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Health Links and Resources
Women & Health in Uganda
Hope Clinic Lukuli (HCL Uganda)Operating in Makindye Division, Hope Clinic Lukuli (HCL Uganda) is an integrated health facility (HC III) offering in-patients and out-patient services. The clinic targets the lower income households in the community and based on patient records 60% of the clients are female and 40% are children under 5 years.
Women Connect! project in Uganda
The Women Connect! project is an initiative based at the Pacific Institute for Women's Health in Los Angeles. The project mission is to bring about greater empowerment of women through the effective use of communication strategies in media and technology to improve women's health and well-being. Women Connect! provides technical assistance to women's NGOs in developing countries in using media campaign and IT strategies for outreach and advocacy.
Update: The in-country activities for the Women Connect! project have now concluded. In February 2002, evaluation dissemination workshops were held in Uganda and Zimbabwe. A copy of the project evaluation is available by contacting Muadi Mukenge, Program Officer for Africa at mmukenge@piwh.org. The project was administered by the Pacific Institute for Women's Health, an international NGO based in Los Angeles.
Additional Health Links and Resources
Action to Support Orphans and Disadvantaged (ASOD)Action to Support Orphans and Disadvantaged (ASOD) was set up in 2005 to make a substantial contribution towards the fight against HIV/AIDS and improve the Health status of the Disadvantaged communities, through interventions in three integrated social services of Education, Health and HIV/AIDS. Thus build human capacity and create synergy between the sectors. The organization focuses on integrated community development targeting orphans, women and vulnerable children. Activities include reception and rehabilitation of vulnerable children, sponsorship for orphans and other vulnerable children, running a community school, promoting vocational and Life Skill Education and youths and women economic empowerment.
CBOs that are affiliated to ASOD include, Agency for Madi Orphans and Widows Organization (AFMOWO) Adjumani District, Buruli Anti AIDS Crusade (BAAC) Uganda Masindi District, Uganda Child and Aid Development Foundation Mukono District, Madi Development Foundation Moyo District and Child Development Foundation Mbale District.
AEGiS - AIDS Education Global Information System
AEGiS began in the mid-1980s and is a web-based reference for HIV/AIDS-related information. Through a keyword-searchable knowledgebase, AEGiS offers information via HIV/AIDS specific
publications and news sources from around the world. In addition, an array of reference materials are offered. Information from African countries
is available at http://www.aegis.org/links/africa-index.asp.
African Counselling Network (ACN)
The African Counselling Network (ACN) is a network of individuals
interested in the development of counselling in Africa. The ACN website provides
information for counsellors and other mental health specialists, as well as
access to counselling and psychology journals and other counsellor education
resources. The site also provides information on AIDS Resources and AIDS
Counselling.
Buwaiswa Children's Home - Kamuli Uganda (BCH-UGANDA)
Operating in Buwaiswa, Kamuli, Eastern Uganda, BCH-UGANDA's mission is to look after the HIV/AIDS affected/infected, abandoned children and children from the war torn areas.
Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR)
CPAR is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization that is inspired by the vision of a healthy planet, where health is broadly defined to include human well-being, environmental integrity, and social justice. We are dedicated to supporting vulnerable, low-income people in the developing world in their efforts to achieve good health. CPAR works toward this end by helping individuals, communities and grassroots organizations to become increasingly self-reliant. We are also committed to informing Canadians about, and engaging them in, the global effort for health and development. With established field offices in four countries (Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia), CPAR implements community-based programs in a wide range of development sectors including: Primary Health Care, Water and sanitation, Food security and nutrition, Natural Resource Management, Income Generating Activities, Peace building and Reconciliation. In each of its programs, CPAR places an emphasis on local capacity building, transferable training skills and effective project management.
