Lancet Examines Uganda's Child-Health Volunteers

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A Lancet World Report examines how a small group of village volunteers trained in basic health care are helping to improve the health of Ugandan children. "In a country where government spending on health is US$39 per person and 13% of children younger than 5 years die, trained volunteer health workers can make a substantial difference in remote rural areas," said Jerome Kabakyenga, dean of Medicine at the Mbara University of Science and Technology (MUST).

The article examines a program offered by a local university in Western Uganda where "a pair of volunteers in each of 175 villages in the region" receive training "in a set of basic child health concepts known as Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI)," a child health approach designed by WHO and UNICEF.

The article also looks at the debate over the role volunteers can play in improving health conditions (Webster, 11/21).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

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