All set forward of the Company Run for expectant moms
David GOMBE
Enterprise leaders, authorities officers, well being consultants, growth companions and members of the general public have immediately come collectively to formally launch the fourth version of the Company Run, a nationwide charity initiative centered on supporting expectant moms and contributing to the struggle in opposition to preventable maternal deaths in Uganda.
The Company Run 2026 will happen on Sunday, eleventh October 2026, at 6:00 a.m. on the NEC Grounds in Bugolobi, Kampala, bringing collectively runners, walkers, company groups, households and members of the general public from throughout the nation.
This yr, the Company Run has set an bold goal of elevating funds to buy 5,000 mama kits, which will likely be equipped to well being centres throughout Uganda to assist expectant moms, significantly these in communities the place entry to important maternal well being provides stays a problem.
The launch comes at a time when Uganda has made progress in decreasing maternal deaths, however the numbers stay a severe concern. Ten years in the past, Uganda was shedding an estimated 28 moms each day to issues associated to being pregnant and childbirth. At the moment, that quantity stands at 16.
Whereas the decline represents progress, 16 moms dying each day stays 16 too many.
In Uganda, an estimated 16 moms die each day. Behind every statistic is a mom who didn’t make it dwelling together with her child, usually due to challenges together with delayed entry to a well being facility, lack of blood for transfusion, unattended issues or the absence of fundamental provides wanted throughout childbirth.
The mama kits are due to this fact on the centre of this yr’s Company Run marketing campaign. The proceeds from the initiative will go in direction of buying the kits and supplying them to well being centres throughout the nation, serving to make sure that expectant moms have entry to important gadgets once they arrive to offer delivery.
A consultant of Ruby Hospital, one of many well being companions represented on the launch, mirrored on Uganda’s progress in maternal well being and the necessity to proceed decreasing preventable deaths.
“Ten years in the past, we have been shedding about 28 moms each day. At the moment, we’re at 16. We have now made progress, however we should proceed working to carry that quantity down additional, in direction of the 12 really useful below World Well being Group requirements. Maternal well being just isn’t solely about drugs, it’s about moms,” the consultant mentioned.
The Commissioner for Maternal Well being on the Ministry of Well being highlighted the hole between the variety of mama kits at the moment obtainable and the variety of births recorded in Uganda.
“Uganda distributes near 900,000 mama kits yearly in opposition to practically two million births. The Ministry is working in direction of distributing a million mama kits, with every equipment costing roughly 10 {dollars}. If you do the maths, that’s round 10 million {dollars} yearly wanted for mama kits alone,” the Commissioner mentioned.
The Commissioner additionally emphasised the significance of defending moms and making certain that secure childbirth stays a nationwide precedence.
“Moms are the muse of our properties and our nation. Secure supply issues to the continuity of society, and safeguarding moms can’t be left to well being employees alone. It’s the duty of the entire neighborhood,” the Commissioner mentioned.
He additionally expressed appreciation for the presence of male enterprise leaders on the launch and their willingness to overtly interact in conversations round maternal well being.
“It offers me nice pleasure to see males discussing girls’s points with a lot ardour. When fathers, husbands and enterprise leaders overtly talk about maternal well being, it stops being seen as solely a girls’s difficulty and turns into what it really is, a nationwide difficulty,” he mentioned.
The launch additionally featured expectant moms who have been welcomed as particular company. Their presence introduced the aim of the Company Run into sharp focus as they applauded the initiative and expressed appreciation for the eye being given to their wellbeing.
For most of the expectant moms current, the marketing campaign despatched a robust message that they’d not been forgotten.
Their participation bolstered the human face of the Company Run and the significance of making certain that conversations about maternal well being stay centred on the moms who in the end rely on the assist being mobilised.
For Company Run Chairman Mr. Ian Rumanyika, the trigger is deeply private. Talking on the launch, he emphasised that no mom ought to die whereas giving delivery and mirrored on an expertise from roughly six to seven years in the past when a colleague left work to offer delivery however tragically by no means returned.
“Six or seven years in the past, a colleague of mine left work to go and provides delivery, however she by no means got here again. That have stayed with me. It made me realise that this isn’t only a statistic. Behind each quantity is a mom, a household and a life that issues,” Mr. Rumanyika mentioned.
He famous that with present statistics displaying a median of 16 moms dying each day in Uganda, the hazard stays actual for a lot too many moms and households.
