BACKGROUND:
Today, there’s growing recognition that strong primary health care is a cornerstone of sustainable development, and the key to building the future we all want and deserve. The world has made tremendous health gains in recent decades. People are living longer than ever before, fewer children are dying in the early years of life, and access to lifesaving medicines and vaccines has skyrocketed. Yet it’s clear that meeting the health and development challenges of the twenty-first century requires a new approach – investing in health systems that can meet people’s diverse health needs at every age and every stage of life.
However, health systems around the globe still fall short of providing accessible, good-quality, comprehensive and integrated care. As the global health community is setting ambitious goals of universal health coverage and health equity in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, there is increasing interest in access to and utilization of primary health care in low- and middle-income countries such as Uganda. 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. Patients complain about poor sanitation, 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.
TISED-U is committed to supporting the frontline care of the health care system that is comprehensive and coordinated. It’s committed to supporting provision of multidisciplinary, patient-centered care to Tooro people with a focus on both the treatment and prevention of various conditions.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
- Improve availability of and access to health care services with a special focus on vulnerable groups such as women and children, through strengthening of existing services, promotion of health-seeking behavior as well as mobilizing resources for construction and equipping of health services.
- Improve quality of health care and treatment, including HIV/AIDS, with special focus on health infrastructure (physical equipment and supplies, including drugs for HIV/AIDS treatment, post exposure prophylaxis [PEP] kits, etc.) and human resource capacity.
- Improve health information management system to ensure availability of reliable data on the health status of the population, including on HIV/AIDS.
- Ensure availability of health education material on prevention of targeted diseases (malaria, TB, Covid-19, HIV/AIDS).