Pediatric Health Initiative

16/06/2026

Over the past two weeks, we had the pleasure of welcoming colleagues from Kampala, as well as from the Busoga district hospitals in Buwenge, Bugiri, Kamuli, Iganga, and Jinja, to Sweden.

Building on our emergency paediatric and neonatal collaboration in the Busoga Region, this exchange brought Ugandan and Swedish colleagues together to further develop our efforts to improve the quality of care for children in the involved hospitals. The programme included workshops on teamwork and implementation strategies, clinical job shadowing at Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital at Karolinska University Hospital, and instructor training for staff from the Busoga district hospitals in the principles of ETAT (Emergency Triage, Assessment and Treatment). Together with neonatal colleagues from Kampala, we also explored how to strengthen networks and support systems at both national and international levels.

We are grateful to everyone who travelled, hosted, and took part in this joint work, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration.

ICLD - Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy Busoga Health Forum Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset Region Stockholm Ministry of Health- Uganda

22/05/2026

Pediatric Health Initiative (PHI) has over the past two weeks been involved in the Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) intervention in The Gambia. ETAT is a comprehensive training of health care staff to improve delivery of paediatric care in low resource settings. ETAT Gambia, together with The Ministry of Health in The Gambia, is currently implementing the programme at all its secondary and tertiary level hospitals over a period of three years. PHI contributed with two facilitators for two courses and supported one of these courses by additional sponsorship. One of the courses was part of the introduction of ETAT to Bwiam General hospital and started off the three month implementation period at this site. The second course was delivered to lecturers at the four public nursing schools in The Gambia to enable them to start passing on the knowledge and skills to nursing students. The long term aim is to introduce ETAT into the nursing and medical school curriculum in The Gambia to ensure all health care staff know the programme when they are due to start working independently. We were profoundly impressed by the exceptional engagement and dedication from the participants and facilitators to drive the development of paediatric care in The Gambia. Finally, we are very grateful to have had this opportunity to work in cooperation with ETAT Gambia and The Ministry of Health in The Gambia and hope to sustain this partnership in the long term.

14/05/2026

This week, politicians from Stockholm and Jinja City met alongside hospital leaders from Astrid Lindgrens Barnsjukhus, Karolinska, and Jinja Regional Referral Hospital in Jinja, Uganda — together with civil society partners Busoga Health Forum and Pediatric Health Initiative.

The ICLD-funded Child Thrive Partnership brings together two municipal councils, two hospitals, and two civil society organizations in a four-in-one collaboration spanning emergency pediatric care, neonatology, pediatric neurology, and children’s rights. The meeting included presentations on partnership achievement, study visits to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital and Buwenge hospital, job shadowing and a panel discussion where politicians from Uganda and Sweden explored how elected representatives can contribute to children’s health — through political prioritization, resource allocation, and holding health systems accountable to children’s rights.

As the ICLD-funded project period draws to a close, the work is far from over. The partnership has already given rise to two new ongoing projects, and the meeting generated plenty of ideas for how to continue strengthening children’s health together.

ICLD - Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy Busoga Health Forum

06/05/2026

Next chapter: Building better care for children in Busoga!
Following our first mentorship visits in February – covering neonatology and emergency pediatrics – we’ve now completed the first round of visits in our remaining three focus areas across all six district hospitals in the Busoga region!
Led by Pediatric Health Initiative in partnership with Busoga Health Forum and Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, with support from the Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung, this new phase brought together focal, national, and international mentors across:Child neurology, Child rights, Infection prevention and control (IPC)
Practical training focused on child-adapted medical information, aseptic techniques, medication management and anti-seizure drugs management – all critical for protecting our most vulnerable patients. Action plans are now in place at every hospital, and many focal persons have already hit the ground running. A long-term goal is to establish antibiotic stewardship programs across all six hospitals – a vital step toward responsible antibiotic use and better patient outcomes.
Step by step, visit by visit – we’re strengthening locally led capacity so that more children receive safe, high-quality care close to home.

Busoga Health Forum Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung

14/03/2026