Dr. Kyabayinze noted that the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) policy provides for one type B ambulance per constituency or population of 100,000 people, adding that as of today, the ambulance coverage at constituency or county level has grown from 2% in 2021 to 54% by FY 2024/25, with Mukono district being among those with good ambulance coverage.
UNICEF has handed over to Mukono district two type B ambulances (emergency basic life support ambulances) fitted with oxygen, automatic blood pressure monitors, specialized stretchers depending on the patients’ degree of injuries, trauma bags, life support and resuscitation and other emergency response requirements as specified by the WHO.
The ambulances are as a result of an understanding between the UNICEF and Mukono District Local Government which underscored the need for standardized ambulances during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
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The ambulances were handed over to Mukono Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Hajat Fatuma Ndisaba, Mukono District Health Officer (DHO) Dr. Stephen Mulindwa and the district chairperson, Rev. Peter Bakaluba Mukasa on Friday, November 31, 2025, by the Director General of Health Services Dr. Daniel Kyabayinze who represented the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Dianah Atwine.
He thanked UNICEF for having partnered with the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (WHO) and Mukono District Local Government to design a project focused on road traffic injuries post-crash care piloted in Mukono.
Dr. Kyabayinze noted that the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) policy provides for one type B ambulance per constituency or population of 100,000 people, adding that as of today, the ambulance coverage at constituency or county level has grown from 2% in 2021 to 54% by FY 2024/25, with Mukono district being among those with good ambulance coverage.
“The Ministry has taken steps to address issues meeting the WHO framework, including an emergency care system with trained first responders at scene of injury or illness, a call and dispatch functional communication system, ambulance vehicle and responsive accident and emergency unit at hospital level,” Dr Kyabayinze said.
He disclosed that there is an arrangement of prioritised training of first responders especially on the highways and as reported by the UNICEF Representative, adding that in this respect, Mukono has greatly benefited.
The second area he said, is for the Ambulance call and dispatch system which the Ministry is in advanced stages of establishment.
Mukono RDC Hajat Fatuma Ndisaba Nabitaka noted that while Mukono is appreciative for the support to the two ambulances for the two of its four constituencies of Mukono North and Mukono South, similar assistance is needed in Nakifuma and Mukono Municipality with the latter being located along the main Kampala-Jinja highway making it prone to many road accidents, while the latter is faced with a lot of complications by mothers who often need to be referred following labour related complications.
Ndisaba said that as a result of the industrialization drive, Mukono’s population is steadily growing, with Namanve and Mbalala industrial parks shooting up the population.
She noted that in the financial year 2024/2025 alone, 3,783 accidents were registered in the area’s 620 industrial establishments.
Mukono DHO, Dr. Stephen Mulindwa disclosed that Mukono General Hospital registers an average of 25 to 32 births daily, adding that ambulances are therefore a very essential asset in delivering mothers from rural units, villages and private clinics to bigger health units for better maternal management.
Handing over the ambulances, UNICEF Deputy Representative, Thomas Meyerer said that in response to the issue of deaths of young Ugandans aged five to nine years with motorcycle crashes accounting for over 55% of these injuries, UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and with funding from the UN Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) is implementing a two-year pilot programme titled “Strengthening Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for Effective Post-Crash care in Uganda: A Pilot in Mukono”.
He said the pilot which began in March 2024, aims to strengthen a full week twenty-four-hours emergency service in Mukono by providing on-scene first aid, well equipped ambulatory services, toll free communication, and a co-ordinated district EMS structure, with the aim of reducing post-crash fatalities by 30% by June 2026.
Meyerer also noted that the two-year pilot project aims, among other issues, to strengthen the 24/7 emergency medical services including first aid to victims, equipping ambulatory services, toll free communication functionality and establishment of a district EMS co-ordination structure.