Health
Govt. Asked to Scale up Successes in Buikwe, Mukono CVDs Interventions to the Rest of the Country
Africa continues to record the highest prevalence of hypertension globally. Studies show that Uganda’s hypertension prevalence stands at 26.4% and public health experts are worried that rising prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) should be curbed lest it contributes to the disease burden.
In Africa, just like other low- and middle-income countries, the burden of disease is transitioning from infectious diseases to NCDs and the World Health Organisation predicts that they are likely to become a major health system challenge in Africa as they are predicted to become the leading cause of death in the region by 2030.
Studies estimate Uganda’s NCDs prevalence at 33 in every 100 people die of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The prevalence of hypertension for instance among adults stands at 26.4% with the highest prevalence in central Uganda (28.5%) which hosts Mukono and Buikwe districts.
In Mukono and Buikwe districts, among persons aged 15 years and above, the age standardized prevalence of hypertension is 27.2%.
Makerere University School of Public Health has for close to three (03) years now been impacting the communities in Mukono and Buikwe districts through its project; Cardiovascular Disease prevention program -Scaling -up Packages for Interventions for Cardiovascular diseases prevention in selected sites in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa (SPICES) Uganda.
The SPICES project focuses on prevention of diseases of the heart and blood vessels. The project has conducted a comprehensive study at both health facility level and community level where a number of community workers and health workers from randomly selected villages and health facilities in Mukono and Buikwe have been trained in cardiovascular disease prevention and control.
So far, a total of 366 health workers and 80 community health workers (CHWs/VHTs) received training. In addition, the project provided the health centers with equipment to support screening and management of cardiovascular diseases. The project team has, with support of health facilities been involved in screening CVD risk, care and management as well as health promotion and profiling at community level.
As a result of this intervention, there are higher volumes of hypertension and diabetes patients being received as a result of sensitization by the community health workers. There are also reports of changes in behavior in lifestyles especially diet and physical activity as well as improved patient health seeking behaviors for chronic services.
For instance, while presenting results at a dissemination workshop held on December 8th 2021 at Colline Hotel in Mukono district, Dr. Geofrey Musinguzi, the Principal Investigator of the SPICES Project expressed that the project has had significant impact in terms of knowledge changes, and in terms of profiles.
“Much as the prevalence of smoking didn’t seem to change, there was a change in frequency of smoking. For example, those who were smoking daily, we saw a reduction from 2018/19 to 2021,” says Dr. Musinguzi.
He adds that there was a significant difference in passive smoking. “Passive smoking is as dangerous as active smoking. At the baseline, people were smoking and exposing their love ones to tobacco but when they were trained from the health facilities and from the community on the dangers of smoking and passive smoking. So, we have seen an attitude of people in families where people are smoking, of if they can’t avoid smoking, doing it away from their families.”
Arising out of the successes of the project so far, Dr. Rhoda Wanyenze, Professor and Dean of Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) has asked government and the Ministry of Health in particular to support noncommunicable diseases care in the districts of Mukono and Buikwe.
Prof. Wanyenze who is also co-principal investigator of the project SPICES project intervention in Mukono and Buikwe could be used as a yardstick to pick lessons for the Ministry of Health to extend the services to other parts of the country.
“We can use this as a learning hub so that we can also get the other regions that do not have the standard for NCD care at the level that we have in these districts. Let us maintain it because it is an opportunity for us to show that it is doable, that we can do something about NCDs and that others can learn something from these districts and facilities and we can do better across the country,” Professor Wanyenze said.
Tereza Ssenjova, a resident of Busabala Mukono said; “I used to be diagnosed with fever, yet I did not have it. Not until recently through SPICES screening that I was told I have high blood pressure and diabetes.”
Prof. Wanyenze urged for the Ministry of Health to rally Ugandans, the leadership at all levels to aggressively advocate for a safer population by preventing and reducing cardiovascular diseases.
“Please do speak about NCDs like the way we speak about COVID-19 lately and the way we have been speaking about other diseases. Encourage people to screen. If there is an opportunity, why not have a machine around you in your place so that you can encourage people to screen periodically. Think of how you can creatively encourage the communities to screen, so that we can discover these diseases early and be able to do something,” says Prof. Wanyenze.