Using Information and Communication Technologies in rural Uganda
In rural Uganda, youth have limited access to information. The on-going armed conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan People's Defense Force (UPDF) has widened the gap as youth are regularly faced with the risk of abduction and irregular school schedules caused by the war. To mitigate against the impact of the armed conflict , CPAR-Uganda has begun a creative peace-building program in Gulu, Apac and Lira districts which includes exploring how to make information accessible to war-affected youth living in northern Ugandan.
To address the information and communication, CPAR is developing a telecentre in Lira with community outreach centres in Gulu and Apac districts. The Lira Learning Centre will be outfitted with computers and Internet connections. Trainers will provide educational programs for youth, women's groups and health care workers who are interested in learning how communication technologies can be used to improve their knowledge and skills at work and within their home.
Canadian Worldwide Aids Foundation
The principal goals of the Canadian Worldwide AIDS Foundation (WWAF) are to
help create a Canada protected from the ravages of HIV/AIDS and to prevent the
spread of AIDS in ethnocultural communities. The WWAF also has projects in
developing countries, including Uganda. In Uganda the following WWAF projects are pending funding for full implementation: (1) Youth Involvment in HIV/AIDS Prevention and (2) Women Involvement in HIV/AIDS:
Behavior change initiative for rural women in Arua District.
Community-led HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) Project Community Home-Based Care (CHBC) Training - Pathfinder International
The Community-led HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) project is administered by the Uganda HIV/AIDS Control Project (UACP) under the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC). The project's overall objectives are to: reduce the spread of HIV infection; mitigate the health and socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS at individual, household and community level; and strengthen the national capacity to respond to the epidemic.
The project was initiated in 2001 and is currently being implemented in 30 Districts around the country. Government of Uganda recognized that the HIV/AIDS problem was widespread in the communities, yet different community groups had not been adequately involved in identification, implementation and management of their priority AIDS activities. The CHAI project was therefore designed to assist the different communities/social groups to organize and appreciate the HIV/AIDS problem as well as to identify and manage their desired sub-projects within their means. CHAI aims at:
CHAI specifically targets AIDS orphans and widows-widowers, People living with HIV/AIDS including orphans and the elderly guardians for orphans, Persons with disabilities, Fishermen, Truck and taxi drivers, Theatre artistes, Members of anti-AIDS societies and post test clubs, etc. To qualify for CHAI support, the targeted groups have to:
For more information about the CHAI project, contact:
Uganda HIV/AIDS Control Project,
Plot 113 Buganda Road,
P.O Box 25589, Kampala, Uganda.
Tel: +256-41-349440.
Fax: +256-41-347447.
Community Home-Based Care for People and Communities Affected by HIV/AIDS: Training Course and Handbook for Community Health Workers. (October 2006). The Trainer's Guide - This pre-tested and peer-reviewed curriculum focuses on the knowledge and skills necessary for providing holistic CHBC for people living with HIV/AIDS, transferring knowledge and skills to caregivers and CHBC clients, and mobilizing communities around HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment, and support. The trainer’s guide uses simple language and emphasizes participatory learning methodology that do not require high literacy levels of participants. It includes comprehensive units that cover topics from HIV basics, communication skills, nursing care, nutrition, positive living, family planning, HIV prevention, ART, to community mobilization.
Connecting for Health: Country profiles now available
This companion volume to Connecting for Health: Global Vision, Local Insight, the report for the World Summit on the Information Society, is now available as a full report or as individual country files. The Country Profiles compilation brings together for the first time statistics from United Nations agencies measuring demographics, health and information and communication technologies (ICT), providing a profile of each WHO Member State's health and ICT diffusion and a reference for policy and research. The profiles are based on a comparable, meaningful and manageable set of data that can be used for analyses across countries and regions.
Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH)
CTPH's mission is to promote conservation and public health by improving primary health care to people and animals in and around protected areas in Africa. CTPH, a grassroots non-profit organization, was founded in December 2002 by Ugandans dedicated to helping their country and region by promoting an integrated approach to wildlife conservation and human public
health. Because animals and people can make each other sick, it is important to merge wildlife conservation with public health. Conservation Through Public Health believes that the efficient and cost effective way of controlling diseases that spread between wildlife, people and their animals is through integrated human and animal health programs, particularly around
protected areas.
EngenderHealth
EngenderHealth is a nonprofit organization working internationally and in the
United States to support and strengthen health care services, particularly
those needed by women -- the largest group of health care consumers worldwide.
EngenderHealth has core programs in family planning. In addition,
EngenderHealth works to improve the quality of maternity services delivered at
health facilities and to integrate awareness of sexually transmitted
infections including HIV/AIDS, as well as diagnosis and, where possible,
treatment of these infections into existing services.
In Uganda, EngenderHealth has been working with experts from different regions of the country representing public and private institutions in reproductive health, human rights, youth issues, journalism, law, and research. This diverse alliance established CHOICE: the Coalition in Health on Informed Choice Enhancement.
WHO: Engendering the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on Health
In September 2000, 189 nations ratified the United Nations Millennium Declaration, an ambitious document affirming the right of every human being to development and laying out a path toward freedom from want for every woman, man, and child. This site presents a publication of the World Health Organization (WHO) focusing on health issues that women in the developing world face today: poverty and hunger, child and maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, low access to drinking water and pharmaceuticals. The site includes links to other documents related to women's health.
Exchange
Exchange is a networking and learning programme on health communications for
development. Exchange's goal is to improve the health and quality of life of people
in developing countries. Exchange works in partnership with local organisations to encourage collaboration, strategic action, sharing of good practice and better impact. The Exchange programme is hosted by Healthlink Worldwide and supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
Family Care International
Family Care International's mission is to improve women's sexual and reproductive health and rights in developing countries with a special emphasis on making pregnancy and childbirth safer.
Family Planning Association of Uganda (FPAU)
FPAU's mission is to address the unmet needs, and demand for quality sexual and reproductive health services and promote sexual and reproductive rights in a gender sensitive manner, with the primary focus on the youth. FPAU envisions a society, which enjoys full Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights.
Gender and HIV/AIDS web portal
Developed by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), in collaboration with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Gender and HIV/AIDS portal is a one-stop online resource center on the gender dimensions of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. UNIFEM's Executive Director, Noeleen Heyzer, in announcing the launch of the portal on February 21, 2003, stressed the importance of placing gender equality at the very core of the fight against HIV/AIDS. "We must do all we can to loosen and remove the grip of this terrible disease. I believe that one of the most powerful HIV vaccines available today is women's empowerment. By bringing knowledge and information to the global community, we are able to empower women. Women's empowerment is the key to reversing the epidemic." Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director, welcomed the creation of the web portal. "Women make up half the world's HIV epidemic, but bear a much higher proportion of its burden. They continue to provide most of the care for families and children, but are often last in line to receive life-saving care and information for themselves. This online resource center is a practical step forward by UNIFEM and UNAIDS together, designed to help improve the support for the millions of women around the world living with HIV and affected by the epidemic," he said.
Gender Mainstreaming in HIV/AIDS: Moving from Policy to Practice
The Commonwealth Secretariat Social Transformation Programme Division, in
collaboration with UNIFEM and the Commonwealth Regional Health Community
Secretariat, hosted a regional workshop in Arusha in March 2003 to
assist countries in the region to share experiences and strengthen their
national response to HIV/AIDS through the incorporation of gender sensitive
principles into national HIV/AIDS policies and practices. Highlighting the
importance of gender as an integral planning framework for HIV/AIDS is a
priority for all three organizations, given the recent rise in the numbers
of women affected by and infected with HIV/AIDS. Currently women account
for 60% of the new infections (WHO 2001). UNIFEM has played an important
role in the recent global recognition that HIV/AIDS is an integral gender
issue and that the fight against the pandemic cannot be waged without
addressing the specific gender dimensions of prevention, mitigation, care,
treatment and support.
