Uganda's Background
Uganda is a located in the African continent within the East African region, partly mountainous country, covers 197,100 square kilometers of land and 43,938 square kilometers of water, making it the 81st largest nation in the world with a total area of 241,038 square kilometers.
The pearl of Africa is dubbed with different beautiful gifts which make the relief of Uganda appreciable
People in this unique adorable country never regret for settlement. In fact the existence of great relief has prompted it to even become more hospitable towards refugees due to land that can accommodate people to live peaceful.
Uganda is surrounded with neighbors of whom it is in good terms with. These are:
- Democratic Republic of the Congo – west
- Kenya – East
- Rwanda – South west
- South Sudan – North
- Tanzania – South
Uganda’s latitude and longitude for the country are 1.1027° N, 32.3968° E. and uses a currency called shillings ( /=).
About Uganda's Health
The 30 million Ugandans living in rural areas, who are mainly subsistence farmers, have very poor access to healthcare
In the 1980s and 1990s, Uganda had one of the worst healthcare systems in the world. But that story is different today. For example, HIV infection rates reached 30% of the population then and have fallen to 6.5% today. The maternal mortality rate has dropped by 40%, from 561 deaths per 100,000 live births to 343 today.
How Uganda’s Healthcare Compares
Uganda is now outperforming Africa on these 5 metrics, although the country underperforms the global average or the U.S. Progress in public health is inevitably slow, with always one more hill to climb—like the topography of Uganda.
The steady progress reflects the leadership that the government of Uganda has provided in setting ambitious goals and putting programs in place to achieve them. Uganda was ahead of most African countries in providing free universal access to state health facilities beginning in 2001. This resulted in an 80% increase in visits, with over half coming from the poorest 20% of the population, but serious access and delivery problems remain. To that end, Uganda’s government is open to collaborating with organizations like ours, which is why we’re forging such a strong partnership to provide healthcare to rural Ugandans.
Uganda’s Biggest Healthcare Challenges
The biggest challenge for Uganda is inadequate resources. Uganda has five medical colleges and 29 nursing schools training people in Western medicine. Even so, there remains a shortage in healthcare workers, with only one doctor for every 8,300 Ugandans.
With 70% of doctors practicing in urban areas, where only 20% of the population lives, the coverage in rural areas is much worse: one doctor for every 22,000 people. Programs are in place to train community health workers, forming Village Health Teams that operate at the local level, but coverage has been too limited to solve the problems. The Uganda Ministry of Health conducts annual surveys that assess health system performance, and these have shown significant shortcomings in availability and quality of service. Customers complain about poor sanitation, a lack drugs and equipment, long wait times, rude service, and inadequate referrals. This uneven service discourages patients from seeking out professional care, especially in rural areas with longer travel times.