Strength in Unity: How Partnerships and Political Engagement Are Transforming Child Health in Busoga

By Dorothy Akongo– Research and Advocacy Manager, Busoga Health Forum and participant in the Child Thrive Project within the ICLD municipal partnership Jinja-Stockholm.

In the heart of eastern Uganda, the Busoga region is witnessing a quiet revolution, one that puts the health and wellbeing of its children at the center of an ambitious and deeply collaborative effort. Through a strong ICLD partnership between Busoga Health Forum, Jinja City, Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, Pediatric Health Initiative, Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital, and Region Stockholm, and with funding support from the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD), we are reimagining how health systems can work, and who should be part of the solution.

Why Partnerships Matter
Health is too big a task for any one institution and true progress happens when local governments, hospitals, researchers, and international allies come together, bringing diverse expertise, resources, and perspectives to bear on complex challenges.

This is exactly what the Child Thrive Project in Busoga is doing: It is creating a bridge between Uganda and Sweden, between clinicians and communities, between policy and practice. Through health worker trainings, joint planning, and cross-border exchange visits, the project has enhanced knowledge sharing and quality improvement in neonatal, pediatric and child health services.

From improved practices in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, to enhanced pediatric emergency assessment and treatment practices, to child rights awareness, to knowledge gained during exposure visits to Stockholm hospitals, frontline workers are benefiting directly from this collaborative approach.

Politicians: Partners in Change
One of the often-overlooked ingredients in successful development programs is political leadership, yet politicians shape public priorities, influence resource allocation, and mobilize communities.

That’s why our project is intentionally engaging local political leaders from Jinja City and Region Stockholm throughout the project cycle, from design and budgeting to implementation and monitoring. Their participation ensures that child health is not only a technical agenda but a governance priority. It aligns project activities with city development plans and gives community voices a direct line to those in power. This political involvement has already borne fruit: Child health is receiving increased visibility in city health reviews, and local leaders are advocating for the institutionalization of child rights platforms like the Children’s Parliament.

A Model for Other Regions
What’s happening in Busoga is a powerful example of how co-creation, mutual respect, and shared ownership can accelerate progress in child health. It is a reminder that development is not charity, it is solidarity.

As the partnership matures, we envision even stronger ties between institutions in Uganda and Sweden. We aim for greater alignment of political will with frontline realities and deeper engagement with families and communities. The future of child health lies in partnerships like these: global in vision, local in action, and inclusive in approach. Join the movement. Invest in partnerships. Prioritize children. The time is now.

This blog is written by Dorothy Akongo– Research and Advocacy Manager, Busoga Health Forum

Read more about the project here: https://icld.se/en/partnership...