Case Study: Exploring the Effectiveness of Village Health Teams in Uganda's Refugee-Hosting Districts

2026 This thesis explores how communities can work within global structures to achieve empowerment and sustainable development, with the aim of contributing to defining a successful method for integrating humanitarian-funded health systems into Uganda’s government system. It does so by examining the effectiveness of community-based Village Health Teams (VHTs) in Uganda’s refugee-hosting districts in preventing and treating malaria using a mixed-methods case study design and a theoretical framework that adopts collaborative agency as its central theoretical construct. The findings offer important insights into both the successes and challenges VHTs have experienced in addressing the malaria burden in their communities, as well as into the broader integration process. The main insight suggests that VHTs are effective, with community embeddedness fostering social capital and empowerment as the key mechanisms underpinning effectiveness, although they remain vulnerable to fragile systems. The other main insight suggests that the integration is driving a shift to a more sustainable and equitable health system that considers the long-term development needs of refugees and host communities living in the remote borderlands of Uganda. Overall, these findings indicate that strengthening community-based health interventions and promoting responsibility-sharing among government, humanitarian, and development partners may represent an effective approach for integrating humanitarian-funded health systems into government systems in low- and middle-income countries hosting large refugee populations.