The Health Rights of Women Assessment Instrument (HeRWAI)
The development of the Health Rights of Women Assessment Instrument is an
initiative of the Humanist Committee on Human Rights (HOM) with the aim to
support the implementation of women's rights. HeRWAI is a practical tool for
organisations that want to bring a human rights approach into practice. It
contains practical guidance for a rights based analysis of a policy. Through a
HeRWAI analysis, organisations can link what actually happens with what should
happen according to the human rights obligations of a country. The analysis
includes local, national and international influences and is based on the norms
set by CEDAW and ICESCR.
HOM has developed HeRWAI together with a number of NGOs and women's
organisations from the South and the North. The instrument focuses particularly
on the health rights of women. In the future the same method may also be used
for other issues. HeRWAI has been tested by organisations in Kenya, the
Netherlands, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was improved on the basis of the
experiences of the test. The conclusion of the tests was that HeRWAI is a
useful tool for organisations in different contexts. HOM published HeRWAI in
January 2006. The booklet (70 pages including annexes) is user friendly, with
practical suggestions and easy references to relevant information.
HealthNet Uganda
HealthNet is a computer-based telecommunications system that links health care professionals around the world and to each other. The HealthNet service is provided by SATELLIFE whose mission is "to
improve health by enhancing connectivity among professionals in the
field via electronic communications and exchanges of information in the
areas of public health, medicine, and the environment. A special
emphasis is placed on areas of the world where access is limited by poor
communications, economic conditions, or natural disasters."
HIV InSite
HIV InSite, based at the University of California San Francisco, provides medical, prevention, and policy information to an annual audience of nearly 4 million physicians, researchers, policymakers, and others from over 150 countries. Since its launch in 1997, HIV InSite has used a fast-loading, low-graphics format to facilitate access for users with low-bandwidth Internet connections.
HIV InSite maintains a vast repository of multisectoral HIV/AIDS knowledge, including: 1,000-page textbook AIDS Knowledge Base, Original country and regional HIV/AIDS profiles, International panel discussions on topics such as microbicides and prevention and treatment, Focus on marginalized populations such as youth, Topics such as sexual violence, Extensive links, and Daily news gathered from international sources.
The International Baby Food Action Network
The International Baby Food Action Network, IBFAN, consists of public interest groups working around the world to reduce infant and young child morbidity and mortality. IBFAN aims to improve the health and well-being of babies and young children, their mothers and their families through the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding and optimal infant feeding practices. IBFAN was founded on October 12th, 1979 after the joint meeting of WHO and UNICEF on Infant and Young Child Feeding.
ISIS Foundation
ISIS Foundation works with NGOs in Uganda and Nepal to assist mothers and children, largely in primary health care and education. In Uganda, the ISIS Foundation is undertaking a long-term commitment to the people of Luwero district, central Uganda. The initial proposal is to fund a portion of the Kiwoko Hospital community based health care ("CBHC") programme.
The principal objectives of the Kiwoko Hospital's CBHC programme are Health education, Nutrition, Clean water and sanitation, Maternal and child care, Immunisations, Prevention and control of endemic disease, Treatment of common problems, and Provision of essential drugs.
Population and Reproductive Health (POP/RH) Portal
The Development Gateway's Population and Reproductive Health (POP/RH) Portal is an Internet initiative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Development Gateway Foundation. The Portal is a community-built Internet database of shared population information, including data, research, publications, projects, ideas and dialogue about population and reproductive health issues. The Portal also seeks to promote innovative knowledge-sharing arrangements about POP/RH. Visitors to the website area able to sign up for free membership, which entitles them to receive regular updates on new resources that are added.
