When the phone rang six weeks ago, Monica Lubega, the warden and community director at Teresa Children’s Home in Nyanama, Kampala, sensed it was an important call. On the line was a nurse at Mulago National Referral Hospital, inquiring if the Home could accommodate a fragile baby who had been born at seven months of gestation. The infant’s mother had passed away shortly after giving birth, leaving the newborn in hospital care for two weeks before she was brought to the Home.
‘At Mulago, we were referred to ATTA Breastfeeding Community as a source for the milk provided to the baby,’ Lubega recalls. ‘Since we care for abandoned children, we already had a deep freezer, but we needed to clear out all the medicine stored there to make room for the milk.’
For the past six weeks, the baby has never run out of milk.
‘We typically receive between 10 and 20 bags per supply, depending on availability. We notify ATTA when we are down to about four bags,” she explains.
To prepare a feeding, staff members take a bag of milk out three hours in advance to allow it to thaw to room temperature, never using hot water, as that can destroy the nutrients. ‘When the baby arrived, she weighed 1.2 kg, and she now weighs 1.8 kg. We feed her every two hours and increase the amount by one millilitre each day,’ Lubega says proudly.
What is ATTA?
In maternity wards across Uganda, many premature and critically ill babies arrive too weak to suckle. Without access to breast milk, their chances of survival become uncertain. Each year, thousands of newborns die simply because they cannot obtain it.
The ATTA Breastmilk Community is dedicated to changing this situation. It connects mothers willing to donate breast milk with infants in desperate need, often through social media. What began as one mother’s personal sorrow has evolved into a movement to improve infant survival in Uganda.
ATTA, named after Alyssa Taha, founder Tracy Ahumuza’s late daughter, and Tracy herself, is a not-for-profit social enterprise committed to ending preventable newborn deaths through community-based milk sharing.
When Alyssa was born in 2021, she required surgery and urgent access to colostrum, the first milk rich in antibodies. Due to a delayed milk supply after her C-section, Tracy’s sister-in-law stepped in to donate breast milk. Unfortunately, Alyssa passed away three days later, but Tracy’s milk had finally come in. ‘I was advised to take medication to dry up my milk,’ she recalls, ‘but I wanted to donate it. I could not, and that broke me. That is when I started reaching out to women who might be willing to share their milk with babies in need.’
Using her Facebook, X, and Instagram pages, Ahumuza began raising awareness about the importance of breast milk donation. As mothers and caregivers responded, ATTA was born.
How the system works
Donor mothers undergo medical tests, including HIV and hepatitis screening, funded by ATTA at about Shs150,000 per donor. They must abstain from alcohol and drug use and sign consent forms confirming they receive no payment, as the act is purely voluntary.
Once approved, donors are trained in safe milk expression, storage, and handling. The milk is collected in 150 ml bags and stored in a deep freezer at the ATTA office at -20°C. ‘It does not stay long because demand is high,’ says Ahumuza. ‘Whenever a call comes in, we deliver within six hours.’
Currently operating mainly in the central region, ATTA supplies milk even to babies discharged with nasogastric feeding tubes. ‘Our community mothers give out of purpose,’ says Ahumuza. ‘They have lived the experience of need and understand that every drop counts.’
Since its inception, ATTA has grown into a collective of mothers, clinicians, and advocates. The initiative has dispensed more than 1,200 litres of breast milk, trained 140 healthcare workers, and supported 745 newborns who might otherwise have been lost. More than 150 Ugandan mothers have donated breast milk, with many more expressing interest.
Tales of giving
For Shifra Ssengendo, a donor mother, the journey began after seeing a TikTok video about ATTA. ‘I had so much milk after giving birth to my second baby,’ she says. ‘I used to express and pour it away until I saw the video.’
ATTA staff visited her home, conducted tests, and emailed her the results the same day. After signing a consent form, she began donating. ‘I express milk daily and freeze it. Every two days, Shaban Mukiibi, the delivery man, picks it up. I usually have around 12 bags,’ she says. Her main challenge is freezer space and occasional power outages that risk spoiling the milk. ‘I once lost five bags and felt terrible because that milk could have saved babies.’
Donating, she adds, brings joy. ‘It increases my own milk supply and makes me feel good knowing I am giving life.’
Donors typically serve for three months and receive certificates of appreciation. Recipient mothers are trained in proper milk handling and supported until their babies are out of danger. ATTA also offers lactation support to help mothers stimulate their own milk production.
The milkman’s mission
For Mukiibi, ATTA’s delivery rider, the work is deeply personal. Three years ago, Ahumuza called him to deliver ‘something in a bag.’ He later learnt it was breast milk, and that realisation stirred painful memories.
‘I had just lost my baby boy due to digestive complications,’ he says softly. ‘When I learnt what I was delivering, I wished I had known about this community earlier.’
Since then, Mukiibi has worked with ATTA full-time, collecting and delivering milk with unwavering dedication. ‘I do not take days off,’ he says. ‘I did not come here looking for a job. I came to serve because I am a parent.’
Why donor milk matters
Donor milk is lifesaving for babies who are born prematurely or are too weak to breastfeed. It provides essential antibodies, reduces the risk of infections, supports growth, and strengthens immunity, benefits that infant formula cannot replicate. Additionally, donor milk allows time for a mother’s own milk supply to develop.
Preterm births are a significant public health issue in Uganda, accounting for an estimated 14 percent of births each year and being one of the leading causes of neonatal deaths. Donor milk can also be beneficial in situations where mothers are ill, separated from their babies, or experiencing delays in milk production.
In Uganda’s quiet corners of grief and hope, the ATTA Breastmilk Community has turned personal loss into a public lifeline. By bridging compassionate mothers with fragile newborns, ATTA is not just distributing milk, it is nurturing life, rebuilding community, and giving every baby a fair chance to survive.
Challenges
Despite its impact, ATTA faces serious hurdles. Demand often exceeds supply. Testing and storage costs strain resources. Some donors drop out after screening. Others lack freezer capacity, and many Ugandans still do not know that milk donation is possible.
ATTA’s next goal is to establish a fully functional human milk bank with pasteurisation equipment to ensure wider reach, safety, and sustainability.
Nature’s first shield
The World Health Organization( WHO) describes breast milk as ‘nature’s perfect food’ for newborns. It provides all the energy and nutrients babies need during their first six months and helps protect them from common illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia.
The WHO emphasises the importance of starting breastfeeding within the first hour after birth and continuing exclusively for six months, after which complementary foods can be introduced safely. For every infant, breast milk serves as more than just nourishment; it is a vital defense during those critical early months.