased by 16% to 63.2% from 54.5%
  • Inpatient malaria deaths decreased significantly by 52% to 9.38 per 100,000 from 20 per 100,000
  • A Total of 26.5 million LLINs were distributed country wide which decreased in the incidence and test positivity rate of malaria in the country.
  • Measles coverage  increased slightly to 88% from 86.7%
  • Antenatal Care four visits increased minimally to 38% from 37%
  • Health facility deliveries were increased slightly to 60% from 58%

Related Links

Policy documents

Download the country's most recent Health Policy Documents

No policy documents