Roll Back Malaria (RBM)
The UN General Assembly has designated 2001-2010 the decade to Roll Back Malaria in developing countries, particularly in Africa. Roll Back Malaria is a global partnership to halve the world's malaria burden by 2010. Over 300 million cases of malaria are estimated each year, resulting in more than a million deaths. 90% of these deaths occur in Africa, south of the Sahara and most of these victims are children under 5 years old. Pregnant women are also especially vulnerable. Malaria compounds poverty and impedes economic development.
RBM is enabling countries to take effective, sustainable action against malaria by focusing on (1) providing prompt access to effective treatment, (2) preventing and controlling malaria during pregnancy; (3) promoting the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets as a means of prevention; and (4) dealing effectively with malaria in emergency and epidemic situations.
On the 25th of April 2002 Africa Malaria Day will be celebrated throughout Africa, marking the second anniversary of the signing of the Abuja Declaration where 44 African Heads of State committed themselves to intensifying actions to roll back malaria. See:
http://www.rbm.who.int/docs/abuja_declaration.pdf
The 2002 theme of the day is "Mobilising Communities to Roll Back Malaria" highlighting the essential function of communities in the fight against malaria. For more information on Africa Malaria Day and suggestions of what you can do to help please visit the Africa Malaria Day website: http://mosquito.who.int/amd/abuja2002_first.htm.
Saving Women's Lives
Led by Family Care International, Saving Women's Lives aims to educate and raise awareness of the broad range of women's global health and rights issues, including reproductive health, safe motherhood, poverty and economic development, violence against women, women's social status and education.
Uganda Delivery of Improved Services for Health (DISH) Project
The DISH Project works to make good quality reproductive, maternal and child health services more widely available and to improve the public health attitudes, knowledge and practices in 12 districts of Uganda. The DISH Project provides technical assistance to the districts, health subdistricts, Ministry of Health and non-governmental organizations through a network of professionals working from 5 offices in Uganda with backup from the home offices of the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP), the University of North Carolina Program in International Training and Health (INTRAH), Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and the Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Reproductive Health (JHPIEGO).
Uganda Ministry of Health
In an ongoing effort to raise awareness and access to health information, the Uganda Ministry of Health has launched a web resource for health professionals, managers, and the general public in Uganda and the rest of the world. The website is a way of promoting the policies and activities
of the Ministry of Health to the outside world. The site will communicate the national health mission, policies and strategies, share information, statistics and resources, provide updates on programs and activities, advocate with policy-makers, opinion leaders and donors about health issues in Uganda. The web site is a great resource of information on the Uganda health sector, and also an exhibition of applicable health strategies and programs for developing countries.
UNESCO HIV-AIDS and Investigative Journalism
The UNESCO-HIV/AIDS investigative journalism initiative aims to build on the strategic role the media play in the fight against the its extension and prevalence. Through the networking of journalists, media and UN organizations as well as the establishment of a Media Resource Centre/ Clearing House the aim is to effectively engage with journalists in eastern Africa in a way that encourages them to continue coverage of HIV/AIDS in their countries. The initiative seeks to remove the stigma and the virtual marginalising of people living with AIDS, which is considered to be one of the major hurdles to the fight against HIV/AIDS. To this end it will seek to improve the quality and increase the quantity of information and communication material that is available to the media to facilitate public access and consumption.
vivo Uganda
vivo is an alliance of professionals experienced in the fields of
psychotraumatology, international health, humanitarian aid, scientific
laboratory and field research, sustainable development and human rights
advocacy.
vivo Uganda was founded in
February 2004, and vivo's immediate focus in Uganda will be
the current humanitarian emergency in Northern Uganda. vivo aims to build-up a
mental health intervention model, that offers psychological rehabilitation and
re-integration services for the most affected population groups in this region.
Youth AIDS Association (YAAC)
Based in Kwania county, Apac District, YAAC's mission is to have a community practicing positive behaviour change free from HIV/AIDS/STDs infection through community sensitization and empowerment.
Last update: June-9, 2007