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Mildmay Uganda

Mildmay Uganda was Mildmay’s first international programme

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Our impact through our beneficiaries’ eyes
Mildmay Uganda has been at the heart of HIV care since 1998, opening its doors in Kampala as a pioneering centre for prevention, treatment, and training. From the outset, the hospital played a vital role in providing life-saving antiretroviral therapy, especially for children, through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

By the end of 2024, Mildmay Uganda had supported more than 100,000 clients - around 13% of all people on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the country - including 8,000 children.

As an independent, not-for-profit hospital governed by its own Board of Trustees, it focuses on three core areas: delivering expert HIV care, training healthcare professionals, and strengthening local health systems across 16 districts in central Uganda.

Most clients receive care as outpatients, but the hospital also includes  Elizabeth Ward, the 33-bed capacity children's ward (now operating as a general ward), which has traditionally provided specialist care for critically and terminally ill children aged 0-18 years.

911,000

Estimated disability-adjusted life years saved this year.

 

99%

of the patients remained in care, demonstrating exceptional adherence.

 

97%

of patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) achieved viral load suppression.

 

2%

rate at which mother-to-child HIV transmission was maintained, well below the national target of 5%.  

 

4,890

Individuals received social-economic resilience services.

 

(2024)

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Universal Fund

Ruth Kansiime
The Universal Fund, established in 2002 as the Child Sponsorship Programme, has delivered psychosocial and economic support to more than 2,000 children and adolescents.

In 2017, Mildmay Uganda shifted from individual child sponsorship to the Universal Fund model, ensuring healthcare, education, and food security benefits were shared more equitably among more children and young people.

More about this transformational fund.

*Psychosocial support services offer emotional and psychological assistance to individuals or groups facing difficult circumstances, crises, or traumatic events. These services aim to address the mental, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of those affected, helping them cope with stress, trauma, and other challenges. 

Elizabeth Ward

Elizabeth Ward - external
Mildmay UK provides annual funding for Elizabeth Ward at Mildmay Hospital, Kampala. Once the only facility in the region dedicated to children with complex HIV-related conditions, it now operates as a general ward following hospital restructuring and funding challenges.

Despite this, Elizabeth Ward remains a vital centre for paediatric care, treating over 500 children each year - many from underprivileged families - with conditions such as HIV, tuberculosis, meningitis, and malaria. Care is tailored to each child’s needs, with additional support offered to their families.

Cate

“Mildmay taught me that being born with HIV is not a death sentence. I want to show the world how to live positively with HIV.”
Cate Nakidde

Cate was operated on for abdominal TB, but after recovering in the Mildmay paediatric inpatient unit, she is once again a healthy, bubbly girl and became a leading light in Mildmay Uganda’s Noah’s Ark children’s choir. 

Past work

Luwero waiting for lunch inside

Explore our archive of Mildmay Uganda’s past projects and discover years of dedicated service in health, wellbeing, and community support.

From pioneering healthcare initiatives to inspiring stories of resilience, each entry celebrates remarkable achievements and milestones.

These projects showcase collaboration and progress, reflecting our commitment to making a real difference.

 

Click below to discover more.

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The History of Mildmay Uganda

The seed of Mildmay’s international work was planted in 1993 following an invitation from the Government of Uganda.

The Medical Director of Mildmay at the time, Dr Veronica Moss said: “I was attending a conference on paediatric AIDS in Edinburgh, Scotland, in September 1993 when I met the Hon Manuel Pinto, MP for Rakai District, Uganda, and he said to me, "We must talk – I want Mildmay to come to Uganda.”

Mildmay Uganda's hospital was officially opened in September 1998 by Anne, The Princess Royal, and started receiving patients in October of the same year.

The Princess Royal was invited to do so after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, who had been scheduled to open the hospital.

Uganda was one of the African countries worst hit by the Aids epidemic. Few families remained untouched by the virus, with some 500,000 people having died and another two million - one in six of the population - infected by 1998.

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HRH The Princess Royal with Mildmay CEO Ruth Sims

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The Queen Visits Mildmay Uganda

In 2007, Queen Elizabeth II visited the Mildmay Centre - opened by the Princess Royal in 1998.

In 2007, Queen Elizabeth II visited Mildmay Uganda and its paediatric care centre.

This was indicative of how significant the work done by Mildmay in Uganda had become.

During her visit, The Queen said: “Thank you Mildmay Uganda for the work and the remarkable example set in the provision of care and education for people living with HIV.”

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At the Mildmay Paediatric Care Centre, HM The Queen unveiled a plaque for the hospital's new Elizabeth Ward, named in her honour.

The Queen later praised Mildmay's work in an address to the Ugandan Parliament, in which she declared:
"It is difficult sometimes, when the sorrow associated with this disease (HIV/AIDS) is so profound, to avoid a sense of despair. And yet there are growing numbers of people and organisations whose work gives cause for real hope.

Today I visited The Mildmay Centre, which sets a remarkable example in the provision of care and relief for those who are ill as well as in educating people about how to protect themselves and their families.

The role of centres such as this, which the Government of Uganda has done so much to encourage, will be central to achieving our common aim of controlling this cruel disease."

HM Queen Elizabeth ll
The President of Uganda, His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni, marked the 10th Anniversary of Mildmay Uganda with a special visit in October 2008, during which he unveiled the foundation stone of the centre’s new laboratory.
Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams visited Mildmay Uganda in 2010 to lend his support to the then-threatened paediatric inpatient unit.
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Donate to the UGANDA Fund

Mildmay Uganda is an independent, locally registered NGO managed by its own Board of Trustees. While it raises funds and builds partnerships within Uganda, recent cuts to international aid have made running the hospital increasingly challenging.

Support from Mildmay’s UK donors is now more vital than ever. Your generosity helps ensure that Mildmay Uganda can continue delivering life-saving care to those who need it most.

Mildmay in the UK raises funds to support our overseas ‘daughter’ NGOs, including Mildmay Uganda, so they can sustain and grow their essential work.

Please support our Uganda Fund.
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