“We believe that the best ideas for the village, come from the village.”
In Uganda, Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is a growing issue, with a high mortality rate among undiagnosed youth. The Safe Steps Foundation’s STAR initiative addresses this through a four-pronged approach. First, they focus on timely screening and diagnosis by training healthcare workers and providing testing. Second, their treatment and care efforts include personalized insulin therapy, education on self-management, and access to monitoring tools. Third, through advocacy and awareness, they work to reduce stigma, improve access to affordable supplies, and influence policy. Finally, they strengthen the health system by training a specialized workforce and ensuring a reliable supply chain for T1D essentials.
Mental Health Crisis in Uganda
Uganda faces a significant mental health crisis, with nearly one in four people affected, exacerbated by trauma, poverty, and rising substance abuse. Care is blocked by severe underfunding (about 1% of the health budget), a critical shortage of professionals, and deep-seated stigma that prevents early treatment. The system is centralized and inaccessible for the majority.
Key Actions
We must integrate mental health into primary care by training community health workers for immediate, decentralized service. We need large-scale anti-stigma campaigns to normalize help-seeking. Crucially, we must advocate for increased government funding and policy implementation while expanding the professional mental health workforce in underserved areas.
Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a major public health issue in Uganda, with a high prevalence and significant socio-economic impact. To combat this, key actions focus on expanding newborn screening programs, especially in rural areas. The initiative also aims to improve access to comprehensive healthcare by equipping clinics and ensuring a reliable supply of blood for transfusions. Public awareness and education campaigns, alongside training for healthcare workers, are crucial. The plan also includes providing psychosocial support for families and investing in research and data collection to better understand and manage the disease.
Despite high enrollment, rural Ugandan children face a “learning poverty” crisis, failing to master basic literacy and numeracy. This is caused by a severe lack of qualified teachers and materials, inconsistent language-in-education policy, and widespread poverty, which leads to dropout and poor focus.
Key Actions
The strategy is to accelerate foundational learning using the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) method and by prioritising local language instruction. This must be backed by recruiting and training more rural teachers, subsidising scholastic materials, and implementing school-feeding programs to improve student concentration and retention.
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a growing crisis in Uganda, fueled by urbanization, sedentary lifestyles, and poor diets, leading to rising obesity. Limited awareness causes late diagnosis with severe complications. The healthcare system struggles with scarce resources and high treatment costs, especially in rural areas. To combat this, key actions focus on Public Health Education to raise awareness and promote healthy living. The initiative also aims to Improving Healthcare Access by training professionals and providing diagnostic tools in underserved regions. Subsidizing Medication to ensure essential drugs like insulin are affordable and available, alongside Promoting Healthy Lifestyles through education and discouraging processed foods, are crucial. The plan also includes advocating for stronger government policy and funding for non-communicable diseases like T2D.