Research & Impact

Preterm Infants Parents Network Uganda supports preterm babies from NICU to home across 6 referral hospitals in Central and Western Uganda reaching over 7,000 babies annually. Through 70+ trained Village Kangaroo Ambassadors the program has delivered 10,000+ home visits and achieved a 40% reduction in post-discharge complications and a 70% increase in paternal involvement.

PIPNU runs specialized screening programs including ROP sickle cell and ear health and launched Uganda's first real-time longitudinal preterm birth database. Their work is backed by strong data systems M&E frameworks and full integration with national health reporting platforms.

Between 2026–2029 PIPNU plans to expand to 7 more regional hospitals train 200+ additional community health workers strengthen digital follow-up and push for national preterm care policy reforms.

Uganda's first real-time longitudinal preterm birth database tracks preterm infants from hospital discharge through early childhood. Built and managed by Preterm Infants Parents Network Uganda with the Ministry of Health it links hospital and community data to drive policy clinical decisions and continuity of care nationwide.

The system integrates CommCare, DHIS2, NHMIS, ODK and paper tools capturing health outcomes development milestones vaccinations parental engagement and CHW performance. It serves 6 referral hospitals and has enrolled 7,000+ babies across Central Uganda with dashboards for managers mobile access for CHWs and anonymized research datasets.

The database informs national guidelines enables early intervention strengthens funding proposals and supports research. By 2029 it will expand to 13 hospitals add predictive analytics and advanced risk tracking to further improve preterm survival and outcomes.

Preterm Infants Parents Network Uganda conducts evidence based community driven research to improve survival and quality of care for preterm infants in Uganda working with families, hospitals, academic institutions and the Ministry of Health.

Current studies focus on post discharge mortality, family led care, male involvement in Kangaroo Mother Care and digital health follow up using CommCare data from 10,000+ home visits. Findings show a 40% reduction in post discharge complications and a 70% increase in paternal involvement among enrolled families.

PIPNU produces policy briefs, technical reports, parent and health worker guides and contributes data to national decision making while strengthening global evidence on community based preterm care. All research follows strict ethical standards prioritizing consent cultural relevance data privacy and benefit sharing with communities.

Preterm Infants Parents Network Uganda has received national and international recognition for its parent led community based approach to preterm care in Uganda validating its innovation impact and alignment with national health priorities.

Key honors include the 2025 GFCNI Award for Grassroots Family Support recognizing PIPNU's family led neonatal care model and formal endorsement by the Uganda Ministry of Health. PIPNU has also secured strategic support from CivFund for nutrition and economic empowerment initiatives and partnered with Dimagi for digital health tracking through CommCare.

Media coverage and community recognition have strengthened public awareness trust and advocacy while enabling program expansion. PIPNU treats recognition as a tool to amplify impact sustain programs and center credit on families and frontline workers not as an end in itself.