Projects

Our members’ experience, turned into practical programmes.

We run research, build digital tools and strengthen community and facility systems, always working with the Ministry of Health and our partners so that solutions are adopted and sustained.

Current projects

What we are working on now.

Community health · Digital healthStrengthening Community-Based Platforms to Enhance Surveillance, Reporting and Management of SGBV
Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) often goes unseen and unreported at community level.
Lira, Kyenjojo, Mayuge and Namutumba 267 SGBV screening reports submitted through e-CHIS
Research · Gender-based violenceFGM Study and SGBV Screening Tool Pilot, Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement
A study of the prevalence, incidence, drivers and consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM), and a test of an SGBV screening tool.
Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement 35.2% FGM prevalence among women and girls aged 15 to 49
Digital health · ResearchPartnership with the Africa Centre for Applied Digital Health (CADH)
Strengthening data infrastructure in Uganda’s private health sector and preparing the ground for model biobanks.
Health facilities across Uganda Facility data systems assessed; model biobanks of leftover samples prepared in Uganda and Kenya.
Malaria · Referral systemsBridging Health and Education: School Referrals to Private Providers for Timely Malaria Response
Malaria surveillance, early detection and referral between schools and private health providers, starting in Jinja and Mpigi.
Jinja and Mpigi 36 private health facilities trained on malaria treatment reporting and referral
Environmental health · ResearchSolid Waste Management Pilot, Kampala
Practical, costed solutions for solid waste management, built on UHF’s research on food loss and wastage in Kampala markets.
Kampala Stakeholders mapped; government, private sector and technical partners brought together to co-create costed solutions.

Digital platforms

Tools built for lasting government ownership.

Service Quality Improvement System Plus (SQIS+)

Hosted by the Ministry of Health

SQIS+ is a digital platform that lets private and other non-state providers carry out structured self-assessments of service quality and receive a facility-specific, risk-based, one-year improvement plan that separates actions needing extra funds from those that can be done with existing resources. UHF led its development, piloting and scale-up with both private-for-profit and private-not-for-profit providers, then handed it over to the Ministry of Health. It is now hosted on Ministry of Health servers, an example of how UHF builds tools for lasting government ownership.

Medical Records and Data Reporting System (MRDRS)

Piloted in 27 facilities, 11 districts

Developed by UHF with the Ministry of Health and USAID support, MRDRS helps private facilities keep electronic medical records and report routine data. It is linked to DHIS2, supports patient, laboratory, pharmacy, inventory and billing records, can support Community Health Insurance management, and provides dashboards and analytics for managers. It works offline in low-connectivity settings and was piloted in 27 private facilities across 11 districts.

UHF eLearning Platform and Medical Credit Scheme

25+ modules · CPD points

Our eLearning platform offers more than 25 training modules, and UHF is an accredited continuing medical education provider, with CPD points awarded through the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council. Linked to SQIS+ findings, our Medical Credit Scheme gives private providers affordable financing to buy equipment, improve quality and expand services.

Past projects

Earlier work, and what it delivered.

Programmes UHF has led or joined with the Ministry of Health, USAID, the Mastercard Foundation and the Global Financing Facility.

USAID Strengthening Supply Chain Systems Technical Assistance Activity2020 to 2025 · nationwide

UHF was a core consortium partner with the Ministry of Health and others, leading private-sector and faith-based facility engagement, digital systems deployment, capacity building and mentorship. UHF developed the Digital Supply Chain Performance Self-Assessment System (DSPSS), built an eLearning platform integrated with the Ministry of Health eLearning portal, trained and certified 612 supply chain personnel, started 361 facilities on DSPSS (21 referral hospitals, 57 general hospitals, 87 private not-for-profit and 196 private facilities), and reached more than 400 health workers through tele-mentorship and peer learning.

USAID Health Systems Strengthening Activity2021 to 2023 · nationwide

With the Ministry of Health, UHF developed and rolled out the Medical Records and Data Reporting System (MRDRS), which feeds routine reports directly into DHIS2 and was piloted in 27 private facilities across 11 districts.

USAID Maternal Child Health and Nutrition ActivitySub-awardee

Helped private facilities, including in Kampala, deliver better reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health services in line with Ministry of Health standards.

MasterCard Foundation: Self-Regulatory Quality Improvement System (SQIS+)

Supported the digital quality monitoring programme for private and faith-based facilities, where facilities self-assess 16 key service elements, from leadership and infection prevention to medicines management and business processes. UHF also trained facility staff, linked performance to licensure requirements and enabled access to equipment financing and working capital.

COVID-19 Private Sector Health Worker SensitisationGlobal Financing Facility through IFC/World Bank · December 2020 to January 2021

Trained 1,366 private health workers across 41 districts over Zoom, put all materials on the UHF eLearning platform and secured 8 CME credits from the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council. The model was presented to the Ministry of Health PPP in Health Technical Working Group as a scalable approach to private sector professional development.

USAID Strengthening Decentralization for Sustainability Project2015 to 2016

Assessed training needs across 32 facilities in 16 districts, then delivered blended and online training, including training of trainers, to about 264 health workers and district officers in private and faith-based facilities.

Wider COVID-19 response

A private sector situation analysis, a framework to include the private sector in the national response, and training in COVID-19 vaccine administration and vaccination data capture in 12 cities.

Read the vaccination case study

Our impact, 2010 to 2026

What the work has added up to.

1,400

private facilities assessed for service quality

5,000

health workers trained in infection prevention and control

1,000

private providers trained in business and finance

UGX 100M+

in medical equipment and instruments financed

361

health facilities started on DSPSS

612

supply chain personnel trained and certified through eLearning

1,366

private health workers trained on COVID-19 case management, across 41 districts

digitised training modules

SQIS+ handed over to the Ministry of Health, and the MRDRS digital health platform launched.

Convening

490 delegates from 26 countries, hosted in Kampala.

UHF hosted the inaugural East Africa Healthcare Federation conference in 2012, and the fifth at the Sheraton, Kampala, with over 40 speakers on the private sector’s role in the health Sustainable Development Goals.

Reports

Read the record.

Work with us

Support or join one of our projects.

UHF welcomes partners, funders and facilities who want to support or join our projects.

Talk to us about a project WhatsApp

Or call the secretariat+256 754 667 022