Our Programs
Mission Mannya carries out its purpose alleviating health inequity by providing medical support and supplies to impoverished communities in South West Uganda. It does this by running a series of free of charge, pop-up medical outreach clinics on an annual basis.
Our programs are designed and coordinated by local Ugandan healthcare leaders, in particular the management of St Bernard’s Mannya Health Centre under the stewardship of the health centre clinician in charge, Vincent Kyeswa. This ensures that the final product is tailored to the needs of local communities. Mission Mannya’s Australian medical body provides reviews and suggestions to plans but the majority of the initial pitching and design is conducted locally in order to maximise our impact.
In advance of our medical outreach program, Mission Mannya’s financial resources are mobilised to purchase necessary materials and medications, hire vehicles, secure appropriate licenses, and pay the honouraria of local dentists, medical officers, surgeons, anesthetists, nutritionists and administrative staff. In total, 91 people were involved in carrying out our 2023 program and expanded to 126 members in 2024. All Australian members of our programs volunteer their time and pay their own transport costs to reach Uganda.
On the ground, we set up medical camps in selected community safe spaces- schools or medical centres. Here patients received a free private consultation with an Australian doctor (accompanied by a medical student and a Ugandan interpreter), local dentist or nutritionist. Any available tests that were required were run and any prescriptions written were filled on site, free of charge. If required, detailed referrals to specialists were written and explained to patients. As a second arm to our program, we also provide resources for a number of patients to undergo necessary surgery locally with surgeons and an anesthetist commissioned with our resources, free of charge to the patient.
2023 Program
In 2023, Mission Mannya ran seven outreach programs over the course of 12 days. We visited the communities of Lwensinga, Kagongero, Kisaasa, Busibo, Namabaale, Buyaga and Mannya. In this time, 1796 people were able to receive free medical consultation and care, and a further 525 people received health education at our outreach camps. Three Australian doctors volunteered for the program with further support from five medical students who also donated their time. Treatments offered included primary health care and medications, dental care, nutritional screening and the facilitation of minor surgical procedures. Additionally, training and education sessions were conducted between local and visiting medical staff.
The impact of this medical care is significant to communities who routinely have no means of accessing even basic medical treatment. As such, Mission Mannya aims to continue to expand its services to help more individuals in need.
2024 Program
In 2024, we saw the expansion of our team and our outreach camps were supported by a dedicated team of 15 Australian volunteers, comprising 7 doctors and 8 medical students, all of whom funded their own travel to participate. Working alongside them were 126 committed Ugandan clinical and non-clinical staff members. Together, we successfully conducted eight mass outreach camps and a multi-day surgical program. Our 2024 medical program served 3,231 patients—an increase of 79% from our 2023 activities and the number of surgical cases also rose by 94%.
In most cases, the initial Mission Mannya consult facilitates diagnosis and early management of medical conditions that can then be followed up by local clinicians as required. In cases where further investigation or specialist care is indicated, Mission Mannya supports this early referral pathway by collaborating with local specialists and providing the transport needed to access them. Mission Mannya also provided an urgent referral pathway to help certain cases access immediate higher-level care and follow up, all of which is funded by our program. In 2024, 22 patients were identified and assisted to receive urgent or emergent follow-up care.
Whilst we have free flowing communication with our partners, we also arrange for a formal review meeting at the end of each trip with St Bernard’s Mannya Health Centre clinician in charge and other local leaders to discuss strengths and weaknesses as well as potential areas of growth.
2025 Program
Despite the scale of our on-the-ground operation, there is still significant room for growth. Whilst we manage to see many patients at our camps, a considerable number are turned away due to time and resource constraints. Additionally, some communities within the region remain largely inaccessible. Expanding our reach to include these more remote communities will require further investment in training and empowering of local personnel—a key focus as we move forward.
We estimate that 4,500 to 5,000 patients will attend our camps in 2025, with further growth expected in the coming years. To enhance our services, we are extending the duration of our surgical program as well as including an ultrasonographer at our camps to alleviate the need for patients to travel for investigations. Recognising the essential role of our Ugandan team, we are committed to expanding and empowering our local workforce in the years ahead.
Applications are currently being processed and applications can be made via this link.