Dr. Gerald Mutungi, assistant Commissioner Health Services- Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) department at the Ministry of Health admits that cardiovascular diseases are on a rise but hastens to add that they can be prevented.
“What we have found out is that the communities, once educated, sensitized can come for screening, but also can follow some of the guidelines given to prevent cardiovascular diseases. This has been shown and we have the data now,” Dr. Mutungi says.
Dr. Mutungi welcomes the results and noted that government will scale-up the interventions.
“We are in evidence-based policy and decision making. This is going to influence our policy. We had already started sensitizing VHTs but we were not sure that actually they can play a big role in prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Now this study is showing that yes, they can. We thought they could only support in distributing bed nets, simple things but they have shown us that they can do a lot in prevention and control of diseases,” he said.
Dr. Musinguzi said the project has had a multi-component intervention including health promotion, screening, training among others.
“We think that this intervention can reach many people. I gave an example of the talking T-Shirt. It has the modifiable risk factors. ‘don’t smoke’, ‘do more exercise’, ‘reduce/avoid alcohol,’ ‘maintain a healthy weight’, ‘go for checkup’ ‘control stress’, ‘eat healthy diet’ among others. In fact, we got reports from VHTs that the messages were received by the population. So, we think all ways of delivering messages must be explored to be able to enhance awareness about CVDs and other NCDs,” Dr. Musinguzi contends.
hailed the SPICES project team for the “wonderful research” and requested the project to include Buvuma and Kayunga districts on the study scope.
“I thank you so much for training the VHTs and our health workers around Mukono and Buikwe districts. This is very good,” said Hajat Nabitaka.
She underscores the need for continued sensitization of the population with a view of changing mindsets to be able to fully realise the benefits.
“Some people think these are diseases of the rich people. Not knowing that even a child in primary school can get diabetes. Not knowing that even an ordinary person in community can get pressure due to the various stress factors. Let us utilize the VHTs to solve many problems including social societal problems such as stress,” Hajat Nabitaka.
Dr. Rawlance Ndejjo, the SPICES Project coordinator said the project has been able to enroll 23 health facilities where it has greatly impacted lives.
He adds that the dissemination is; “a great opportunity to share what we have been doing in field with the rest of the world.”
Some health facilities have have adopted strategies to acquire hypertension and diabetes drugs, and all enrolled facilities are now able to identify and manage Type 1 diabetes, unlike in the past.
SPICES project is currently implemented in Uganda, South Africa, France, Belgium and the United Kingdom. It is an implementation science project funded by the European Commission through the Horizon2020 research and innovation.
Article originally published on MakSPH website.
Health experts from across Africa have called for stronger use of routine health data in planning, supervision and service delivery, noting that although countries are generating large amounts of health information, much of it is still not being used.
The call came during a webinar hosted by the Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) in partnership with The Global Fund under the theme “From National Dashboards to District Action: Strengthening Subnational Data Use for Planning, Supervision and Service Delivery.”
The webinar brought together health information specialists, policymakers and practitioners from Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia to share experiences and lessons on using subnational data for evidence based decision making.
Kenya’s journey from data collection to action
In her keynote address, Dr Helen Kiarie, Head of the Monitoring and Evaluation Division at Kenya’s Ministry of Health, urged health practitioners and policymakers to move beyond routine reporting and use data to improve health outcomes.
“The bottleneck is no longer collecting data. It is turning routine data into decisions and decisions into action,” Dr Kiarie said.
Drawing on Kenya’s experience, she pointed to the country’s shift from paper based reporting systems to digital platforms, noting that more than 95% of public health facilities have been digitised.
According to Dr Kiarie, Kenya has developed National Data Analytics Guidelines to support evidence based decision making across the health system. The guidelines set out a structured approach to data analysis, interpretation and dissemination so that the information generated can be used.
She said building a culture of data use requires leadership that asks for evidence, regular performance reviews, public dashboards, mentorship programmes, and the integration of data into planning and budgeting.
Community data improving maternal health
Dr Kiarie gave practical examples of how data can shape health outcomes.
