Filling the Health Gap:
Youth-led Weekend Run Takes on Kampala's NCD Crisis
Written by: Shedrach Afayo
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Every Saturday morning in Uganda’s capital Kampala, the sound of pounding feet echoes through the city as the AKA Run Club gathers for its weekly run.
What began in June 2024 as a small group of fitness enthusiasts has grown into a thriving community of professionals, students, and parents pursuing fitness, friendship, and better health.
The club rotates its sessions across various neighborhoods—from Kololo to Muyenga—making it accessible to participants from diverse backgrounds.
“We wanted to create a space where people could keep fit, de-stress, and share experiences,” says coordinator Douglas Akena, who has watched the group grow from fewer than 20 runners to over 200 weekly participants.
“Even when I feel tired, I know others are waiting, and that accountability keeps me consistent,” he says.
Each session concludes not just with a cool-down but with conversations on mental health, nutrition, and stress management led by volunteer doctors, psychiatrists, and fitness trainers. The goal is to promote holistic wellness, recognizing that physical inactivity often goes hand in hand with mental fatigue.
Dr. Amanda, a cardiologist and founder of Revival Wellness Clinic, says the partnership between her clinic and the club is rooted in prevention.
“The running and exercise are done by the club, but we come in to provide health education, giving people access to medical experts who can guide them on improving their health both physically and mentally,” she says.
Participants often use the sessions to consult informally with medical professionals, bridging the gap between communities and the health system.
“We usually have a doctor, a psychiatrist, and a fitness trainer present,” Dr. Amanda adds. “It gives people a safe space to ask personal questions and receive guidance.” Members are also encouraged to track their progress—monitoring blood pressure, weight, and mental well-being through personal journals.
Co-founder Fred Kyomya emphasizes that AKA Run Club is as much about belonging as it is about fitness.
“We wanted to create alternative communities for people who don’t drink or just want a healthy, safe social space,” he explains. “Running teaches discipline and resilience. We’ve had testimonies of people overcoming depression, anxiety, and high blood pressure simply through consistent exercise and social support.”
The rising burden of non-communicable diseases
Despite optimism from such community wellness movements, Uganda faces an escalating crisis of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—chronic illnesses driven largely by inactivity, unhealthy diets, and poor urban planning.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), NCDs now account for 36% of all annual deaths in Uganda—a stark increase from less than 20% in the early 2000s. By 2019, the figure stood at around 33%, and projections suggest it will rise further as sedentary work, fast foods, and stress become more prevalent.
Cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, stroke, and heart disease are leading killers, responsible for thousands of preventable deaths each year. Hypertension alone affects around 26% of adults, while diabetes prevalence stands at roughly 4%, though experts warn the real figure is likely higher due to underdiagnosis.
Obesity is also climbing: the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey shows that 10.4% of women over 18 are overweight, with urban women twice as likely to be affected as their rural counterparts.
Dr. Amanda warns that the trend is shifting toward younger age groups. “We’re seeing more young professionals in their 20s and 30s presenting with hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. The connection to inactivity is undeniable. People spend hours in traffic and behind desks, then go home too exhausted to exercise.”
The economic toll is staggering. Families spend large portions of their income managing chronic illnesses that require life-long treatment, while the national health system struggles under the dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Unlike infections such as malaria or HIV—which often have short treatment cycles—NCDs demand continuous medication, monitoring, and specialist care that few Ugandans can afford.
Government response: Policy versus practice
In March 2024, the Ugandan government introduced a directive requiring civil servants to dedicate at least two hours per week to physical exercise. Head of Public Service Lucy Nakyobe framed the policy as a preventive strategy aimed at reducing absenteeism linked to lifestyle diseases and encouraging a culture of fitness in public service.
While the directive was a positive gesture, questions about practicality quickly surfaced. Two hours per week translates to just 24 minutes a day—below the WHO recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week.
Furthermore, most government offices lack gyms, open spaces, or trainers. Implementation has been inconsistent, with some ministries hosting aerobics during lunch breaks while others ignore the directive altogether.
Experts argued that without adequate facilities, structured programs, or enforcement mechanisms, the policy risks being symbolic rather than transformative.
Budget allocations and constraints
Uganda’s health sector remains chronically underfunded. Data from the Ministry of Health shows that less than 5% of the national health budget is directed toward NCDs, despite the diseases contributing to over one-third of all deaths. Most government and donor funding still targets communicable diseases such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis—reflecting donor-driven priorities rather than emerging local realities.
Per capita health spending hovers around USD 40–50 annually, well below the WHO’s recommended minimum of USD 86 for basic healthcare. This persistent funding gap means that hospitals often lack essential drugs for hypertension and diabetes, and diagnostic services remain concentrated in major cities.
The Parliament Forum on Non-Communicable Diseases has repeatedly raised concerns over the shortage of trained health workers and the lack of equipment for screening and managing NCDs, especially in rural areas.
“Prevention is cheaper than cure,” notes Kyomya. “Imagine how much the government could save by investing in parks, cycling lanes, and wellness programs rather than waiting for people to fill hospitals with preventable conditions.” Families continue to bear the brunt, with some spending more than half their monthly income on medication and hospital visits.
Public Accountability: The missing link
The conversation about Uganda’s rising NCD burden cannot be separated from questions of public accountability and transparency. Effective prevention and management require transparency in planning, budgeting, and implementation—areas where Uganda continues to struggle.
From an infrastructural standpoint, cities like Kampala have departments responsible for ensuring urban development aligns with community health needs. The Kampala Capital City Authority’s Department of Physical Planning, headed by Mr. Vicent Byendaimira, acknowledges both the ambition and the obstacles of designing inclusive spaces.
“Our goal is to create wholesome communities,” Byendaimira explains. “When we plan a neighborhood, we try to ensure it includes playing fields, bicycle lanes, and jogging spaces.”
However, he concedes that implementation remains difficult. “Sometimes we can’t provide these spaces because the land isn’t available, yet the population keeps growing. Even where plans exist, financial constraints and political interference often derail execution.”
Byendaimira advocates for decentralization and greater investment in regional towns to ease population pressure on Kampala, allowing for better execution of urban health plans. His remarks highlight a deeper issue: Uganda’s well-crafted policies often stall at the implementation stage due to weak oversight and poor coordination between ministries, local governments, and communities.
Looking ahead: Building a healthier Uganda
As Kampala’s workforce continues to juggle long commutes, rising living costs, and demanding jobs, health risks are often pushed to the background.
Yet initiatives like AKA Run Club prove that with creativity and community spirit, Ugandans can reclaim control of their well-being. The challenge for the government is to complement such grassroots energy with systemic reforms.
This means urban planning that incorporates safe pedestrian paths and recreational spaces, workplace wellness programs supported by tax incentives, and consistent public awareness campaigns on the benefits of physical activity.
Schools, too, must integrate physical education into daily learning, ensuring the next generation develops healthy habits from an early age.
Dr. Amanda underscores the urgency: “We are sitting on a time bomb. If nothing changes, NCDs will overwhelm our health system in the next decade. But with political will, better funding, and community engagement, Uganda can reverse this trend.”
Without deliberate action, the silent cost of inactivity will continue to drain families financially, overwhelm hospitals, and erode national productivity. Uganda’s future health depends on transforming symbolic policies into sustainable programs—ensuring that exercise and wellness are not luxuries for the privileged but rights accessible to all.
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