Education Exchange Programme
Learning side by side with our colleagues in Uganda.
Uganda’s health workers care for very large numbers of patients, often with few colleagues and little specialist support.
The Education Exchange (Ed Ex) brings health professionals from Mildmay UK together with colleagues in Uganda to learn from each other.
UK participants spend time with Ugandan teams on wards, in community health camps, in research and in teaching. Both sides take the learning home.
Mildmay Uganda Community Outreach workers
Programme aims
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Share skills both ways: specialist knowledge from the UK, and experience of care at a scale and in conditions rarely seen in the NHS
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Support Ugandan health workers, especially those working in small teams with few colleagues to learn from
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Build lasting links in clinical care, research and training
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Strengthen our Uganda Health Programme with the knowledge of the people who deliver care on the ground.
Where it started
Ed Ex began as a pilot in 2023 at Kumi Hospital in eastern Uganda, where trainee GPs Dr Helen Rochford and Dr Amy Cleese completed the first placements.
The pilot showed that a short, well-supported exchange could give UK clinicians valuable experience and Ugandan colleagues useful support. It also showed what a longer-term programme would need.
"We were so grateful for the chance to take part in the programme. It has been an incredible opportunity to experience healthcare in a very different setting, share knowledge with colleagues in Uganda, and bring home insights that will strengthen patient care in the NHS."
Left: Dr Helen aRochford And Dr Amy Cleese, the trainee GPs who completed the pilot programme at Kumi Hospital in 2023
In partnership with Mildmay Uganda
With the pilot complete, Ed Ex now runs with Mildmay Uganda, our partner since 1998 and one of Uganda's most established providers of HIV care, training and research. Its hospital, Research Centre and Institute of Health Sciences give visitors a far wider view of health care in Uganda than a single hospital can.
In 2026, the exchange also included Wellspring Children's Medical Centre in Masaka District, run by the UK charity Medcare, which was founded by Mildmay UK trustee Dr Pauline Hutchinson MBE. Wellspring's children's rehabilitation work is among the best in Uganda.
Mildmay Uganda Hospital clinician at Wakiso Health Center
2026 in brief
In 2026, a team of six from Mildmay UK spent time with Mildmay Uganda and Wellspring Children’s Medical Centre, on the wards, in community health camps, and with Mildmay Uganda’s researchers and Institute of Health Sciences.
We’ll be sharing more about the summer 2026 visit soon.
What the NHS gains
UK health professionals return with experience that is hard to come by at home:
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Breadth: conditions such as HIV, TB and complex childhood disability, often at advanced stages and in very large numbers
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Clinical judgement: making sound decisions with fewer tests and resources
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Teamwork and leadership in an unfamiliar system
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Insight into global health and health inequalities, which is directly relevant to the diverse communities the NHS serves
Ed Ex began by giving trainee GPs experience they could not get at home. As the programme evolves, we are looking at how it can best support health professionals at different stages of their careers.
What Uganda gains
For our colleagues in Uganda, Ed Ex brings:
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Specialist input and teaching from a different perspective
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Peer support for staff working in small teams
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Research collaboration, building on projects that already link Mildmay UK and Mildmay Uganda
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Advocacy: visitors see needs first-hand and become advocates for them
Students at Mildmay Uganda Institute of Health Sciences
Part of our Uganda Health Programme
Ed Ex is one strand of Mildmay’s Uganda Health Programme, which works with Mildmay Uganda and local communities to improve access to care and strengthen Uganda’s health workforce.
See also:
Partner-led Small Project Fund
Small, low-cost projects identified by Mildmay Uganda and frontline partners that can be rapidly designed, funded and delivered to address practical gaps in care.
These targeted initiatives allow us to test solutions, respond quickly to emerging needs, and deliver immediate, tangible benefits for patients, such as adherence tools and simple service improvements, while informing wider programme development.
Since 2002, more than 2,000 children and adolescents have received psychosocial services and economic support.
By moving to a Universal Fund model, we ensure that healthcare, education, and food security are delivered equitably to all young people in our care, regardless of individual sponsorship status.