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Galdinous Okwonga, a Nursing Officer at Atiak HC IV, shows Amal’s family and neighborhood children how to use and maintain a long-lasting insecticide treated net.
April 15, 2021
How a Community-focused Approach Helped a Mother in Uganda Beat Malaria

Amal’s family is one of more than 500 vulnerable to malaria that the USAID Regional Integration to Enhance Health-North Acholi (RHITES-N, Acholi) Activity is supporting in Amuru District through the Mother Care Group (MCG) model approach. This model uses home visits and group sessions to promote...

A nurse trains and observes a young woman administering Sayana® Press at Nambale Health Center III, Iganga District, Uganda. Photo credit: USAID RHITES-EC Activity
April 08, 2021
Community-Based Family Planning: Empowering Women in Uganda

Village health teams (VHTs) serve as the first point of contact between the population and the health system. VHTs were established by the Uganda Ministry of Health to empower communities to take part in the decisions that affect their health, mobilize communities for health programs, and...

A participant wears a mask at an event to promote infection prevention control (IPC) in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The TB South Africa Project (TBSAP) provided strong support for IPC measures at the facility level. Photo credit: TBSAP
March 24, 2021
URC Contributes to Significant Declines in TB Incidence and Mortality in South Africa

In March 2021, the USAID Tuberculosis South Africa Project (TBSAP) concluded a successful five years, rounding out 17 years of continuous technical assistance by URC to reduce the burden of tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa.

Health care workers in Marawi, Philippines pose in front of a billboard with the TB education campaign "Ayos ka Lungs?" meaning “Are your lungs OK?” The USAID TB Platforms Project supported a wide range of efforts to ensure that TB services continued. Photo credit: TB Platforms
March 24, 2021
Maintaining TB Services under COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health care around the world, including efforts by URC projects to reduce the spread and human impact of tuberculosis (TB) and its drug-resistant strains. Mandatory transportation shutdowns, curfews, and social distancing measures – particularly early in the...

Using COVID-19 precautions, the USAID Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for Health (BARMMHealth) Project in the Philippines hosted a roundtable discussion in Cotabato City in July 2020 with gender and development coordinators.
January 11, 2021
Opinion: US Development Organizations Must Collaborate on COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing the world out of business as usual. This includes U.S. development organizations, which will play a key role in getting coronavirus vaccines to many of the 5 billion people in low- and middle-income countries.

Ranjith De Alwis (middle), Deputy Chief of Party for CMEP and Krung Siv (right), Phnom Kravnah Operational District Team Leader, talk to Rith Sarath (left), farmer and forest goer about his positive test for malaria. Photo credit: Chandara Um, URC
November 20, 2020
Cambodia Nears Historic Goal of Ending Malaria

In 2018, after years of steadily declining malaria-related deaths, Cambodia reported zero such deaths for the first time. The country is on track to eliminate malaria entirely by 2025. These results are not a coincidence, but the result of years of efforts by malaria programs funded by USAID,...

Screening and assessment of PWUDs in Malabon City take place behind protective barriers. Photo credit: Shooting Mafia
November 02, 2020
Local Governments Leading the Way to Reduce Drug Dependence in the Philippines

USAID RenewHealth works to help persons who use drugs (PWUDs), people in recovery, and their families to access informal care, self-help, or community-based rehabilitation. In Malabon City, one of the supported sites of the USAID RenewHealth, the project is building on early efforts to reduce...

October 27, 2020
Hospital Lab Accreditation Improves Patient Care and Safety in Uganda

Efforts to halt the spread of malaria, tuberculosis (TB), HIV, and other diseases depend on quality testing capabilities. URC and our partners, in support of USAID’s Journey to Self-Reliance framework, helped the Jinja Regional Referral Hospital (JRRH) Laboratory obtain the International...

October 13, 2020
Ugandan Military Adapts to Improve Care and Retention of HIV Clients During COVID-19

URC-DHAPP worked with the UPDF Directorate of HIV/AIDS to implement strategies to retain patients in care and ensure continuity of services. Key strategies included creating makeshift clinics near the military bases and initiating community drug deliveries and multi-month drug dispensing.

On Sept. 1 and 2, the USAID TB CARE II Project hosted a two-day virtual forum entitled “The Future of Digital Health for Ending TB,” which marked the end of 10 years of project implementation.
September 14, 2020
TB CARE II Forum Highlights Need for Digital Health Technologies in a World with COVID-19

The USAID TB CARE II Project , implemented by URC, hosted a two-day virtual forum entitled “The Future of Digital Health for Ending TB ,” attended by 1,150 people from more than 65...

A health worker offers PrEP to a key population client at The AIDS Support Organization, Gulu Branch
August 10, 2020
A Quick Pivot: Delivering HIV Services to Key and Priority Populations During COVID-19

When the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Uganda in March 2020, the Government of Uganda instituted guidelines restricting the movement of public and private vehicles. This made it difficult for clients to reach health facilities throughout Gulu District in Northern Uganda to receive HIV...

Lorna in counseling session with her clients in Quezon City
July 27, 2020
Drug Abuse Counseling Needed More than Ever in the Philippines During COVID-19

Lorna Banaag Siute is a community facilitator in charge of five districts or barangays in Quezon City, where she and her colleagues counsel persons who use drugs (PWUDs). She has been doing this challenging work for four years – persevering because she finds fulfillment in touching the lives of...

Nasimah Diron, Marawi City TB Program Nurse Coordinator, flashes a peace sign and a smile after visiting a TB patient with her team. Photo credit: URC
May 20, 2020
Community Health Workers Ensure Continued TB Services During COVID-19

Under current quarantines to reduce the spread of COVID-19, access to tuberculosis (TB) services has become even more challenging. Provision of essential health services – including TB diagnosis, treatment, and care – must continue. TB is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide and the...

Nursing Officer Joweria Kasiir was appointed the district HIV focal person given her success managing the largest client load in the district and improving quality of services resulting in Kamuli becoming the district’s best performing facility.
May 11, 2020
What it Means to Be a Nurse

By Joweria Kasiir, Nursing Officer, Kamuli General ART Clinic, Uganda As a child, I always admired health workers. My late father was a health worker who continuously upgraded his skills and helped me become a nurse. He even personally escorted me to complete the application for nursing school...

Group health education session for forest goers applying COVID-19-mandated social distancing. Photo credit: Dr. Thant Ko Ko (Defeat Malaria Project).
April 25, 2020
World Malaria Day 2020 – Continuing the Momentum to End Malaria

As countries across the world are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, URC continues efforts to prevent, detect, and treat malaria. On World Malaria Day, observed April 25, URC reaffirms our commitment to the global fight to end the disease. URC is leading programs to prevent and treat malaria...

BARMMHealth’s capacity-building efforts have prepared health workers to adapt messaging to confront the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: BARMMHealth, URC Philippines
March 16, 2020
Supporting Response to COVID-19 While Continuing Essential Health Services

For decades URC has worked with national programs to advance efforts to combat infectious diseases including tuberculosis (TB), HIV, malaria, and other emerging and reemerging diseases. URC-led programs have strengthened health systems by developing polices, standards, guidelines, and the...