Preventing Malaria Among Mothers and Newborns in Luwero- Building the Capacity of Community Health Workers in Uganda
Home to approximately 500,000 people, Uganda’s central district of Luwero was the epicentre of Uganda’s six-year liberation war during the 1980s. As a result, the district continues to suffer from a heavy burden of poverty and lags behind the rest of the country in all vital health statistics. The average life expectancy is only 46 and the maternal mortality rate remains unacceptably high at 1 in every 200 pregnancies, compared to Canada which is 1 in every 5,600.
In Uganda malaria is the leading cause of sickness and death – accounting for more than 35 per cent of hospital visits and up to 110,000 deaths every year. Luwero district is vulnerable because of its climate and poor living conditions.
Malaria is particularly deadly for pregnant women and children five years of age or younger. Half of all Ugandan children who die in hospital die from malaria and when children survive their mental and physical development is impaired. Pregnant women are also extremely vulnerable to malaria which can result in anemia, premature delivery, low birth weight and neonatal or maternal death.
AMREF’s Work
To better prevent and manage malaria in Luwero AMREF will train a variety of health professionals to provide better quality front line services, especially for mothers and children.
Specifically AMREF will train;
850 community health workers
Two district health teams
These health workers will target pregnant women and children under five distributing mosquito nets and information on malaria prevention, identification and treatment.
As well as working directly with pregnant women and children the program will strengthen the community’s health services – ensuring they are better equipped to manage maternal and child malaria and promote better overall health for mothers and babies.
Preventing Malaria Among Mothers and Newborns in Luwero is part of AMREF’s 4-country Building the Capacity of Community Health Workers program. Learn more about this program in Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania.
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