Diabetes-related amputations are becoming an increasing concern in Uganda, with clinicians warning that poor circulation, nerve damage, delayed treatment and limited awareness of diabetic foot care are leaving more patients at risk of preventable limb loss.
A recent report by New Vision highlighted the case of Hadjjah Nambooze, a 51-year-old woman from Nakaseke district who has been living with type 2 diabetes for seven years. Her husband, Ismail Bukenya, described the financial strain the condition has placed on the family, reflecting a wider challenge faced by many Ugandan households managing long-term diabetes complications.
In the report, Dr Silver Bahendeka, a senior consultant physician in diabetes and endocrinology at Doctors Plaza Clinic in Kampala, explained that diabetes affects blood vessels, with the vessels in the legs particularly vulnerable. Reduced blood flow, combined with nerve damage, can make it harder for wounds to heal and easier for infections to progress unnoticed.
The medical pathway is well understood. Diabetes can damage nerves in the feet, reducing sensation. A small cut, blister or pressure sore may go unnoticed. Poor circulation then slows healing, while infection can spread rapidly. Without early wound care and offloading, the result may be a severe diabetic foot ulcer, gangrene, or ultimately amputation.
Uganda’s diabetes burden is also rising. The International Diabetes Federation estimates that Uganda had around 369,100 adults aged 20–79 living with diabetes in 2024, with projections rising to 1.2 million by 2050. The IDF also reports a 2024 adult diabetes prevalence of 2.2% in Uganda.
A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis on diabetes in Uganda concluded that approximately 1 in 14 Ugandans is affected by diabetes and found common complications including peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, visual impairment and diabetic foot ulcers. The review reported diabetic foot ulcers among the documented complications, underlining the need for stronger prevention and early intervention services.
For prosthetics and orthotics professionals, diabetic amputation is not only a surgical issue. It is a rehabilitation-system issue. Each avoidable amputation represents a missed opportunity for earlier screening, protective footwear, wound care, pressure management, patient education and multidisciplinary intervention.
The World Health Organization notes that many people with diabetes develop foot problems due to nerve damage and poor blood flow, which can lead to ulcers and amputation. This makes diabetic foot care one of the most important areas for prevention in diabetes management.
Prevention is possible. The World Diabetes Foundation states that diabetes-related amputations are largely preventable when simple measures are applied and notes that amputation rates can be reduced significantly when strategies for preventing and treating diabetic foot lesions are implemented.
In practical terms, that means regular foot screening, early referral for wounds, patient education, appropriate footwear, pressure offloading, blood glucose control, infection management and access to trained clinicians. For higher-risk patients, orthotic interventions such as custom insoles, therapeutic footwear and pressure redistribution can help reduce ulcer risk and recurrence.
Uganda has also been strengthening its broader non-communicable disease response. In 2025, the Ministry of Health, WHO and the World Diabetes Foundation highlighted efforts to strengthen diabetes and hypertension care through the D-CARD Africa Project, which aims to integrate NCD screening into existing health services. Uganda and Ghana are the two countries implementing the four-year project.
The challenge now is to ensure that diabetes care includes diabetic foot prevention as a core service rather than a late-stage emergency response. For patients, this means knowing when to seek care. For health systems, it means making foot checks routine. For rehabilitation providers, it means building stronger links between diabetes clinics, wound care teams, vascular services, orthopaedic surgeons, prosthetists, orthotists and physiotherapists.
As diabetes increases across Uganda and the wider IMEA region, diabetic foot care must become a frontline public health priority. The goal should not only be to provide prosthetic limbs after amputation, but to prevent avoidable amputations wherever possible.