Through a new $1.8 million project funded by UNICEF, IntraHealth International will strengthen health systems in the Karamoja region of Uganda, using a two-pronged approach to overcome some of region’s biggest health care challenges. The project, District Health System Strengthening on RMNCAH, HIV/AIDS, and Nutrition in Karamoja, aims to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH), HIV care, and nutrition services in the region.

Karamoja has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Uganda—588 deaths per 100,000 live births. And one in three children have impaired growth and development, in part because 84% of households cannot afford a nutritious diet. Health care needs are dire, as preventable and treatable diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria are among the top causes of death. 

This new one-year project will work at the district, facility, and community levels to combat maternal mortality and impaired growth and development among children and improve services for pregnant women and adolescents who live with HIV in the region.

Strengthening health systems in Karamoja will improve the availability and quality of the data available to policy-makers and lead to better management of local health resources.

“Strengthening district health systems allows health facilities to provide a full range of essential services for clients in Karamoja,” says Vincent Oketcho, IntraHealth’s Uganda country director. “Through this program, we hope to improve the quality of those services, make them easier to access, and improve the overall health and nutrition outcomes for vulnerable populations in Uganda, many of whom were previously unreachable.”

This project will partner with IntraHealth’s RHITES-E project, which will contribute office space, and provide technical staff