April 2013. Issue: 01 ALIVE & Healthy Uganda Contents 3........................................ Editor 4........................................ Foreword 5........................................ Contributing to the reduction of under-five deaths 7.........................................Campaign History 8.........................................Creating a platform to influence policy makers 12.......................................Uganda participates in the Global Week of Action 14.......................................Working with others 16.......................................Districts take over 27.......................................Kiboga’s pioneer baby 32.......................................Going against death trend 47.......................................Hon. Ameria keen on promoting maternal and child Health. Foreword According to UNICEF (2009), globally over 7.7 million children under the age of five years die each year. Ninety percent of all these child deaths occur in developing countries- Uganda is no exception. These are not mere statistics. They are children with names, an identity and families. globally. the Under-five mortality quilt. The quilt was used a lobbying WVU working through strategic tool to influence decision and partners and coalitions has policy makers to take action in contributed to policy changes improving child health in Uganda Gilbert Kamanga at National level that are National Director, World Vision directly aimed at improving Even though strides have been child health. For example, achieved, a more deliberate Most child deaths are easily WVU and its partners played a concerted effort is needed by preventable hence intolerable. significant role in; drafting of Ugandan individuals, policy They are treatable conditions such the Uganda National Nutrition promoters and makers to as acute respiratory infections, Plan, supporting Members ensure that the Governments pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, of Parliament to lobby for an and districts adequately and malnutrition and neonatal increase in the Health sector deliberately plan for maternal complications. Inconstancy in funding by 49 billion Ugandan and child health but also work at shillings and influencing the improving the health system to flow of information and lack th of improved technology in 126 Inter- Parliamentary Union function effectively. the medical field to treat such (1PU) to adopt a resolution on Maternal and Child Health. I thank the Governments, Civil conditions is unacceptable. Society Organisations, churches Health for the Under- five Integrating Citizen Voice and and faith-based organisations children is a big challenge in Action, an approach to local and other stakeholders in Uganda especially in the rural level advocacy in Child Health communities where the areas. According to the 2011 Now campaign has led to some campaign is implemented for Uganda Demographic Household districts to pass ordinances that supporting CHN. Special thanks Survey, One in eleven children promote child health. These to World Vision Uganda staff for dies before their fifth birthday. include; Tororo, Bundibugyo and driving the campaign. Almost all child deaths could Hoima. In the communities, health seeking behaviours I call upon everyone to promote be prevented using simple, child health because together we proven - inexpensive solutions. are changing for the better. Pregnant mothers are seeking can end child deaths. For more For children living in rural information about CHN visit communities, the statistics are antenatal services while mothers with children seek early medical http://www.childhealthnow. worse than the national average. org, follow us on Facebook: Given these realities, improving treatment when their children fall sick. ChildHealthNowUganda child health is very important to and Twitter:@ Government and every Ugandan. The Global Week of Action held ChildHealthNowUganda and World Vision Uganda (WVU) in in November 2012 demonstrated on our blog: http://chnuganda. 2010 launched the Child Health that more Ugandans are now wordpress.com/ committed to working towards Now campaign (CHNC) in order God bless you! to ramp up support and action the improvement of child health. As one of the activities during the for child health. World Vision as an organisation is glad to be week, WVU visited 29 districts contributing to the reduction across the country gathering of Child deaths in Uganda and evidence on child death using Alive and Healthy 3 Editor CONTRIBUTORS Advocacy and Justice for Children Unit Buikwe Cluster Bundibugyo Cluster Business Day Communications Gulu Cluster Hoima Cluster Early this year I Kasangombe Area Development Pro- gramme grieved the loss of one Kiboga Cluster beautiful baby who Mpigi