Kampala Medical and Allied Health Workers Cooperative Society ltd (KAMACOS) is a legally registered health cooperative in Uganda, established in 2019, with a mission to improve access to quality, affordable healthcare for under served rural and urban populations. Operating under cooperative principles, KAMACOS envisions becoming a leading healthcare, education, and research institution in East Africa.

Its core activities focus on accessible healthcare for vulnerable communities, health education, nutrition promotion, establishing cooperative health facilities, conducting medical camps, mobile clinics, and research to address healthcare challenges. It is a medical workers cooperative that provides health services to its members and the community.

KAMACOS began its outreach in 2019, impacting 5,000 beneficiaries. By the end of 2024, this number had grown to 80,000. Initially centered on community-based medical camps, the organization has expanded to include a cooperative health facility, mobile clinics, and health education campaigns.

Keys to KAMACOS success include:

1. Strong Community Collaboration: We bring affordable healthcare closer to communities, fostering trust through accessible, community-centered solutions.

2. Active Community Involvement: Community members actively participate in decision-making, enhancing service relevance and ownership.

3. Dedicated and Committed Membership: Members remain engaged due to inclusive meetings and valued contributions in cooperative decisions.

4. Effective Feedback Mechanisms: Continuous feedback from clients helps improve services, ensuring they meet the community’s needs.

5. Affordable Health Assurance Model: A low-premium system provides timely, quality healthcare, attracting new members and ensuring sustainability.

6. Innovative Cooperative Healthcare Model: A member-owned, community-driven approach enhances healthcare access and affordability.

7. Strategic Policy Alignment: Our five-year plan aligns with Uganda Vision 2040, NDP III, SDGs, and the Ministry of Health’s Strategic Plan.

8. Strong Governance & Compliance: Transparent structures ensure legal compliance, accountability, and operational efficiency.

9. Cooperative Health Facility: We established Uganda’s first Cooperative Medical Centre and Health Assurance Package, creating jobs and supporting cooperative activities.

10. Expansion & Partnerships: KAMACOS now reaches the Eastern, Northern, and Central parts of Uganda while gaining international recognition in healthcare innovation.

Despite its successes, KAMACOS faces challenges such as financial constraints, inadequate healthcare infrastructure and equipment, low medical workers and community awareness about health cooperatives, and limited opportunities for improving cooperative management capacity.

Lack of facilities like camping tents for medical workers sleeping in especially when we do camps in hard to reach areas where accommodation is not accessible.

Van to transport the medical and support staffs during community outreach camps.

Lack of Ambulance to facilitate referrals when we encounter serious cases that requires transfer for minitoring and better management in hospitals.

We work on patients in open tents or shelters during community outreaches and medical camps depriving patients of their right to privacy. This makes patients unconfortable to open up their problems/diseases or even examining the patient is difficult, leading to missed diagnoses.

KAMACOS has transformed cooperative healthcare in Uganda, improving access and affordability through a structured, resource- efficient model. Key lessons include economic-social integration, strategic planning, and governance. Mobile clinics and partnerships have expanded rural healthcare, while investment in infrastructure, workforce training, and advocacy ensures sustainability. Despite financial hurdles, KAMACOS serves 150,000+ people annually, pioneering Uganda’s first Cooperative Medical Centre. With plans for a hospital and integrated health financing, it continues to drive equitable, community-led healthcare solutions.