“The fourth version of the Company Run isn’t just a race. It’s a renewed promise to moms and households that we are going to proceed to point out up and do what we are able to to make childbirth safer,” he mentioned.
Mr. Rumanyika known as on Ugandans to take part in no matter means they’ll, whether or not by working, strolling, becoming a member of a company staff, sponsoring the initiative or just displaying up on race day.
“Each one who runs, walks, sponsors or just reveals up turns into a part of the rationale a mom someplace will get the chance to return dwelling safely together with her child,” he mentioned.
The launch introduced collectively a large coalition of company and institutional companions, every highlighting why maternal well being is a trigger that requires collective motion.
The Chief Govt Officer of the Personal Sector Basis Uganda described the Company Run as one of the helpful causes he has had the privilege of collaborating in. Reflecting on the story of Isaac Newton, who was born prematurely and went on to make vital contributions to the world, he highlighted what society stands to lose when moms and newborns don’t survive.
“Isaac Newton was born prematurely and was thought-about very fragile. Had he not survived, the world would have misplaced the discoveries and contributions he later made to physics. Each mom or new child we lose could possibly be a future Newton, and that could be a value society can’t afford to proceed paying,” he mentioned.
The Managing Director of BetPawa Uganda reaffirmed the organisation’s dedication to moms and their infants.
“Each mom ought to know that she just isn’t alone. The well being of the mom and the well being of the child are extraordinarily essential, and all of us have a job to play in defending each,” he mentioned.
Representing the Capital Markets Authority, PR and Communications Supervisor Lyn Tukie related the organisation’s assist for the initiative to the significance of investing in individuals.
“There is no such thing as a capital with out the individuals. As we mark 30 years of constructing Uganda’s capital markets, we’re proud to assist a trigger that reminds us that investing in individuals, beginning with the security of moms, is the truest type of capital,” Tukie mentioned.
A consultant of the Kampala Metropolis Merchants Affiliation highlighted the on a regular basis realities confronted by many merchants and households, noting that many merchants should not have a monetary security internet when confronted with emergencies involving expectant moms.
“When a dealer has an expectant mom at dwelling and desires to boost cash, typically the primary particular person they flip to is the boda boda rider exterior the store. Many merchants should not have a security internet. That’s the reason KACITA is standing with expectant moms,” the consultant mentioned.
A consultant of Uganda Baati captured the spirit of the marketing campaign in easy phrases.
“This isn’t only a run. It’s a trigger,” the consultant mentioned.
For Ms. Janet Navugga Bugembe, Founding father of JTB, the trigger is private. She shared her personal expertise of childbirth, recalling that she as soon as spent 21 hours in labour.
“I spent 21 hours in labour, and I do know firsthand what it means to struggle in your life and your little one’s life in a supply room. That’s the reason this trigger is private to me. There are moms going by the identical struggle, and we should stand with them,” Janet mentioned.
The President of the Public Relations Affiliation of Uganda, Ms. Irene Nakasita, additionally shared her private expertise of childbirth, recalling that she wanted 5 items of blood throughout labour.
“Giving delivery is a warfare. Throughout labour, I wanted 5 items of blood. That have made this trigger private for me as a result of I do know there are moms going by the identical warfare, and so they want individuals to point out up for them,” Nakasita mentioned.
A consultant of Uganda Broadcasting Company highlighted the initiative’s twin influence on maternal well being and bodily wellbeing, noting that the Company Run not solely helps moms but additionally encourages individuals to remain match and lively.
“This initiative is about saving moms, however additionally it is about encouraging us to remain match and wholesome. As a father of daughters, this trigger is especially essential to me as a result of in the end, we’re preventing to guard girls,” the consultant mentioned.
On the coronary heart of the 2026 marketing campaign is the dedication to ship tangible assist to well being centres and expectant moms. The goal of 5,000 mama kits represents a name to motion for corporations, establishments, households and people to contribute to a trigger the place participation can translate immediately into sensible assist for moms.
The Company Run is an initiative below Company Video games Uganda, bringing collectively organisations and people by sport, wellness and social influence.
Registration for the Company Run 2026 is now open. Members of the general public, company groups and associate organisations are inspired to register early forward of race day on Sunday, eleventh October 2026.
The organisers are calling on corporations, establishments, households, people and growth companions to affix the motion by working, strolling, sponsoring or mobilising others to take part.
Each runner, walker, company staff and supporter who joins the Company Run provides their voice and contribution to a rising nationwide motion decided to make preventable maternal deaths in Uganda a factor of the previous.
