Medicine Shortages Cripple Village Health Teams Despite Better Training in Central Uganda

Village Health Teams (VHTs) across central Uganda have achieved remarkable gains in community trust, mobility, and training. However, a severe shortage of essential medicines is preventing these frontline workers from treating sick children when families need them most.

These findings come from a comprehensive evaluation by the Makerere University School of Public Health, presented by Prof. Nazarius Mbona Tumwesigye at the 4th Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Conference organized by the Ministry of Health. The study assessed the Capacity Building for Community Health Workers in Central Region Project, implemented by the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare alongside the ministry across Masaka City, Masaka district, and Bukomansimbi district from 2021 to 2025.

For rural households, VHTs serve as the crucial first line of defense in healthcare. The project delivered striking improvements in basic support for these volunteers. Bicycle ownership surged from 6.8 percent to 73.5 percent, access to gumboots jumped to 89.4 percent, and mobile phone ownership climbed to 77.3 percent. Parish coordinators also received motorcycles, dramatically improving travel across scattered homesteads.

Training saw a similar boost, with first aid instruction rising to 72 percent and disease prevention training reaching 93.2 percent. Financial recognition improved markedly, with 100 percent of workers receiving some form of compensation by the end of the project, up from 46.1 percent. Institutional backing and proper uniforms translated into soaring community satisfaction, which climbed to 93.6 percent, while local trust rose to 91.5 percent.

Despite these successes, a profound contradiction threatens the entire initiative. The proportion of sick children VHTs actually treated plummeted from 60.5 percent at baseline to 22.4 percent at endline. Supply chain failures meant the share of volunteers with required medications dropped significantly, leaving families empty-handed during emergencies and forcing more parents to seek care at formal health facilities.

To secure public health gains, researchers recommended sustained financial investment through the Primary Health Care fund, guaranteed procurement of essential medicines, and better logistical support. Read the full story on The Observer.