As global crises, cuts to cooperation aid and short-sighted policy decisions increasingly jeopardize the right to health, essential services are being denied to millions. This edition of Health and Development features reports from the field on inequalities and difficulties, but also signs of resilience. Now more than ever, providing healthcare requires courage, vision and responsibility.

Even as Italy acknowledges its need for migrants, it remains laser-focused on keeping unauthorized migrants and asylum seekers out, and harshly treating those who find their way in. Those who come through legal channels, too, encounter scant investment and difficulty in acquiring Italian citizenship. Is there an invisible line drawn between migrants and “patria”?

Achieving truly inclusive health systems is no easy task. In Uganda, where Universal Health Coverage is set as a 2030 goal, structural disparities between urban and rural areas, resource constraints, and aid dependency remain key hurdles, yet they also inspire locally driven innovations.

Delivering on the right to health starts with strong, resilient health systems. Aliyi Walimbwa is an expert in health systems strategies and policies from the Uganda Ministry of Health. In this interview, he shares insights into the strategies being pursued to improve healthcare access, reduce financial burdens on families, and overcome systemic obstacles.

How to address publich health emergencies in limited resources regions? How to respond to epidemics outbreaks and crisis? Some lessons come from Uganda’s experience, a country that has faced Ebola, malaria, tubercolsis and, more recently, COVID-19.

In Uganda, hospitals play a broader role than clinical care. They are key pillars for training, local access, and the protection of communities. Dr. Sam Orach, Executive Secretary at the Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau, outlines how the network is responding to the demands of Universal Health Coverage while facing underfunding, shifting priorities, and the need to balance accessibility with long-term sustainability.

Working in a Ugandan district means being involved on multiple levels – from the hospital to the community, from procurement to health centers. It also means engaging both nationally and globally while maintaining strong ties with local staff and the rural dimension of the district itself.

In Africa, too, research topics and the practical applications of findings advance over time. A case in point is our work in the rural region of Karamoja, Uganda, where we have adopted “One Health” – an integrated approach that recognizes the interconnectedness and interdependence of human health, animal health and the wider environment – to limit the spread of antimicrobial resistance.