Medical and Health Sciences

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Browsing Medical and Health Sciences by Author "Ahaibwe, Gemma"

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    Addressing regional disparities in access to child and maternal health services
    (Economic Policy Research Centre, 2016) Ahaibwe, Gemma
    Ensuring healthy lives through access to essential, affordable, quality health care for ‘all’ is the cornerstone of sustainable development and is what proponents of Universal Health Care (UHC) advocate for. Although Uganda has made some progress towards UHC, challenges remain with persistent inequality in access to maternal and child care services. Using the recently concluded MDG framework as an example, Uganda’s achievement on the various MDGS was mixed. A number of health related goals- which are of interest to this brief remained unachieved by the close of the September 2015 deadline; Uganda failed to reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio and narrowly missed target 4A that aimed to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015.1 To date in Uganda, an estimated 16 women still die every day from preventable causes linked to pregnancy and child birth while approximately 90 per 1000 live births still die from preventable causes annually. Disaggregated analysis further reveals stark regional disparities in health outcomes; the PRDP region2 and in particular the Northern region continues to lag behind the rest of the country – hence pulling down national human development progress. As we embark on the journey towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 which call for ‘leaving no one behind”, there is a need to address binding constraints in such lagging areas. This brief unpacks the disparities in achievements in maternal and child related health outcomes for the PRDP region in comparison to the rest of the country and proposes reforms aimed at accelerating the movement towards universal health coverage.
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    Expanding HIVAIDS prevention programmes through Safe Male Circumcision and Voluntary Counselling and Testing in Uganda
    (2013) Ahaibwe, Gemma; Kasirye, Ibrahim; Barungi, Mildred
    Although Uganda initially registered large reductions in HIV/AIDS prevalence rate during the 1990s, the rate of new HIV infection is on the rise across the country. At least 1.2 million Ugandans are infected with the HIV virus1 . Recent evidence from the 2011 Uganda AIDS Indicator Survey revealed that the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate had increased from 6.4 percent in 2004/5 to 7.3 percent by 20112. The trends in new HIV infections in figure 1 suggest that the annual number of new HIV infections increased by 11.4 percent from 115,775 in 2007/08 to 128,980 in 2010/11, despite the huge amounts of resources earmarked for HIV/AIDS related expenditures. The increase in the HIV/AIDS prevalence has been blamed on the complacency of Ugandans with the availability of anti-retrovaral therapies (ARTs)— especially regarding sexual behavior.
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    Overcoming the reproductive health challenges to young women’s employment prospects in Uganda
    (Economic Policy Research Centre, 2017) Ahaibwe, Gemma; Kasirye, Ibrahim
    Despite the existence of a fairly strong legal framework, young women in Uganda continue to face a number of challenges as they make the crucial transition into adulthood. In particular, girls are pushed into early marriages and pregnancies and are often deprived of full education attainment. Such experiences have lasting impacts on their future economic opportunities. Research findings show that discriminatory social norms and practices still exist –particularly in rural areas - and they affect the ability of girls and young women to realise their educational and economic capabilities. Young people with more education are likely to transit to better jobs as and when employment opportunities arise. Moreover, early fertility and marriage experiences often result in increased caring responsibilities and restricted mobility in search of employment opportunities.