Uganda News

In May 2026, Uganda formally closed a polio outbreak that had been detected two years earlier, marking a major public health achievement and demonstrating the power of preparedness, coordination, and rapid response.

The story, however, began quietly.

Kampala—World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has commended Uganda’s response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak while urging continued regional cooperation, sustained investment and strong community engagement to prevent further spread of the disease.  

Brazzaville, Kampala, Lomé—The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, in collaboration with ministries of health, partner hospitals, and with support from Irish Aid, organized a series of regional training-of-trainers sessions to strengthen hospital care for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) with medical complications.

Kampala — Health ministers, emergency experts and partners from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan gathered in Kampala this week to strengthen cross-border coordination as efforts are scaled up to respond to the outbreak of Bundibugyo virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Kampala, Uganda: For many years, the Busoga sub-region struggled with some of the weakest health outcomes in Uganda. Mothers gave birth in overcrowded rooms, clinics lacked basic equipment, and young people had little access to reliable information about their bodies and well-being. The situation was especially difficult in the five districts of Bugiri, Buyende, Iganga, Kamuli, and Mayuge.

Mbale, Uganda: Across the hills and lowland communities of Eastern Uganda, strengthened collaboration is transforming how routine immunisation and public health emergencies are addressed. In many of the 16 districts and one city that make up the Mbale Region, children in remote, hard-to-reach areas continue to face challenges in accessing life-saving vaccines. 

Kampala, Uganda: Uganda has taken a significant step in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) following the handover of 300 WHO AWaRe (Access, Watch, Reserve) antibiotic books to the National Drug Authority (NDA). The support comes at a time when the country, like many low and middle-income nations, continues to grapple with rising resistance to commonly used antimicrobials, a trend that threatens decades of medical progress.

Kampala: Uganda’s ambition to transform Primary Health Care through resilient community health systems entered a decisive phase on 4 March 2026, when a cohort of 348 newly trained Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) was passed out in a high-profile ceremony held in Mbarara City and Rukungiri District. 

Gulu, Uganda:-  When cholera erupted in Lorikowo West Village on July 2, 2025, Amuru District once again found itself confronting a familiar and exhausting pattern. Positioned along the porous Uganda–South Sudan border and surrounded by refugee-hosting districts such as Lamwo and Adjumani, Amuru has long been vulnerable to emerging and re-emerging disease outbreaks. 

In 2025 alone, the district suffered three separate outbreaks, mpox, cholera and measles, each testing the limits of an already strained health system.