Hepatitis B is a global health problem. Trainees in the health-related fields are exposed to occupational risk of Hepatitis B Virus. In Uganda, there is scarcity of information on vaccination among students in health-care. The objective of this study was to assess hepatitis B vaccination status of the students and factors associated. This was a cross sectional study, conducted at Makerere University College of Health Sciences among undergraduate students who were eligible. A self-report on Hepatitis B vaccination status and various characteristics were collected on each participant, using a standardized structured self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were computed, bivariate and multivariate analysis were done using Stata 14. Out of 760 participants, 44.3% (95% CI 35.2–52.8) reported full vaccination. Vaccination was associated with gender, course, year of study and student’s sponsorship. Males were less likely to be vaccinated, Prevalence Ratio (PR) 0.79; P-value <0.001, while self-sponsored students were also most likely to be vaccinated, PR 2.08; P-value <0.001. About 37% reported an accidental needle injury during their training. Full vaccination was low and given the high prevalence of needle injuries, it raises a safety concern. Vaccination should be mandatory for all students prior to clinical exposure. There is need for targeted interventions to increase uptake.

Background: Uganda has registered a reduction in new HIV infections among children in recent years. However, mother-to-child transmission of HIV still occurs, especially among pregnant women who present late. To eliminate this transmission, all HIV-positive pregnant women should be identified during antenatal HIV testing. We described women newly identified HIV-positive during pregnancy and postnatal period 2015–2018. Methods: We extracted surveillance data for women identified as HIV-positive during pregnancy and the postnatal period reported through the Health Management Information System from 2015–2018. We calculated proportions newly positive at antenatal, labor, and postnatal periods nationally and at district levels. We disaggregated data into ‘tested early’ (during antenatal care) and ‘tested late’ (during labor or postnatal period) and calculated the proportion positive. We evaluated trends in these parameters at national and district levels. Results: Overall, 8,485,854 mothers were tested for HIV during this period. Of these, 2.4% tested HIV-positive for the first time. While the total number of mothers tested increased from 1,327,022 in 2015 to 2,514,212 in 2018, the proportion testing HIV-positive decreased from 3.0% in 2015 to 1.7% in 2018 (43% decline over the study period, p < 0.001). Of 6,781,047 tested early, 2.2% tested HIV-positive. The proportion positive among those tested early dropped from 2.5% in 2015 to 1.7% in 2018. Of 1,704,807 tested late, 3.2% tested HIV-positive. The proportion positive among those tested late dropped from 5.2% in 2015 to 1.6% in 2018. At the district level, Kalangala District had the highest proportion testing positive at 13% (909/11,312) in 2015; this dropped to 5.2% (169/3278) in 2018. Conclusion: The proportion of women newly testing HIV-positive during pregnancy and postnatal declined significantly during 2015–2018. A higher proportion of mothers who tested late vs early were HIV-positive. Failure to identify HIV early represents an increased risk of transmission. Ministry of Health should strengthen Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (eMTCT) services to sustain this decrease through targeted interventions for poorly-performing districts. It should strengthen community-based health education on antenatal care and HIV testing and enhance the implementation of other primary prevention strategies targeting adolescents and young women.

Background: Uganda’s Integrated Child Health Day (ICHD) initiative aims to improve children’s access to vaccinations. Although widely used as a catch-up vaccination strategy, the effectiveness of the ICHD program in increasing immunization coverage, especially among vulnerable populations, has not been recently evaluated. This study assessed the reach and uptake of ICHD for immunizations in Uganda. Methods: A mixed-methods evaluation was conducted in three districts (Rakai, Kayunga, and Bukedea) where ICHDs occurred. The data collection included a cross-sectional household survey using validated WHO-adapted questionnaires of 1432 caregivers of children under five years old, key informant interviews with 42 health managers and workers, and nine focus group discussions with caregivers between October and December 2022. The vaccines assessed were Bacillus Calmette–Guerin, oral polio, Pentavalent, pneumococcal conjugate, rotavirus (RV), and measles-rubella (MR). Results: The immunization coverage based on child health cards was over 90% for all vaccines except for the second dose of RV (88.3%) and MR (16.2%). Among the children, 2.3% had received no Pentavalent vaccine, and 69.4% were fully vaccinated for their age. Of the 631 children who attended ICHDs, 79.4% received at least one vaccine during the event. Village Health Teams (49%), health workers (18.3%), and megaphone outreach (17.9%) were the primary information sources. Key informants cited challenges with coordination, vaccine delivery, and mobilization. Conclusions: Despite operational challenges, ICHDs appear to have contributed to routine childhood vaccinations. Further research is needed to assess the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of the program.

Background: In Uganda, COVID-19-related disruptions increased the number of children who missed scheduled routine vaccination (defaulters). Identifying and following up with defaulter children is important for improving vaccination coverage. This paper describes Uganda’s experience in revitalizing community-led defaulter tracking to improve vaccination coverage post-COVID-19 in four purposefully selected districts. Methods: During two 6-month periods in 2022 and 2024, healthcare workers (HCWs) worked with village health teams (VHTs) to review health facility-based immunization registers, identify and track defaulters aged 0 to 59 months. VHTs visited identified defaulters’ homes, reviewed vaccination histories and reminded caregivers to bring defaulters to immunization sites for catch-up vaccination. Results: Overall, 20,922 defaulters were identified by health register review; VHTs located 15,749 (75.3%) through household visits, of whom 3688 (23.4%) were verified as previously vaccinated based on their home-based vaccination records, leaving 12,061 as true defaulters. Among the true defaulters, 9662 (80.1%) received at least one catch-up vaccination after follow-up by the VHT. The most frequently administered catch-up vaccines were measles–rubella first dose (MR1) at 55.4%, followed by diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis third dose (DTP3) at 48.3% and Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) at 47.4%. Among the 2399 children who remained unvaccinated after follow-up, the most common reasons were relocation outside the original catchment area (49.5%) and caregiver intention to vaccinate later (16.3%). Conclusion: Community-led defaulter tracking was feasible and improved vaccination uptake in post-COVID-19 Uganda. Strengthening the quality and availability of health facility immunization data, along with targeted community engagement, caregiver reminders and integrated vaccination services would improve identification and follow-up of defaulters, reducing population immunity gaps.