Maternal, Newborn & Child Health
Too many mothers and babies in Uganda continue to die from preventable causes. Newborn conditions are the leading cause of death in the country. Most deaths are preventable.
Of the 1.7 million births in Uganda each year, 62,000 newborns and mothers don’t survive. These losses reflect gaps in access to quality care, chronic shortages of trained health workers, and systemic challenges that continue to put mothers and babies at risk.
We’ve pioneered a model – AdaraNewborn – to increase survival rates for the sickest and smallest newborns and their mothers to meet Sustainable Development Goal targets. Now we’re expanding this model across 10 health facilities in Uganda to halve maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths.
Every woman has the right to a safe pregnancy and childbirth, and every child deserves the best possible start to life. Despite sustained efforts and leadership from the Ministry of Health, and clear national commitments to progress, Uganda remains off track to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for maternal and newborn mortality by 2030. The need for solutions that focus on women, newborns and children is more urgent than ever.
We are working to strengthen maternal, newborn and child health services across Uganda through AdaraNewborn – our evidence-based, high-impact model of maternal and newborn care.
AdaraNewborn
AdaraNewborn is our model of care, with the power to halve newborn deaths and stillbirths across North-Central Uganda over the next decade. It will do this by supporting women and newborns from pregnancy through to their return home after birth. It provides health workers with training and mentorship; strengthens leadership and governance in the health system; equips facilities with the tools to succeed; and focuses on quality improvement systems. This creates sustainable systems change, saving lives now and reducing deaths into the future.
Centre of excellence
At the heart of AdaraNewborn is a holistic model of care to women, newborns and children that we pioneered with our partner, Kiwoko Hospital, since 1998. This work has been recognised by Uganda’s Ministry of Health as a Centre of Excellence in the country. We are leveraging this experience to expand our model across Uganda. To facilitate this process, We are committed to maintaining Kiwoko as a Centre of Excellence by supporting the hospital’s programmes across the continuum of care.
Hospital to Home
Hospital to Home (H2H) is our flagship newborn follow-up programme supporting high-risk infants in the hospital and when they return home. It strengthens care for infants in a neonatal unit through comprehensive parent education programmes and promotion of care that encourages healthy brain development. It also provides regular at-home follow-up support to these infants for six months after discharge through a network of community health workers. H2H sits in the ‘follow-up and early intervention’ arm of AdaraNewborn.
Baby Ubtunu
Baby Ubuntu is a programme of early care and support that aims to improve quality of life for children with mild to moderate neurodisabilities and their caregivers. The programme includes a parent education training programme with 12 modules. It provides emotional and practical support to caregivers so they feel empowered and confident. It also gives them the tools to care for their child. Baby Ubuntu sits in the ‘follow-up and early intervention’ arm of AdaraNewborn.
Adara Youth Community Centre
The Adara Youth Community Centre (AYCC) provides support to adolescents through sexual and reproductive health education and services. These can include family planning, counselling, life skills training, antenatal care services, and connection with health services. It also provides community outreach, working closely with schools, parents and local leaders. These services are available to young people aged 10 to 24. Our goal is to provide youth with support to lead happy and healthy lives.
Bubble CPAP Kit
Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a leading cause of death for babies born prematurely. To help these tiny babies breathe, we teamed up with PATH, University of Washington, Seattle Children’s Hospital and Kiwoko Hospital to develop an innovative, low-cost bubble continuous positive airway pressure (bCPAP) kit for babies suffering from RDS in low-resource settings. It could save hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide.
Critical healthcare
We support vulnerable communities in Central Uganda, including people living with HIV, diabetes, disabilities, epilepsy, mental health conditions and tuberculosis. By supporting Kiwoko Hospital’s HIV, diabetes and community based healthcare (CBHC) programmes, we ensure these groups have access to essential services.
Meet Alice and Robinah
When Alice went into premature labour while sick with malaria, she worried whether her tiny daughter would survive. Fortunately, shortly after birth, Alice’s daughter – named Robinah – was admitted to Nakaseke Hospital, an AdaraNewborn facility. This meant it was equipped with the staff, facilities and supplies to provide her with quality care.
Now Robinah is thriving.
Proving our impact
Inside our maternal, newborn & child health work
Between 2021 to 2025, we achieved the following in AdaraNewborn facilities in Uganda:
42%
reduction in the maternal mortality rate.
29%
reduction in the neonatal mortality rate.
37%
reduction in stillbirths.
90%
average newborn survival rate across AdaraNewborn neonatal units.
Hand in hand
Maternal, Newborn & Child Health Partners
Join us
…to bring quality health and education services to people living in some of the world’s remotest places.
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