Uganda Village Project (UVP) was formed in 2003 to promote public health and sustainable development in the rural communities of the Iganga District of southeastern Uganda. What began as a partnership between a rural Ugandan village community and a network of Ugandan and international professional and pre-professional students, has blossomed into a 501 (c) (3) organization currently working with a variety of communities across Iganga and Bugweri Districts.
In partnership with local District Health Offices, UVP has identified communities that fall into the lowest quartile in sanitation and access to clean water. We use this as our proxy for the most underserved villages in the region and work in partnership with these villages on a rotational basis. We work with a village to build relationships, strengthen connections to existing infrastructure, and provide education that prioritizes prevention over treatment. Our current core program areas include WASH, adolescent reproductive health, and obstetric fistula.
Building
Community
Relationships
UVP works with people, not for them, which is why we call the communities we work with “partner villages” — that’s how we see community members: as partners.
Without their efforts and commitment, UVP’s programs would not be successful and communities would not see their health improve. We spend time meeting with our VHTs on a regular basis, building their confidence and capacity and include the village leadership counsel in all decisions. A people-centered approach allows us to build trust and realize sustainable change.
Strengthening
Connections to
Infrastructure
Infrastructure such as health centers, referral networks, and supply chains already exist in Uganda and UVP taps into these resources to make a big impact while keeping programming costs exceptionally low.
Focusing on
Community
Education
Education is the cornerstone of UVP’s model and the primary way we deliver trusted information to our partner communities. In rural communities, formal education can be difficult to access, making information delivered from a trusted source in an informal setting one of the most common ways to gain valuable information. UVP carefully crafts health messages to improve community members’ knowledge in various health areas and encourages small changes in behavior to realize the health benefits.