Introduction
Recognising that a robust blood supply chain is a critical weapon in the fight against malaria, Malaria Free Uganda played a pivotal role in mobilising resources and partners through strategic partnerships and innovative funding mechanisms. The resulting donation of essential laboratory equipment to the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service (UBTS) has strengthened the national blood system.
Key outcomes of this initiative include:
- a dramatic increase in blood component production
- improved operational efficiency
- enhanced storage capacity
These outcomes are directly improving patient care for vulnerable groups, especially children with severe malaria anemia.
Uganda bears a high burden of malaria, accounting for 3% of global malaria deaths (8th highest in the world). Tragically, children under 5 years contibute 75% to 80% of these fatalities with severe malaria anemia being a leading cause of deaths, often requiring urgent blood transfusions as a life-saving intervention.
The Uganda Blood Transfusion Service has been facing significant challenges in meeting this demand due to limitations in equipment for processing and storing blood components. This systemic gap threatened the effectiveness of malaria control and treatment programmes.
Furthermore, like many malaria-endemic countries, Uganda faces significant funding gaps in its malaria elimination efforts. Traditional donor-dependent models prove unsustainable, while limited government health budgets struggle to meet the growing needs. There was an urgent need for innovative, locally-owned financing mechanisms that could generate predictable funding for Uganda Blood Transfusion Service’s equipment needs.
A coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach
Malaria Free Uganda (MFU) is a coalition of leaders from the private and public sector, established to support Uganda’s goal of a malaria free Uganda by 2030. It is one of several national End Malaria Councils across Africa.
Working alongside the National Malaria Elimination Division (NMED), MFU aims to raise the profile of malaria elimination as a national priority and form partnerships to mobilise resources to support action for malaria reduction and elimination.
During a quarterly board meeting, the NMED presented the national malaria scorecard tool, which indicated high malaria mortality rates. MFU board members asked about the causes of malaria deaths and these included severe malaria due to a number of factors including severe anemia. Further root cause analysis and prioritisation of gaps in consultation with the Minister of Health, the NMED, and UBTS identified the need to address the shortages of blood and the required blood products for management of severe malaria, pinpointing specific, essential equipment needed to address this gap. The key essential equipment were identified and MFU were requested to mobilise resources to meet the funding gap.
High-level advocacy and strategic partnership
Malaria Free Uganda developed a highly effective, multi-tiered resource mobilisation strategy, serving as a replicable model for sustainable health financing.
Tier 1 – Community mobilisation: MFU leveraged its annual carnival to raise seed funding from the public and corporate sector, demonstrating strong local ownership and commitment.
Tier 2 – Strategic matching partnership: The funds raised through the carnival were strategically matched shilling-for-shilling by Ecobank under the Zero Malaria Business Leadership Initiative (ZIMBLI). This matching mechanism doubled the initial capital and provided the validated, co-invested pool of funds required to attract additional funding.
Tier 3 – Anchor cooperate investment: The combined capital from the carnival and the ZIMBLI match successfully unlocked a significant additional funding directly from Ecobank completing the full funding gap.
This innovative, three-tiered funding structure provided MFU with the resources to directly manage the end-to-end procurement and donation of critical laboratory equipment to UBTS.
Donated equipment included:
- preparative centrifuge
- blood bank refrigerators and freezers
- platelet shaker
- sample centrifuge
- tube sealer
- blood collection mixer
Key impacts and demonstrated benefits
The integration of this equipment has yielded measurable improvements, in malaria care and overall blood service operations.
Increase in blood component production
The donated preparative centrifuges have been pivotal in producing adequate amounts of packed red blood cells, which are essential for treating malaria-induced anemia in children and mothers. At the national Nakasero Blood Bank alone, from July 2025 to October 2025, the blood bank collected 65,251 units and prepared 46,781 units (75.2%) into life-saving components.
Transformation of mobile collection team efficiency
The availability of reliable equipment (fridges, platelet shakers and centrifuges) has revolutionised mobile blood drives. Component preparation can now begin immediately, increasing blood component production rates from a baseline of 35 to 40% to 75-80% for products like platelets, packed cells, cryoprecipitate and fresh frozen plasma.
Improved product quality and storage capacity
The platelet shaker has improved platelet storage conditions, ensuring they remain effective for transfusion. The acquired blood bank refrigerators and freezers have significantly increased storage capacity, ensuring blood and blood products are readily available when needed.
Enhanced system responsiveness
The new equipment has reduced the turnaround time for blood and blood component production, enabling UBTS to respond more quickly to emergency patient needs across the country.
A replicable model for sustainable health financing
This initiative, spearheaded by Malaria Free Uganda, stands as a best practice in creating a sustainable and scalable health financing model. The model demonstrates how coordinated action between public, private and community stakeholders can forge sustainable solutions to systemic healthcare challenges.
By strategically layering community fundraising with a corporate matching challenge and targeted private sector investment, MFU leveraged seed funding to unlock greater investment and maximized the impact of every shilling raised. MFU not only secured essential resources but also fostered a powerful sense of shared ownership in strengthening Uganda’s health infrastructure.
This approach demonstrates how End Malaria Councils can architect innovative funding solutions to implement transformative health system strengthening. The result is a stronger national blood service that is saving the lives of children with severe malaria and building a more resilient healthcare system for all Ugandans.