This Nurse Climbs 1,000 Foot Ladders to Deliver Vaccines To Remote Villages

In the mountainous regions of eastern Uganda, nurse Agnes Nambozo doesn’t just go the extra mile — she goes the extra 1,000 feet. Her mission is clear: to ensure that children in some of the most remote and hard-to-reach communities receive life-saving vaccines. And to do that, she scales rickety ladders and treacherous trails, delivering hope and health one climb at a time.

Bill Gates recently shared Agnes’s incredible story, calling attention to her unwavering dedication to bridging the gap in healthcare access. “Agnes climbs steep ladders and treacherous terrain to access isolated villages in eastern Uganda for vaccine outreach,” he noted in a profile highlighting her vital work. Her story shines a light on the extremes some nurses go to in order to meet their patients where they are — sometimes literally on a mountaintop.

When Nursing Gets Extreme

Let’s be real: nursing is already a physically demanding job. You’re on your feet for 12 hours, dodging IV poles, and hauling everything from saline bags to stubborn patients who refuse to sit down for vitals. But Agnes takes "physically demanding" to a whole new level. To reach the villages where she works, she climbs ladders that stretch up 1,000 feet into the mountains, all while carrying vaccines that need to be kept at a precise temperature. 

Why does she do it? Because the stakes couldn’t be higher. The vaccines Agnes delivers protect against diseases like polio and yellow fever — illnesses that are preventable with immunization but still claim lives in underserved areas. In these remote villages, lack of access to healthcare means immunization rates are far below national averages, putting children at serious risk. Agnes’s work is the difference between a child being protected from preventable diseases and a child living (or dying) without that safety net.

And it’s not just the physical challenge that’s remarkable. It’s the planning, precision, and sheer grit that go into each trip. Every climb is a calculated risk, but Agnes takes it on because she knows the alternative — children left unvaccinated — isn’t acceptable.

Advocacy in Action: What Nurses Can Learn from Agnes

Nurses everywhere face their own "mountains," even if they’re not literal cliffs. Whether it’s navigating an overburdened system, advocating for patients who can’t advocate for themselves, or finding creative ways to manage care with limited resources, we all tackle challenges that test our patience, creativity, and endurance.

Agnes’s story is a reminder of the heart of nursing: advocacy for vulnerable populations and a commitment to health equity. She’s also a powerful example of how nurses often serve as the final link in the healthcare chain. Without her efforts, vaccines may never reach these isolated children.

Her work also sheds light on the importance of tailoring healthcare delivery to meet the unique needs of different communities. In Uganda’s mountainous regions, the barriers are literally geographical. But in other places, the obstacles may be transportation, education, or cultural beliefs about vaccines. No matter where we work, nurses are uniquely positioned to address these barriers and find ways to connect patients to the care they need.

@nurse.org In the mountainous regions of eastern Uganda, nurse Agnes Nambozo doesn’t just go the extra mile — she goes the extra 1,000 feet. Her mission is clear: to ensure that children in some of the most remote and hard-to-reach communities receive life-saving vaccines. And to do that, she scales rickety ladders and treacherous trails, delivering hope and health one climb at a time. Bill Gates recently shared Agnes’s incredible story, calling attention to her unwavering dedication to bridging the gap in healthcare access. “Agnes climbs steep ladders and treacherous terrain to access isolated villages in eastern Uganda for vaccine outreach,” he noted in a profile highlighting her vital work. ➡️ You can find the article at nurse.org/news or click the LINK IN BIO! #news #uganda #nurse #inspiration #healthcare ♬ original sound - nurse.org

A Global Perspective on Nursing

It’s not every day that Bill Gates gives a shoutout to a nurse, but Agnes’s story deserves the spotlight. Her work ties directly into global public health goals, like increasing vaccination rates and eradicating preventable diseases. And while her climbs are extraordinary, they echo a universal truth about nursing: the willingness to do whatever it takes for the good of the patient.

For nurses in other parts of the world, Agnes’s story is both humbling and inspiring. It reminds us that nursing looks very different depending on where you are. While some of us are fighting for better staffing ratios or troubleshooting a finicky IV pump, others are scaling mountains with a cooler full of vaccines. Both are critical to the mission of nursing — improving health and saving lives.

🤔Nurses, share your thoughts in the discussion forum below.