Uganda and UK deepen health partnership as 2nd Uganda–UK Summit opens in Kampala

KAMPALA, Uganda – Health leaders from Uganda and the United Kingdom gather today in Kampala for the 2nd Uganda–UK Summit, a flagship event bringing together NHS trusts, Ugandan Ministry of Health officials, diaspora health professionals and global health partners to celebrate and strengthen health partnerships between Uganda and the UK.

The Summit, hosted in partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Ministry of Health Uganda, will coincide with a visit to Uganda by Hon Dr Beccy Cooper MP, Chair of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health and Security, who will travel to learn directly from Uganda’s health system – including its strength in primary care and its recent, widely-praised containment of an Ebola outbreak introduced via cross-border movement from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The event will showcase the impact of UK funded health partnerships between Ugandan and UK hospitals and health facilities, featuring collaborative projects in critical care, cardiology, kidney transplantation, and maternal-foetal medicine. Emphasis will be placed on maternal, neonatal and child health, including initiatives focused on emergency obstetric and newborn care training, neonatal workforce development, and sepsis reduction programmes.

Delegates will also explore private sector investment opportunities in Uganda’s health sector, and consider the future shape of global health architecture, including reflections on epidemic preparedness and South-to-North knowledge transfer following Uganda’s Ebola response.

The Summit will be opened by H.E. Ms Lisa Chesney MBE, UK High Commissioner to Uganda, H.E. Nimisha Madhvani, Ugandan High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland, and Hon Dr Charles Ayume, Uganda’s State Minister for Health. The event will close with a fireside conversation with Dr Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary of Uganda’s Ministry of Health