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Uganda Alliance of Patients Organisations (UAPO)

Categories: Access to climate change funding for health, Climate change & health Vulnerability & Adaptation Assessments, Health National Adaptation Plans

Logo Uganda Alliance of Patients' Organisations

Uganda Alliance of Patients' Organisations (UAPO) is a national umbrella organization representing patients and communities living with chronic and life-threatening conditions, including cancer, diabetes, HIV, sickle cell disease, epilepsy, hepatitis, mental health conditions, and rare diseases. UAPO advances patient-centered health systems strengthening, policy advocacy, health literacy, research, and social accountability across Uganda.

UAPO brings targeted technical expertise directly relevant to the COP26 Health Programme Commitments through five integrated competencies: (1) designing and delivering climate-responsive health literacy programs that build community awareness on climate-sensitive, vector-borne, and water-borne diseases and extreme weather health risks; (2) leading evidence-based advocacy for climate-resilient health systems, uninterrupted medicine supply chains, and equitable access to essential healthcare; (3) generating and translating patient-centered evidence documenting climate change impacts on healthcare access, treatment adherence, and health outcomes; (4) driving inclusive community engagement and social accountability mechanisms within national climate-health adaptation planning processes; and (5) championing protection of the most climate-vulnerable patient populations whose treatment continuity is disproportionately disrupted by floods, droughts, and climate-driven disease outbreaks.

UAPO operates credibly at the intersection of patient rights, health security, and Universal Health Coverage, making it a uniquely positioned national actor for climate-resilient health system transformation.

Supporting the following commitments:

Commitment 1: Conduct climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments (V&As) at population level and/or health care facility level.

Commitment 2: Develop a health national adaptation plan (HNAP) informed by the health V&A, which forms part of the National Adaptation Plan.

Commitment 3: Use the V&A and HNAP to facilitate access to climate change funding for health.