Partnership with the Africa Centre for Applied Digital Health (CADH)

UHF is working with the Africa Centre for Applied Digital Health (CADH) to strengthen data infrastructure in Uganda’s private health sector and to prepare the ground for model biobanks. UHF links CADH to health facilities, government bodies and researchers across the country.

UHF and CADH are assessing the data systems of selected private health facilities, and the findings will shape the support each facility receives. The partnership aims to:

• Improve data visibility: give facilities analytics and dashboards on patient demographics, disease trends and operational performance.
• Open doors to clinical research: standardise facility data so private facilities can serve as sites for international clinical trials and research.
• Diversify income: help facilities access new revenue from sponsored research, clinical trials and data-driven innovation projects.
• Support clinical decisions: bring AI-powered decision-support tools into workflows for triage, diagnosis and chronic disease management.

The work includes surveys, health data analysis and visualisation dashboards, and all data are handled confidentially and in line with ethical and legal standards.

CADH, funded by the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) in Kenya, is also leading the Sampling Study, which aims to establish model biobanks of patient leftover samples from routine healthcare in Uganda and Kenya. CADH will pilot biobank models in real-world healthcare settings and set up sample handling and data management systems so that biobanks can be sustained for future research and public health use. Participating facilities collect, process and store leftover samples from patients who have given voluntary consent after receiving routine clinical care.

• Stakeholder mapping: curating a list of relevant organisations and individuals across Uganda, including government, ministries, regulatory bodies, administrative agencies and health facilities.
• Rapid facility mapping: planning and carrying out rapid mapping of health facilities to review records on daily patient volumes, disease profiles of laboratory samples collected and other relevant data, and working with CADH to report on the results nationwide.
• Feasibility study planning: developing and documenting a countrywide data collection plan across all stakeholders, with budgets for the facility mapping and for stakeholder engagement.
• Stakeholder engagement: holding preliminary engagements, including workshops with officials from the Ministry of Health, the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), researchers, hospital owners and ethics bodies, ahead of data collection and further engagement on the biobanking project.
• Sample collection units: supporting CADH to establish sample collection units at health facilities nationwide, once consent and administrative clearance have been secured through the feasibility study.

Better-organised facility data and well-managed biobanks support research that can improve disease prevention and diagnostics, create new research and income opportunities for private facilities, and strengthen decision-making in patient care.

Interested facilities can contact UHF at info@uhfug.com.