Cluster Rose Mary Mayanja only lived for two days. Soroti Cluster I sorrowfully watched PHOTOGRAPHY as its mother Mercy Courtesy of World Vision Uganda mourned during the funeral service. After PUBLISHER World Vision Uganda the service, I had an opportunity to interact GRAPHICS DESIGNER Naama Phyllis Erinah with her but could not [email protected] find the right words of [email protected] comfort to say. +256 784 675 164 Davinah Nabirye COVER PAGE Lucky Mark Rwigyema from Mukono y inability to do or say In this issue, you will learn about district. something suddenly the genesis of the campaign, Mmade sense; I finally actions taken by the districts, realized why advocates around and stories on improved child ADDRESS the world are now taking child nutrition and the protection World Vision Uganda health. Mercy’s baby had of children from disease. The Plot 15B Nakasero Road P.O.Box 5319 Kampala-Uganda become one of those statistics I stories bring to life testimonies Tel: +256 414 345758/ 340395 always quote in my work. It is of people across the Uganda Website: http://www.wvi.org/uganda then that I fully understood the who are promoting child health significance of World Vision’s issues. Child Health Now Campaign (CHN) in contributing to the I am sure after reading the reduction of child deaths due to magazine; you will be inspired to preventable and unacceptable become a child health promoter causes like malaria. in your community. And because we live with Have a great read! this silence emergence in our community, WVU’s advocacy team has produced this magazine entitle “Alive and Healthy” as a channel through which you can learn more about CHNC and children who have been saved. 4 Alive and Healthy A happy mother and child Contributing to the reduction of Under-five deaths Over the last 15 years, Uganda has made great progress in terms of development. Peace and security have been restored in most parts of the country. The Government has put in place key priority programmes and as a result, Uganda is experiencing considerable transformation in education, agriculture and poverty reduction. owever, maternal and The findings are not different been linked to poor quality of in- infant mortality and from the Ugandan context; the tra-partum care. morbidity although survival of children whose moth- declining, remain un- ers die due to pregnancy related Maternal death is caused by ei- Hacceptably high. According to complications are low. According ther a complication that develops the 2011Uganda Demographic to 2011 UDHS, Infant mortality directly as a result of pregnancy, Household Survey (UDHS), ma- has reduced from 67 in 2006 to delivery or the postpartum peri- ternal mortality remains high at 54 deaths per 1,000 live births. od or due to an existing medical 438 maternal deaths per 100,000 Under-five mortality rate stands condition. Major direct obstet- live births even though it shows at 90 deaths per 1,000 live births. ric complications responsible a decline from the 2000 UDHS This simply means that one in ev- for maternal deaths in Uganda from 505 deaths per 100,000 live ery 19 Ugandan children dies be- include; bleeding, infection, ob- births. This translates to about fore their first birthday, and one structed labour, unsafe abor- 6,000 women dying every year in every 11 children dies before tion and hypertensive diseases. due to pregnancy related causes. their fifth birthday. The neona- About 15% of all pregnancies tal and post-neonatal mortality develop life-threatening compli- Compared to non-maternal rates are at 27 deaths per 1,000 cations and require emergency deaths, maternal deaths have live births each. obstetric care. If these mothers far more consequences on the do not access appropriate medi- survival of children. A study on The occurrence of maternal, neo- cal attention in time, they die. “Maternal mortality and the con- natal, perinatal and child deaths The current maternal and child sequences on infant and child in Uganda is a major concern to health statistics are a clear indi- survival in rural areas” by Ander- everyone including Government cation that Uganda is lagging be- son FW et al from the, Universi- and all stakeholders. Three quar- hind in achieving Millennium De- ty of Michigan Medical School ters of the neonatal deaths oc- velopment Goals 4 and 5 aimed shows that, “when a family ex- cur in the first week of life while at reducing child mortality and periences a maternal death, that the highest risk of death is in the improve maternal health by 2015 family has a 55.0% increased first 24 hours of life. The major respectively. odds of experiencing the loss of a causes of newborn deaths in- child less than 12, whereas when clude asphyxia, infections and Finding effective solutions to re- a non maternal