{"id":839289,"date":"2025-04-05T16:15:18","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T21:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/05\/health-development-partners-retreat-strengthens-coordination-for-better-health-outcomes-in-uganda\/"},"modified":"2025-04-05T16:15:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T21:15:18","slug":"health-development-partners-retreat-strengthens-coordination-for-better-health-outcomes-in-uganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/05\/health-development-partners-retreat-strengthens-coordination-for-better-health-outcomes-in-uganda\/","title":{"rendered":"Health Development Partners\u2019 Retreat Strengthens Coordination for Better Health Outcomes in Uganda"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The Health Development Partners (HDP) Retreat convened at the WHO Uganda Country Office today, bringing together partners in the health sector to discuss strategies for enhancing HDP strategic alignment and coordination, health sector priorities and critical gaps on financing within the health sector. This year\u2019s retreat also underscored the need to improve coordination among health development partners, particularly in response to ongoing health challenges such as the Ebola virus disease outbreak.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, addressed the gathering, expressing appreciation for the partners&#8217; past and ongoing support for Uganda\u2019s health sector. She also stressed the urgency of integration and a coordinated response to the Ebola disease virus outbreak. \u201cThe outbreak poses a significant threat not only to public health but also to our collective progress,\u201d she warned.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">In her remarks, Dr Kasonde Mwinga, the World Health Organization Country Representative, emphasized the critical role of the HDP in harmonizing efforts to support Uganda\u2019s public health initiatives. \u201cAs members of this group, we bear a significant responsibility in supporting decision-making and implementing actions to improve the health and well-being of people living in Uganda,\u201d she stated. Her remarks reinforced the collective commitment required to address pressing health challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Mike Ryan, WHO\u2019s Executive Director for the Health Emergencies Programme and Deputy Director-General, commended the Ministry of Health for its swift and effective response efforts, particularly in vaccination, laboratory screening, and airport exit screening. \u201cIn times of crisis, coordination is not just beneficial; it is essential,\u201d he stated. Dr Ryan reiterated that strong collaboration significantly enhances emergency response efforts and ultimately saves lives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Discussions also focused on coordinating the efforts of health development partners to align with Uganda&#8217;s national health priorities and enhance integrated service delivery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">To this end, Dr Sarah Byakika, Commissioner, Planning, Financing and Policy at the Ministry of Health provided an overview on health sector priorities within the national development plan (NDP IV). Dr Stavia Turyahabwe, Commissioner, Communicable Diseases, spoke to the critical gaps on financing within the health sector, including human resources, commodities and supplies, while highlighting the importance of integration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">UNFPA Deputy Representative in Uganda and HDP Chair, Daniel Alemu, reflected on the contributions of the HDP. \u201cWhile our progress has strengthened coordination and resource optimization, challenges remain in financing and integration. We must reinforce collaboration, streamline structures, and commit to a unified plan with robust monitoring. The health sector\u2019s resilience depends on collective action. Let\u2019s work together to drive efficiency, equity, and impactful interventions.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Counsellor of Health at the Embassy of Sweden and HDP Co-chair, Tomas Lundstr\u00f6m, reiterated the importance of collaboration, while emphasizing the need for flexibility, adaptability and responsiveness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">WHO further called upon health development partners to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<p><em><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Enhance transparency and mutual accountability:<\/span><\/em><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> In particular towards information sharing and timely reporting of their technical and financial assistance to the government.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><em><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Advance the efficiency agenda:\u00a0<\/span><\/em><span lang=\"EN-GB\">With shifting global health financing, improving efficiency has become increasingly crucial, and thus aligning interventions and eliminating redundancies to optimize resources.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><em><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Invest in primary health care<\/span><\/em><span lang=\"EN-GB\">: Bringing services closer to communities by scaling up community-led initiatives and securing sustainable funding is essential for long-term success. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><em><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Improve active engagement with other sectors:<\/span><\/em><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Strengthening collaboration with other sectors<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>such as<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>education and social development, while enhancing information sharing among respective development partners groups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">As discussions concluded, participants expressed a strong sense of urgency to translate commitments into measurable actions. The retreat served as a platform for reflection, forging new partnerships, and reinforcing existing collaborations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Mwinga reiterated WHO\u2019s dedication to facilitating collaboration among partners. \u201cTo ensure lasting impact, we must go beyond dialogue and actively translate our commitments into measurable actions,\u201d she stressed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">As Dr Ryan aptly stated, \u201cIn unity lies our strength.\u201d The retreat reaffirmed that coordinated efforts can drive substantial progress toward achieving better health for all Ugandans, even amid ongoing challenges such as the Ebola virus outbreak.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <span \n                data-original-string='btClWwsGZ9j6\/vxBkUrTPQ==7f4j1WHgpw28VI9ibsikVAhRQSPOMvaiiMOAnsS7LKZ3\/U='\n                class='apbct-email-encoder'\n                title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>bu<span class=\"apbct-blur\">******<\/span>@<span class=\"apbct-blur\">*<\/span>ho.int<\/span> <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.afro.who.int\/countries\/uganda\/news\/health-development-partners-retreat-strengthens-coordination-better-health-outcomes-uganda\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Health Development Partners (HDP) Retreat convened at the WHO Uganda Country Office today, bringing together partners in the health sector to discuss strategies for enhancing HDP strategic alignment and coordination, health sector priorities and critical gaps on financing within the health sector. This year\u2019s retreat also underscored the need to improve coordination among health<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":839290,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27400,267],"tags":[11769,7419],"class_list":{"0":"post-839289","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-development","8":"category-health","9":"tag-development","10":"tag-health"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=839289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/839290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=839289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=839289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=839289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}