Kampala has Uganda’s highest institutional maternal mortality ratio, with adolescent mothers facing a risk more than seven times higher than the national average for their age group, according to a Ministry of Health performance review.
The review for the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year puts Kampala’s institutional maternal mortality ratio at 157.8 deaths per 100,000 deliveries. Among adolescents aged 10–19, the rate rises to 241.6 per 100,000, compared with a national adolescent rate of 32.2.
The disparity is striking because adolescents account for only 7.9% of deliveries in Kampala but 12.1% of maternal deaths. The report points to several gaps in care.
Only 36% of pregnant women in Kampala begin antenatal care in the first trimester, while 68% miss the recommended six-week postnatal check. Only 57% receive a nutrition assessment during antenatal care.
For adolescents, the picture is even more concerning. Adolescent first antenatal-care attendance in Kampala stands at just 7%, the lowest in the country, and has declined for four consecutive quarters, according to the review.
The capital is also dealing with a high burden of newborn complications. Kampala has the country’s highest reported preterm birth rate, at 59.5 per 1,000 live births, compared with a national rate of 26.6. Its institutional perinatal mortality rate is 25.3 deaths per 1,000 births.
The Ministry has prioritised Kampala for urgent clinical audits and directed health facilities to identify and address gaps in continuity of care from the first trimester through the postnatal period.
The findings suggest that reducing maternal deaths in the capital will require more than improving emergency care. Women need to enter care earlier and remain connected to health services through pregnancy, delivery and the postnatal period.
Source: Uganda Ministry of Health, Performance Review for the final quarter of the 2025/26 financial year and April–June 2026 performance data.
