Jinja, Uganda – Health sector leaders, local government officials, health workers, development partners and other stakeholders from across the Busoga sub-region have concluded the 3rd Busoga Annual Joint Review Mission, a two-day performance review that brought the region’s health sector performance under scrutiny and set priorities for the year ahead.

Held in Jinja, the review provided a platform for districts and health facilities to account for results achieved during the 2025/26 financial year, examine persistent service delivery challenges and agree on practical actions to improve health outcomes across the region.

Rather than simply celebrating achievements, the review placed emphasis on a central question: what is working, what is not working, why are the gaps persisting, and what must be done differently?

The exercise brought together evidence from district performance, disease trends, human resources, medicines and health commodities, health facility functionality, maternal and child health, governance and other key indicators to inform planning, resource allocation and technical support.

Officially opening the review on behalf of the Minister for the Presidency, Hon. Milly Babalanda, Jinja Resident City Commissioner Salim Komakech challenged health sector leaders to strengthen accountability and protect public resources intended for patients.

He issued a strong call for zero tolerance for corruption, theft and diversion of government medicines and other health commodities, stressing that supplies procured with public resources must reach the people for whom they are intended.

The call comes at a time when medicines availability and supply-chain accountability remain important components of health sector performance. The Ministry of Health’s national accountability mechanisms similarly focus on medicines stewardship, commodity availability and strengthening the health supply chain.

The discussions also highlighted operational constraints affecting service delivery, including staffing gaps, health facility drug management, workload pressures and the need for districts to better align planning and resource allocation with the populations they serve.

One of the key features of the mission was the district-by-district performance assessment, allowing stakeholders to compare results, identify good practices and determine where targeted technical support is required.

Buyende District emerged as the best-performing district, followed by Bugiri District, demonstrating areas where strong planning, management and implementation can translate into better health sector performance.

At the other end of the performance spectrum, Luuka District was identified as requiring urgent and tailored technical support to address service delivery gaps.

Buyende’s presentation, for example, highlighted a district structure comprising two constituencies and 14 lower local governments, including 10 sub-counties and four town councils, while also pointing to challenges around human resources and service capacity. Such analysis enables the region to move beyond headline scores and examine the systems and practices that influence results.

Disease trends also featured prominently during the review, with malaria remaining one of the major public health challenges facing communities in Busoga.

The review drew attention to areas carrying a particularly high malaria burden, reinforcing the need for districts to intensify prevention, early diagnosis and effective treatment, while strengthening community-level interventions and surveillance.

The discussion underscored the importance of using local disease data to determine where interventions should be concentrated rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach across the region.

Measles and rubella prevention was another urgent public health priority. With Uganda having experienced a resurgence of measles and a national response including a measles-rubella immunisation campaign, stakeholders called for stronger community mobilisation to ensure eligible children are vaccinated. The Ministry of Health has warned of the serious complications associated with measles and emphasised immunisation as a key prevention measure.

For Busoga, the message was clear: disease prevention must begin in communities, with health facilities, local governments, VHTs, parents and other community actors working together to close immunity gaps and promote early care-seeking.

By Martha Agama Elizabeth