The WHO Country Representative Dr Wondimagegnehu Alemu on Monday made a courtesy visit to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) at the US Embassy in Kampala.

Dr Alemu was received by Ms Leslie Reed the Director of the USAID Mission in Uganda. In her welcome remarks, Ms Reed thanked WHO for the excellent work done in the health sector and also briefed him on the various health programmes supported by USAID in Uganda.

She made particular mention of HIV/AIDS, malaria treatment and prevention, maternal health and response to epidemics noting that this was country-wide support with emphasis to hard-to-reach areas such as Karamoja.

Ms Reed also briefed Dr Alemu about USAID’s 2011-2015 Country Development Strategy that has a range of activities covering agriculture, biodiversity, democracy and health.
She noted that this strategy is aligned with the National Development Plan (NDP) and the Health Sector Strategic and Investment Plan and takes cognisance of the country’s health priorities. She also mentioned the close collaboration that USAID has with the UN Agencies especially on maternal health which is a global priority.

Dr Alemu thanked USAID for the support given to WHO and to the health sector in Uganda noting that his visit was meant to share information and experiences on what the organisation was doing and also to devise strategies to further improve health services delivery in the country.

He noted that WHO’s work in Uganda was anchored on the Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) under which WHO provides the required technical assistance. This support, he said, focuses on government priority programmes such as Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS, immunization and others.

Dr Alemu also gave a brief on the “UN Delivering as One approach” that is meant to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the utilization of resources. He thanked USAID for the support on the Integrated Disease Surveillance (IDSR) given to WHO at country and regional office levels under which human resources have been availed to the organization to strengthen service delivery at both levels.

Other issues discussed were on laboratory strengthening; surveillance and epidemic response; tuberculosis treatment and control; and the WHO piloted Making Pregnancy safe Project that provided significant community insights on Reproductive Health.

Dr Alemu and his hosts also discussed Noncommunicable diseases noting that they are on the increase throughout the country and that urgent actions are required to address them before they put more burden on an already strained health system.

Dr Alemu was accompanied by the National Professional Officer for Disease Prevention and Control Dr Miriam Nanyunja. Present were Ms Anne G. Murphy and Ms Lisa Godwin from the USAID mission in Uganda.

_______________________________________________________________

For more information please contact :

Benjamin Sensasi, Health Promotion Advisor, WHO Country Office
Tel 256-41-334400
Email: sensasib [at] ug.afro.who.int