How Uganda is bringing malaria care closer to every family

What the report says

Uganda is expanding community-based malaria services in an effort to make diagnosis and treatment available closer to where people live, especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas. According to The Independent Uganda, the Ministry of Health is training and equipping Village Health Teams (VHTs) and Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) to use rapid diagnostic tests and provide free treatment for people of all ages at community level.

The article uses the example of nine-year-old Joshua Ekimwere and his grandmother, Akurut Dinah Loy, in rural Ogaramio village to show how the system is changing daily life for families that previously faced delays, transport costs and long waits before receiving care. It says the approach is intended to reduce the time between symptoms and treatment, which is especially important in a country where malaria remains a major public health burden.

The report says malaria deaths in Uganda have fallen by more than half since 2000, but the country still recorded an estimated 13.2 million cases in 2025. It also cites World Health Organization estimates of between 16,000 and 20,000 malaria deaths that year. The publication links the community strategy to Uganda’s broader 24-2 Hours Initiative, which aims to ensure diagnosis and treatment within 24 hours of symptom onset and pre-referral treatment for severe cases within two hours.

The effort is described as part of wider primary health care strengthening, supported by partners including the Global Fund, the U.S. government and UNICEF. The broader significance is that bringing services closer to households may improve equity, speed up care and help Uganda move toward malaria elimination and universal health coverage.