In Kwale County, community health promoters used household level data to identify and follow up pregnant women, encouraging them to attend antenatal care services and deliver at health facilities.
As a result, skilled birth attendance increased from 50 per cent in 2022 to 85 per cent, while reported home deliveries fell from 808 to 248.
She also pointed to Kenya’s efforts to link digital health data with health financing systems, saying better documentation and data quality have strengthened accountability and increased reimbursements to health facilities.
She added that real time maternal and perinatal death surveillance systems are helping health authorities identify gaps in care, assign responsibility and take corrective action to prevent avoidable deaths.
“Data has moved beyond documenting losses to becoming an instrument for preventing the next avoidable death,” Dr Kiarie said.
Addressing data quality challenges
Despite major investments in digital health systems, Dr Kiarie acknowledged that data quality challenges remain.
She cited system downtimes, the parallel use of paper and digital records, limited access to some digital platforms, and resistance to change among some health workers as barriers to data quality and use.
Still, she said Kenya’s data quality has improved considerably through digitisation and continued investment in governance, analytics capacity and quality assurance.
Regional experiences and lessons
The webinar also included a panel discussion with experts from Uganda, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, who shared experiences on strengthening data use at district and facility level.
The discussion pointed to the importance of strong leadership, timely information, digital infrastructure and feedback mechanisms that help health workers and managers make informed decisions with the data available.
Participants agreed that health information systems should do more than serve as reporting tools. They should also support decision making where services are delivered.
Moving from information to impact
Speaking during the webinar, Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, Dean of Makerere University School of Public Health (MAKSPH), commended countries for progress in strengthening health information systems and encouraging data use.
She urged practitioners and researchers to go beyond documenting challenges and start capturing examples of how data informed decisions are improving programmes and health outcomes.
“It would be really good for us to dig deeper in terms of what decisions we have actually made and what we would not have known or done differently if we did not have the data,” she said.
In his closing remarks, Dr Wodimu Ayele of The Global Fund said the value of data lies in its ability to improve service delivery, inform decision making and strengthen accountability.
He called on countries to keep investing in data quality, analytics capacity and health information systems, while making sure evidence generated at all levels leads to measurable improvements in health outcomes.
Uganda has released the preliminary findings of the 2025 Uganda Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment (UPHIA 2025), a national household survey that provides a current picture of the country’s HIV response and selected non-communicable disease indicators.
At the Uganda Media Centre today, 1 October 2026, the Minister of Health, Hon. Dr Chris Baryomunsi, released the preliminary results and said the evidence would guide policy, resource allocation and service improvement, with particular attention to people and communities with the greatest gaps. He urged Ugandans to know their HIV status, use prevention services and, when diagnosed, start treatment promptly and adhere to it.
Among adults aged 15 years and above, HIV prevalence was 5.9 percent, including 7.3 percent among women and 4.1 percent among men. Among adults aged 15–64, prevalence was also 5.9 percent, unchanged from 2020/21. Across the country, prevalence ranged from 1.3 percent in Karamoja to 8.0 percent in the South Western region. Of adults living with HIV, 85.3 percent knew their status; 99.1 percent of those aware were on treatment; and 96.5 percent of those on treatment had achieved viral load suppression. HIV-status awareness remains the central gap in the 95-95-95 cascade.
The survey also measured selected non-communicable disease indicators for the first time. Elevated blood pressure affected 15.5 percent of adults, while 24.8 percent had overweight or obesity and 0.9 percent had raised blood glucose.
Conducted from July to September 2025, UPHIA 2025 was the first population-based HIV impact assessment to be fully country-led. The Ministry of Health provided overall leadership, while Makerere University School of Public Health served as the prime implementing organisation, working with UVRI, UBOS, regional referral hospitals and local governments. PEPFAR funded the survey through the U.S. CDC.
Watch the UPHIA 2025 preliminary results launch:
https://www.youtube.com/live/QfHFBaJ-L-w
Read the UPHIA 2025 summary results:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nElGNwgcAcZyAo9CLCQKRpO2jJgyxjSc/view?usp=drive_link
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