Where we work
We support local partners based in rural, often remote, parts of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The communities we work with include pastoralist communities, such as the Maasai and Samburu, agricultural communities, peri-urban and refugee communities in Northern Uganda. Common challenges they face include numerous barriers to accessing health services, a high unmet need for family planning and being heavily dependent on natural resources for their daily lives and livelihoods.
Working in under-resourced, marginalised rural areas, delivering last mile health services
We work in rural areas where access to health information and services is limited and where there is very little or no public transport, as roads are often just dusty or rocky tracks.
Cultural and social norms prevent many women and girls being able to make decisions about their own health and bodies, and women wish to avoid pregnancy but are not using any method of modern contraception.
In these areas maternal and child mortality rates remain high, often due to unskilled deliveries and unsafe abortions.
The road to Busara village, Muhokya Sub-County, where RCRA Uganda’s Backpack Nurses travel to reach scheduled patients' appointments
Areas where natural resources are under pressure
These communities battle poverty and face degradation and depletion of natural resources. There is a need for alternative income-generating activities to increase and diversify their incomes.
Communities often face wider issues of food insecurity, poor nutrition and lack access to water and power. Roads and transport options are limited. They are also often the communities most negatively impacted by climate change, through more unpredictable weather, irregular rainfall, more severe droughts and floods.
Our local partner, RICE-West Nile, teaches women how to build and use energy-saving cookstoves so that fewer trees are cut down for firewood or charcoal making.
Kenya
We have been working in Kenya since 2012 and currently support 11 local partners, who work across 12 counties from Kakamega to Tharaka Nithi, and include many rangelands where pastoralist communities live alongside wildlife.
We have integrated health programmes into the work of seven locally based conservation organisations.
Tanzania
We recently expanded our work into northern Tanzania. In Tanzania from 2015–2019, there were a total of 2,930,000 pregnancies annually.
Of these, 1,340,000 pregnancies were unintended and 482,000 ended in abortion. We are excited to bring our expertise in setting up and running Community Health Programmes to this country and hope to grow our presence.
Uganda
Two of our local partners are based in Uganda. We work in Kasese District in Western Uganda and in West Nile District in north-west Uganda.
As of 2023, we have provided 122,948 healthcare services and 62,437 family planning services through our programmes in Uganda.