{"id":72036,"date":"2026-03-13T14:51:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T13:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/en\/?p=72036"},"modified":"2026-03-13T14:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T13:51:08","slug":"a-new-chapter-for-maternal-and-child-health-in-oyam-and-otuke-uganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/a-new-chapter-for-maternal-and-child-health-in-oyam-and-otuke-uganda\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Chapter for Maternal and Child Health in Oyam and Otuke, Uganda"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a significant step toward strengthening healthcare for the most vulnerable, <strong>Doctors with Africa CUAMM<\/strong> in partnership with <strong>African Network for Change, <\/strong>and in collaboration with the <strong>\u201cla Caixa\u201d Foundation<\/strong>, has officially launched a transformative two-year initiative in the Lango sub-region in Uganda, particularly in <strong>Oyam and Otuke Districts.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The project sets an ambitious but vital primary goal: <strong>to reduce neonatal, perinatal, and under-5 mortality by 15%<\/strong> across the two districts by December 2027. By integrating clinical excellence with community-based interventions, the collaboration seeks to ensure that no mother or child is left behind due to distance from the health facilities or lack of resources.<\/p>\n<p>The inception meeting, held to formally introduce the project to stakeholders, was defined by a spirit of shared responsibility. <strong>Obizu Moses<\/strong>, CUAMM\u2019s Monitoring and Evaluation Manager in Uganda, set the tone by emphasizing that success depends on a unified front. &#8220;Our purpose today is to ensure a shared understanding of our goals. We are here to <strong>strengthen coordination between district leadership and health teams<\/strong>. Only through true collaboration can we improve child survival, nutrition, and HIV services within these communities,&#8221; Moses stated.<\/p>\n<p>The project\u2019s strategy is built on four pillars designed to <strong>enhance both the quality of care and the leadership<\/strong> required to sustain it:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Antenatal and Postnatal Care:<\/strong> Increasing service utilization by 10% through the support of Peer Mothers and Village Health Teams (VHTs).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Newborn Excellence:<\/strong> Boosting the quality of care for newborns by 20% by upgrading Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care with essential equipment, medicines, and &#8220;newborn transporters.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Child Survival:<\/strong> Tracing &#8220;zero-dose&#8221; children and following up on immunization defaulters using the &#8220;Reach Every Child&#8221; (REC) approach.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Accountability and Leadership:<\/strong> Improving data quality (HMIS\/DHIS2) and strengthening emergency referral systems, including ambulance functionality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-72040 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/UG2.jpg\" width=\"670\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/UG2.jpg 670w, https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/UG2-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/UG2-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 670px) 100vw, 670px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For districts like Otuke, which are classified as hard-to-reach, the project represents a lifeline.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Otuke faces many hurdles as a hard-to-reach area, which makes delivering health services difficult,&#8221; <strong>Opio Patrick<\/strong>, the District Health Officer (DHO) of Otuke, explained highlighting the unique challenges his teams face daily. &#8220;We feel fortunate to have CUAMM\u2019s ongoing support, particularly in improving facility-based deliveries and maintaining the ambulances donated by the Ministry of Health. It is a great privilege to be selected for this project.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Dr. Peter Lochoro<\/strong>, CUAMM Country Representative, introduced the &#8220;la Caixa&#8221; Foundation to the stakeholders, underlining the <strong>international solidarity<\/strong> behind the funding:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;We are operating across several districts in Uganda to strengthen health systems at the roots,&#8221; Dr. Lochoro remarked. &#8220;I encourage every leader and health worker here to work diligently. We have a two-year window to achieve meaningful, measurable results for these families.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>A recurring theme of the launch was ensuring <strong>sustainability<\/strong>: the progress made during the project survives long after the funding concludes.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Project funding doesn\u2019t just solve immediate challenges; it highlights practices we must hold onto forever,&#8221; noted <strong>Mr. Ebong Chris<\/strong>, representative of the Ministry of Health, challenging district leaders to look at <strong>the project as a catalyst for long-term development<\/strong>. &#8220;Effective data management and the systems introduced now must become part of our routine health system.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He also addressed the critical issue of <strong>human resources<\/strong>, urging the districts to remain vigilant in filling staffing gaps. &#8220;When health workers leave, they create gaps in service delivery. We must ensure these roles are replaced promptly so that the impact of CUAMM\u2019s monitoring and support leads to a lasting legacy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Through school outreaches, community mobilization, and the provision of specialized equipment for sick newborns, this intervention isn\u2019t aimed just at delivering assistance but rather at <strong>building a resilient health network.<\/strong> As activities move from planning to implementation, the focus remains clear: <strong>saving lives, one birth and one village at a time.<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Doctors with Africa CUAMM in partnership with African Network for Change, and in collaboration with the La Caixa Foundation, has officially launched a transformative two-year initiative in the Lango sub-region in Uganda, particularly in Oyam and Otuke Districts.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":72039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1172,2493],"tags":[997,3011],"argomenti":[],"protagonisti":[],"luoghi":[2498,2842,3012],"class_list":["post-72036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-homenews","tag-uganda","tag-la-caixa-foundation","luoghi-uganda","luoghi-oyam","luoghi-otuke"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72036"},{"taxonomy":"argomenti","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/argomenti?post=72036"},{"taxonomy":"protagonisti","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/protagonisti?post=72036"},{"taxonomy":"luoghi","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/luoghi?post=72036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}