Kikuube District has handed over 74 bicycles to Village Health Teams (VHTs) to strengthen nutrition screening and referral services for children and pregnant women at village level.

The bicycles, procured with support from the Government of Uganda in partnership with UNICEF, are intended to decentralise nutrition services and ease movement of VHTs within their communities.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, Kikuube District Health Officer Dr Andrew Mugisha said the intervention will enable health workers to identify malnutrition cases earlier and ensure affected children and mothers receive timely care.

"We have decentralised nutrition screening to the village level. That is why we have given VHTs bicycles to ease their movement. This will help us improve nutritional screening, improve referral services, and ensure we capture as many children and pregnant mothers who are malnourished so that they can be referred to health centres and hospitals for proper management," Dr Mugisha said.

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Kikuube District Chairperson Paddy Kisembo commended VHTs for their voluntary contribution to improving healthcare services in communities.

He thanked the government and UNICEF for supporting the district with the bicycles, saying they will help VHTs reach people in difficult-to-access areas.

"These bicycles are meant to support assessment work and to help in carrying patients where necessary. I urge all VHTs to put them to proper use and not to use them for carrying water or firewood. Let us use them sustainably so that they serve the intended purpose," Kisembo said.

The District Secretary for Social Services, Lydia Kabahemba, said the intervention will help reduce delays in identifying and referring cases of malnutrition, ultimately improving maternal and child health outcomes in Kikuube.

The handover marks another step in the district's efforts to strengthen community health services and improve access to nutrition support at household level.