Uganda Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services-North, Lango (USAID)

Working with the Ministry of Health and local district governments, JSI led the USAID-funded Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services-North, Lango (USAID RHITES-N, Lango) project to strengthen the health system in the Lango sub-region of Uganda to improve access and availability of quality health services for individuals and their families, reaching over 2 million people. The district-led and community-focused project covered multiple technical areas, including HIV, tuberculosis, maternal, newborn and child health, family planning, malaria, nutrition, and water and sanitation. 

USAID RHITES-N, Lango was a locally-led project supporting locally-based organizations that know their communities well and have established trust. Using a capacity strengthening approach, the project collaborated with the districts to design and support community-led, data-driven solutions, and reinforce established health systems, which improved the quality of integrated health services in the region resulting in:

• A 240 percent increase in the use of family planning services

• A 30 percent increase in the number of women giving birth a health facilities

• A 4 and 36 percent decrease in maternal and child mortality respectively

• The identification of 92 percent of the estimated PLHIV

• The enrollment and retention on ART of 99 percent of people diagnosed with HIV

• A 93 percent viral suppression of those diagnosed with HIV

From 2018-2021, the USAID RHITES-N, Lango project managed a large HIV and TB portfolio. In 2021, JSI transitioned the portfolio to three Ugandan organizations: Joint Clinical Research Center, Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau, and Lira Regional Referral Hospital, and now provides technical assistance to these organizations. Another HIV intervention involved an adolescent peer-led HIV program to increase HIV testing and treatment adherence. Youth were also recruited and trained to work in the healthcare system to improve workforce capacity and sustainability.

After six years of implementation, USAID RHITES-N, Lango surpassed many primary objectives, resulting in: 

• Expanded access to essential health services and life saving commodities

• Improved quality of care for HIV clients, those with TB, and pregnant women

• Enhanced district capacity to plan, monitor, and implement health interventions

• Strengthened health information systems for data collection, reporting, and use

JSI led the USAID RHITES-N, Lango consortium in partnership with Another Option, and The Medical Concierge Group.