Minister Aceng Opens National Health Conference, Calls for Unified Action to Tackle Disease Burden

By Ben Musanje

Minister of Health Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng has called for renewed commitment, innovation, and partnership in the fight against communicable and non-communicable diseases, urging Ugandans to unite to protect the health gains the country has achieved over the years.

Dr. Aceng was speaking on Monday at Speke Resort Munyonyo, where she officially opened the five-day National Annual Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases (NACNCD) and the 19th Joint Annual Scientific Health (JASH) Conference 2025 at Speke Resort Hotel Munyonyo.

The event, jointly organized by the Ministry of Health and Makerere University School of Public Health, brings together researchers, policymakers, and health practitioners to discuss strategies for improving population health outcomes.

“This collaboration demonstrates our shared commitment to advancing health research and protecting the gains we have made as a country,” Dr. Aceng said. “Integration is one of the best ways to protect these gains. If you are not ready to protect them, then you are misplaced.”

Uganda’s Health Gains

Highlighting progress in key health indicators, the Minister noted that national immunization coverage has risen from 37% in 2000 to 68% in 2022, supported by an expanded vaccine portfolio.

Childhood stunting has also reduced significantly, while life expectancy has increased from 46 years to 68 years over the same period.

On HIV/AIDS control, Dr. Aceng revealed that 94% of people living with HIV know their status, 90% are on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 97% are virally suppressed.

Tuberculosis treatment success has also improved from below 50% in 2015 to over 90% today, while malaria incidence dropped from 308,000 to 200,000 cases since 2019.

She further reported that screening for cervical cancer rose from 10% in 2022 to 23% in 2023, and community-level screening for hypertension has been decentralized through Village Health Teams (VHTs) equipped with blood pressure monitors.

“These gains reflect strong and long-term collaboration between government, partners, academia, and communities,” she said, commending WHO, UNICEF, and other development and civil society partners for their continued support.

Persistent Challenges

Despite the progress, Dr. Aceng noted that challenges persist, including deep rural–urban disparities in access to healthcare, rising rates of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and continued vaccine hesitancy due to misinformation.

She also underscored the need to address genetic diseases such as sickle cell disease through premarital counselling and improved quality of care.

“While government has made progress, we must strengthen our health systems further to ensure that services are accessible, equitable, and of high quality,” she urged.

Dr. Aceng called for multi-sectoral collaboration, noting that disease control “is not the responsibility of the health sector alone,” but also requires contributions from education, local government, agriculture, water, sanitation, and transport sectors.

“Africa must set its own health targets and achieve them,” she added. “We cannot continue being referred to as the continent left behind.”

Dr. Atwine Urges Clarity and Collective Action

Earlier, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Diana Atwine, challenged participants to move beyond academic discussions and focus on clear, actionable, and accountable outcomes from the conference.

“The science is well known, the practice is clear. What has been missing is a unified front,” she said. “If we can be clear on the issues, the actions, and the responsible people, we will make great strides.”

Dr. Atwine highlighted major government investments in health infrastructure, noting that 90% of Uganda’s population now lives within five kilometres of a health facility.

She cited ongoing efforts to upgrade health centres, strengthen blood banks, enhance diagnostic capacity, and expand mobile X-ray and vaccination services.

However, she warned that infrastructure alone cannot deliver quality care without adequate and competent health workers. “We must talk about the quality, caliber, and quantity of service providers,” she said, expressing concern over rising medical errors and the persistence of traditional practices such as reliance on “bone centers” and traditional birth attendants.

Community Engagement and Research

The Permanent Secretary called for stronger health communication strategies and social-behavioral research to change mindsets and encourage use of formal health services.

She also challenged academia to focus research on local health priorities rather than donor-driven agendas. “Research must answer our questions as a country,” she said.

Dr. Atwine emphasized the need for multi-sectoral collaboration across nutrition, agriculture, gender, education, and environment to tackle root causes of disease.

She further called for discussions on alternative health financing and cost-effective interventions to manage the growing disease burden with limited resources.

A Call for African-Led Health Action

Both leaders reiterated the urgency of unified action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and reduce preventable diseases.

Declaring the conference open, Dr. Aceng urged delegates to “renew our commitment to prevention, innovation, and partnership,” reminding them that “every policy, every intervention, and every community effort matters.”

The five-day conference is expected to generate actionable recommendations to strengthen Uganda’s health system and foster integration between communicable and non-communicable disease control efforts. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).