Embrace Global, BAMA expand infant warmer rollout in Uganda

Embrace Global is partnering with Babies and Mothers Alive to place 541 infant warmers across 92 Ugandan health facilities and 41 government ambulances in Greater Masaka and Rwenzori. The effort is meant to reduce preventable newborn deaths now and build evidence for possible national adoption in Uganda, following policy wins in Sudan and Zambia.

Why it matters: - Uganda’s neonatal mortality rate is 22 deaths per 1,000 live births, which makes thermal care a frontline issue in newborn survival. - The rollout is designed to do more than deliver equipment. It is meant to create evidence that can support national scale-up in Uganda. - Embrace Global has already seen infant warmers move into national guidance in Sudan and Zambia, showing a pathway from field use to policy.

What happened: - Embrace Global is partnering with Babies and Mothers Alive Foundation (BAMA) to deliver 541 infant warmers in Uganda. - The devices are going to the Greater Masaka and Rwenzori regions. - BAMA will place the warmers based on its needs assessment across 92 health facilities and 41 government ambulances. - The devices will be positioned where newborns face the highest risk of hypothermia, including delivery rooms, operating theatres, newborn care units, and ambulances. - The announcement comes as health systems in the region continue recovering from a recent Ebola outbreak.

The details: - Healthcare workers in participating facilities will be trained on device setup, safe handling, cleaning, and reporting. - BAMA will fold the training into existing mentorship visits so thermal care becomes part of routine practice. - Embrace Global said the effort is intended to build the evidence base for Uganda’s Ministry of Health, similar to the path used in Sudan and Zambia. - In Sudan, Embrace Global’s infant warmers are now written into the national newborn care training manual. - In Zambia, the Ministry of Health is including the devices in the sixth edition of the country’s neonatal transport standards. - Zambia’s early results included a run of consecutive ambulance transfers in which babies arrived at normal body temperature. - BAMA said it has spent 20 years building trusted partnerships across Masaka and more recently in Rwenzori and Busoga. - BAMA said the partnership with Embrace Global adds equipment and training to ongoing government-led newborn care improvement work. - The rollout includes 150 warmers now moving into Masaka and Rwenzori. - BAMA and Embrace Global say 364 more warmers are still needed to fully cover BAMA’s network.

Between the lines: - The Uganda shipment is being framed as a first step in a longer policy strategy, not a standalone donation. - The model relies on health-system buy-in, local training, and repeated use before any national standards change. - The focus on ambulances and high-risk care areas suggests the biggest gains may come from preventing heat loss during transport and immediately after birth. - BAMA’s local network gives Embrace Global a route to test the devices in real-world conditions and gather the case for government adoption.

What’s next: - Embrace Global and BAMA will use the Uganda rollout to collect evidence for possible Ministry of Health scale-up. - More warmers may be deployed later if the partnership advances beyond the current first shipment. - The two groups are working toward broader coverage across BAMA’s health facility network.

The bottom line: - The Uganda launch is less about a one-time shipment than about proving infant warmers can move from pilot use to national newborn care policy.