Uganda has registered improvements in HIV viral load suppression, maternal health services and blood collection, with the government reporting progress in its efforts to expand access to quality healthcare across the country.
In a ministerial statement on the status of health service delivery in Uganda presented to Parliament on Thursday, Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi said 75 per cent of the 168 health sector performance indicators assessed had met their targets.
The report shows that HIV viral load suppression among people living with HIV remained high at 97 per cent, meeting the annual target, while new HIV infections declined to 0.71 per 1,000 susceptible people from 0.79 previously.
The proportion of deliveries conducted at health facilities also increased to 71.8 per cent, surpassing the annual target of 69 per cent.
Baryomunsi said the country had also recorded improvements in maternal and newborn health, with institutional maternal mortality risk declining to 57 per 100,000 deliveries from 83, while the perinatal mortality rate fell to 14.5 per 1,000 births, below the target of 16.5.
He attributed the improvements to better emergency obstetric care, monitoring during pregnancy and childbirth, newborn resuscitation, infection prevention and timely referral of high-risk pregnancies.
Uganda also exceeded its targets for blood collection and distribution for the second consecutive year.
The Uganda Blood Transfusion Service collected 475,972 units of blood in the 2025/2026 financial year, representing 101.4 per cent of its target of 469,600 units.
The service issued 416,819 units, equivalent to 101.5 per cent of its distribution target.
However, Baryomunsi said the achievement of internal targets did not mean that the country’s clinical demand for blood had been fully met.
Health facilities ordered 590,422 units during the financial year, but the service supplied only 70.6 per cent of the demand, leaving a substantial gap, particularly in paediatric, maternity and trauma care.
The minister said the government was considering raising the annual blood collection target towards the World Health Organisation benchmark of more than 500,000 units.
The report also indicates progress in tuberculosis treatment, with the treatment coverage rate standing at 91.6 per cent against a target of 91 per cent, while the treatment success rate reached 92.5 per cent against a target of 86 per cent.
Coverage of the second dose of the measles-rubella vaccine increased to 68 per cent, exceeding the annual target of 50 per cent.
The government also reported that human papillomavirus vaccine coverage among 10-year-old girls reached 109 per cent against a target of 78 per cent, following catch-up vaccination campaigns conducted during Integrated Child Health Days in October 2025 and April 2026.
The statement further notes that the proportion of parishes with at least two functional Community Health Extension Workers increased to 41 per cent against a target of 10 per cent, while villages with at least two Village Health Teams providing integrated community health services reached 52 per cent against a target of 30 per cent.
Baryomunsi said the expansion of community-based services was expected to strengthen healthcare delivery and improve access, particularly at the grassroots.
Uganda also successfully contained the 2026 Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain after recording 20 confirmed cases, of whom 18 recovered and two died.
The last patient was discharged on June 16, 2026, and the country was declared Ebola-free on July 28, 2026.
The minister commended health workers, the Uganda Virus Research Institute, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organisation and development partners for their coordinated response.
Despite the gains, the report highlights persistent challenges, including inadequate funding, medicine stock-outs, understaffing and congestion in referral hospitals.
The health sector was operating at only 34 per cent of its approved staffing structure, while the average availability of 50 essential tracer commodities stood at 62 per cent, below the national target of 90 per cent.
The report also shows that bed occupancy at national referral hospitals rose to 103 per cent, indicating continued pressure on existing infrastructure.
To address the gaps, the government plans to increase health sector staffing towards 55 per cent by 2030, strengthen domestic financing, improve the distribution of essential medicines and expand infrastructure at national and regional referral hospitals.
The government is also implementing measures to curb absenteeism among health workers and the diversion of medicines from public facilities, including unannounced audits, biometric attendance monitoring and electronic tracking of medicines.
Baryomunsi said the government remained committed to achieving universal health coverage by 2030 and improving access to quality healthcare for all Ugandans.
