The 1.45 million US dollars Saving Lives and Livelihood program kicked off in December 2024 and it is expected to end in December 2025. Ministry of health has already identified eight districts from the Central region that are supported to increase on the uptake of vaccines. The benefiting districts include Luwero, Nakaseke, Nakasongola, Kyankwazi, Kasanda, Kiboga, Mityana and Mubende. 
Joseph Kisakye, the assistant DHO in charge of environment, Luwero district testifies that under the saving lives and livelihood program, 624 VHTs from the 624 villages of Luwero were retooled to support in the mobilization of communities to complete the life immunization schedule among other health services.
According to Kisakye both health workers and VHTs lacked knowledge with on the new vaccines on board like the malaria and yellow fever vaccines, the injectable polio and HPV vaccines, hence noting that the project is timely.
‘’Communities need a lot of time to explain the advantages of immunization but also the side effects if any and management, this project is going to help us achieve our target, so we expect the trained VHTs to replicate the knowledge they received from the training to their colleagues but also support in mobilizing mothers.’’says Kisakye. She adds that among others the project is helping to retool health workers on how to manage the new strategy of creating cohorts following the children birth and immunization for easy tracking and service delivery on child birth cards.
Druscilla Ssekandi, an epidemiologist in charge of service delivery, ministry of health from the Uganda National Expanded Program on Immunization -UNEPI department explains that under the saving lives and livelihood program, implemented by amref Africa they are empowering all health focal people in charge of immunization /vaccination and data entrants but also the VHTs to help to improve on immunization services that currently has gaps.
Ssekandi emphasizes that the project came on board to improve on the EPI services with gaps especially data entry, capture and utilization .she goes on to explain that the ministry of health came up with new data tools on the immunization and child birth charts that required retooling of the focal people.
‘’The child health card had a lot of gaps especially tracing, so the project promote the tools that can ease the work of the health work ‘’ Ssekandi says. While training health workers from health Centre 11’s at Luwero district headquarters, Ssekandi also added that new vaccines were introduced in the system and this added to the need of sensitizing focal health workers for immunization.
The project also considers increasing on the number of community outreaches with integrated health services catering for all ages. With support from the MasterCard foundation, Africa Center for Disease Control –CDC, ministry of health through amref, the eight Central region struggling districts in the areas of immunization that include Luwero will be supported to bridge the knowledge gap on new immunization tools, improve on immunization coverage, reach out to underserved communities but also improve the quality of health service delivery in general.
According to Kisakye, the program has so far supported 78 health facilities that are responsible for immunization in the districts with each supported to carry out at least one community outreach in their jurisdiction. Still under the saving lives and livelihood program 16 health facilities in Luwero district were supported by amref to have integrated community outreaches.
Tonny Kiku Bunjo, a Biostatistician Luwero district noted that the Saving lives and livelihood project is timely. According to Kiku several children have been dropping out on the immunization. “As a VHT in this area, I was empowered by amref to support my people, mobilize them for vaccination however, this task has not been easy due to the long distances people move to access health facilities ‘’says Nalugo
According to Kiku says 97% children completed the first dose in the last three quarters. Amref Heath Africa will is also supporting the Life course vaccination targeting the adults specially mothers for TD (tetanus) Vaccine, yellow fever, HPV for 10 year aged girls against cervical cancer