Press Release
United States Health Services Project Reaches Over 2 Million People in Lango Sub-region, Operating Theaters Open
Lira, May 10, 2023 – Today, the United States Mission to Uganda is celebrating the strengthening of health systems in the Lango sub-region of Northern Uganda, which results in healthier babies, mothers, and young women.
Since 2018, the U.S. government has partnered with the Ministry of Health to support districts and health facilities in delivering comprehensive health services to over 2 million Ugandans living in the Lango sub-region. These efforts primarily benefited women and children in Lango’s 475 parishes. The project more than doubled women’s access to quality maternal and newborn care services. The number of women who delivered babies annually at health facilities increased from 39,000 in 2018 to almost 80,000 in 2022, resulting in healthier babies and fewer maternal and infant deaths. During the same period, adolescent girls and young women who annually accessed voluntary family planning services increased from 75,000 to 180,000, ensuring two and a half times as many adolescent girls have a healthier and brighter future ahead. Overall health outcomes for children under five also saw significant improvements.
Mission Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Uganda, Mr. Richard L. Nelson, said, “In 2019, only 41 percent of children under five with pneumonia were appropriately treated, according to the Ministry of Health’s recommended standards. That figure is now 95 percent. We’ve also seen similar improvements in the treatment of childhood diarrhea, with 94 percent now being appropriately treated.”
Today’s events included a celebratory joint launch of three operating theaters in Orum, Dokolo, and Ogur Health Center IVs. The health center in Orum has a maternity ward and a neonatal intensive care unit, which will improve quality maternal and newborn care–ultimately supporting over 80,000 mothers per year.
Working together with affected communities, district leaders, and other key stakeholders to better understand the local context, the U.S. government project also improved nutrition and water and sanitation services, along with overall health in the community, leading to better results for patients affected by HIV, TB, and malaria. This project, made possible by the USAID-funded Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services – North, (RHITES-N) Lango Activity, has improved the lives of many Ugandans in the Lango Sub-region of Northern Uganda.
For the past 60 years, the U.S. government through USAID and other U.S. government agencies have been working in partnership with Ugandans and other partners to address health needs, including sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights for all Ugandans, towards a brighter future, together.
For additional information, please contact:
Dorothy Nanyonga
Information Assistant
U.S. Mission Uganda
Tel: +256-414-250-314×6104 Cell: 0772-138-194
Email: KampalaPress@state.gov
