Child Survival and Development
Keeping children Alive and Thriving
Situation
Every child has the right to survive and thrive.
UNICEF strives to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable children, adolescents and mothers towards creating a healthy society.
Uganda has made considerable progress in improving child survival and development. Between 2011 and 2016, maternal and under-five mortality, respectively, declined from 438 deaths per 100,000 live births to 368 deaths per 100,000 live births, and from 90 deaths per 1,000 live births to 64 deaths per 1,000 live births. Stunting in children under 5 years of age declined from 33 per cent to 29 per cent. AIDS-related deaths among children dropped by 65 per cent, and 155,000
new infections were averted (between 2010 and 2019). Access to safe water increased from 70 per cent to 78 per cent.
Also, over the 2011–2016 period, immunization coverage against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) and measles improved from 68 per cent to 79 per cent, and from 76 per cent to 80 per cent, respectively. The proportion of women attending at least four antenatal -care visits increased from 48 per cent to 60 per cent, and deliveries in health facilities rose from 57 per cent to 73 per cent. These improvements have been particularly pronounced in the Karamoja region, where
poverty and deprivation levels are among the highest.
UNICEF is building capacities of the Government and stakeholders to strengthen service delivery, while educating families and communities and simultaneously encouraging demand for the following services:
- High quality, integrated package for pregnant and lactating mothers and newborns, including HIV.
- Essential package of quality preventative, promotive and curative services for infants and young children.
- High-impact nutrition interventions.
- Safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
UNICEF in action
Working with the government ministries, Prime Minister’s Office, district local governments, bilateral and multilateral partners, UNICEF plans to achieve accelerated progress by ensuring that:
- Families and communities adopt positive care and nurturing practices during pregnancy, childbirth, early childhood and adolescence.
- Women, mothers and newborns receive an essential quality reproductive, antenatal, post-natal and newborn health services package.
- Children are immunized and have timely access to treatment for common childhood diseases, especially malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea.
- Caretakers are informed and access services and support to prevent nutritional stunting and micronutrient deficiencies and to treat severe acute malnutrition.
- Adolescent boys and girls receive comprehensive prevention interventions and access comprehensive HIV treatment and care to reduce HIV incidence and early pregnancies.
- Children and their families and communities have access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene practices.
Aim:
By 2025, newborns, young and adolescent boys and girls, especially the most disadvantaged and those living in humanitarian situations, have access to and use quality integrated health, nutrition and HIV services, and benefit from a more nurturing, protective and clean environment.
Resources
To learn more about about work, download UNICEF Uganda Annual Report 2021
