Overview

The Ministry of Health is a government body set up with the mandate of stewardship and leadership of the health sector. The Ministry of Health is responsible for policy review and development, supervision of health sector activities, formulation and dialogue with health development partners, strategic planning, setting standards and quality assurance, resource mobilization, advising other Ministries, departments and agencies on health-related matters, and ensuring quality, health equity, and fairness in contribution towards the cost of health care. 

Our Vision is to have a healthy and productive population that contributes to socio-economic growth and national development.

Our Mission is to provide the highest possible level of health services to all people in Uganda through delivery of promotive, preventive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative health services at all levels”.

Our role as the Ministry of Health also includes; mobilization of resources such as human resources, health infrastructure, medicines and other health supplies, health data and information. The Ministry of health handles capacity development and technical support supervision; provision of nationally coordinated services including health emergency preparedness and response, epidemic prevention and control, coordination of health research, monitoring and evaluation of the overall health sector performance.

In pursuit of the health system objectives, the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Health ensures mechanisms that offer equity for all citizens in accessing health services for life threatening health problems, particularly to avert pregnancy and birth-related mortality and childhood killer diseases, strengthen the capacity of health facilities to improve service provision, build and expand the national health infrastructure through a medium term health facility development plan, as well as establish an appropriate and efficiently functioning referral system.

The Uganda’s national health system comprises all institutions, structures and actors whose actions have the main purpose of achieving and sustaining good health for all people living in Uganda. The boundaries of the national health system cover the public sector, the private health delivery system, private health practitioners (PHP), the traditional and complementary medicine practitioners (TCMP) and the communities. The public sector also includes the health services of the army, police and prisons, while the private health delivery system comprises the private-not-for-profit organisations (PNFPs).

Across Uganda, both public and private sub-sector players provide health services to the people of Uganda. Government contributes about 66% of the service delivery outlets. These include national and regional hospitals including a tiered system of health centers, which handle a range of services. Private health providers comprise Private Not-for-profit organisations (PNFPs), private-for-profit health care providers (PFPs) also known as commercial health care providers, and traditional and complementary medicine practitioners (TCMPs). Nearly 70% of the facility-based PNFP organisations exist under umbrella organisations; the Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau (UCMB) and the Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau (UPMB). The Uganda Orthodox Medical Bureau (UOMB) and the Uganda Muslim Medical Bureau (UMMB) represent more than 5% of the health providers. 

Some functions have been delegated to national autonomous institutions including; specialized clinical support functions to Uganda Blood Transfusion Service (UBTS), National Medical Stores, National Public Health Laboratories and Uganda Natural Chemotherapeutic Research Laboratory. Health professional councils and the National Drug Authority conduct regulatory functions on behalf of the Ministry of Health. Research activities are conducted by several research institutions and coordinated by the autonomous Uganda National Health Research Organization (UNHRO).