Our Story


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Edith Kungye “There are many changes that are good in my community, like lower child mortality, less disease, immunization, good nutrition for our children.”

Village Health Team Member

What is HCU?

Healthy Child Uganda (HCU) is a partnership between Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Canadian universities and organizations, and the Canadian Paediatric Society. HCU works with national and district health planners, leaders, and communities themselves to develop, implement, and evaluate initiatives that strengthen health systems and improve health for mothers, babies, and children.

How Did HCU Start?

In 1999, Canadian paediatricians began visiting Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) to support medical training and clinical care. In 2002, MUST faculty approached Canadian colleagues with a proposal to initiate a community-based education project targeting child health. Healthy Child Uganda was born.

With Canadian government funding (through the Canadian International Development Agency) and technical support through the Canadian Paediatric Society, training of community health workers began in 2004.

Community health workers, known locally as Village Health Teams (VHTs), are volunteers who are selected by the people they live among and then trained in health promotion.

Where Does HCU Operate?

HCU is based adjacent to the MUST campus in Mbarara town, Uganda. It is active in southwestern districts including Mbarara, Bushenyi, Buhweju, Ntungamo, and Rubirizi. It has also begun a partnership with the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences to scale-up efforts in two districts of Mwanza Region, Tanzania.

Click below to see interactive maps of where we work.

Where We Work