General
MUEHSA 13th Annual Scientific Conference a Major Success
Makerere University Environmental Health Students’ Association (MUEHSA) is a student-led association started in 2002 by students on the Bachelors of Environmental Health Science programme at Makerere University School of Public Health. With the aim of promoting environmental health in Uganda, the association holds a variety of activities including celebrating annual international health days, community outreach programmes and lobbying for improved environmental health.
Year after year, since 2003, the association has been organizing annual scientific conferences hosting participants from different countries and fields related to health. The scientific conferences provide a platform for discussion and presentation of environmental and public health work in Uganda and elsewhere in the world; giving an opportunity for comparison of systems. It is also an opportunity for presentation of innovations and research papers from students, organizational activities and findings in public health. The conferences increase knowledge of students in public health practice and enrich and rejuvenate practitioners’ knowledge-base.
This year, the MUEHSA 13th annual scientific conference was held 7th – 8th April at Esella Country Hotel, Najjera near Kampala, under the theme “Intersectoral collaboration to enhance the role of Environmental Health towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.” The conference aimed at providing a clear overview and understanding of the importance of collaborative action across different fields to achieving Sustainable Development Goals, especially in terms of health (defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.) and stressing the role of environmental health.
In a keynote address, Dr. Sheba Gita noted that unlike the 8 Millennium development goals that were closed in 2015, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals emphasize 3 new aspects, i.e. universality (apply to every nation, sector, business, and organization,) integration (goals are interconnected. We need to achieve all goals, not just one,) and transformation to achieve (we require big changes to achieve the SDGs.) She therefore emphasized that the only way to achieve SDGs is through collaborative actions involving more than one agency. Dr. Gita also illustrated effective collaborative action with a case study on plague outbreak in Arua, 2008, in which an investigation team was set up, made of officials from Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, an entomologist, US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention officials, local government health practitioners, AFENET, Makerere University School of Public Health team, Veterinary doctors, engineers and anthropologists. They carried out activities including community sensitization on killing rats and keeping domestic animals out of their houses, radio talk shows on plague causes and control methods.
The Guest of Honour, Dr. Okello Ayen (Director of Public Health, Kampala Capital City Authority), hinted on the interface of urbanization and health in his address. He also mentioned that health needs to be seen as an environmental aspect and not simply a hospital issue. He gave an example of the very big solid waste management problem in Kampala affecting air quality. He expressed that Kampala is a lakeside city translating into increasing water contamination and eutrophication due to industrialization and poor waste disposal. Things such as these result in the population having the second largest lake in the world but with water that cannot be used, incurring high water treatment costs. He challenged the participants to do something about the construction of pit latrines in Kampala a largely wetland area and to pay attention to the growing non-communicable diseases burden in the country. In conclusion, he said “at the end of this conference, every person should be able to stand out and teach the public about health according to what we have learned. Publish out something, like a summary! And approach KCCA for help and advice.”
Professor John David Kabasa, the keynote speaker of day 2, introduced the importance of the One Health concept. He said that one health is about policies and systems that will shape the next generation of youth 2035 – 2050. He mentioned that from the time of the industrial revolution and civilization set in, medicine has increasingly been available, there is a decrease in infectious disease mortality, life expectancy increase, population increase and exportation of western civilization among others.
“Today, there is shrinking earth paradigm indicated by overpopulation, global warming and climate change, resource and livelihood hunger and obscure future. As a result of high population, there is high demand for quality products and services, improvement in technology, while globalization and glocalization are running together. However, there are challenges among the youth that need to be addressed in international education and language i.e, integration, ideology, culture, politics, and religion”, Professor. Kabasa said.
He added that the increased interface with the animal world has led to outbreaks of zoonotic diseases like Ebola and Marburg. While in the food industry, urbanization and income growth in Africa are driving a diet transformation, posing higher risks of biothreats. Africa is also the most severely affected region in global water scarcity.
Professor Kabasa said in order to address the challenges, knowledge, ability (skills), attitude, networks, and integrity will be crucial for competition.
The two-day scientific event hosted over 250 participants, including students and staff from 10 institutions of higher learning in Uganda, Cardiff Metropolitan, and Nottingham Trent University (both of the United Kingdom), representatives from district health departments, civil society organisations, among others. Up to 25 presentations were made by local and international participants, focusing on;
1. Partnerships for health
2. One Health concept
3. Air pollution, climate, and health
4. Affordable and clean energy
5. Water, sanitation, and hygiene
6. Food safety and food security
7. Reproductive health
8. Occupational health
9. Public health legislation
10. Opportunities for students
The MUEHSA patron, Ms. Ruth Neebye Mubeezi, commended the always growing enthusiasm of the students and appreciated the organizing committee. She noted that such conferences are important for health in the nation and that focusing on intersectoral collaboration this year is more than just a great idea for wider coverage but is also a perfect timing for the health systems which require more than independent silos but togetherness in action for health.
The outgoing MUEHSA president, Ms. Anyonga Prisca cherished the work of fellow students and gave open appreciations to all supporting partners especially the school administration, and gave tokens of appreciation, awards to different presenters and participants at the conference.
Article by OHCEA Communication Team
Makerere University has officially launched its Strategic Plan 2025-2030, marking a major milestone in its commitment to strengthening research, innovation, and human capital development in line with Uganda’s national development priorities.
The launch brought together senior government officials, university leadership, and development planners, including the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Henry Musasizi, and a representative from the National Planning Authority (NPA), alongside the University Vice Chancellor.
A Vision Anchored in National Transformation
Speaking at the launch, the Vice Chancellor underscored the University’s ambition to significantly expand graduate training and strengthen its contribution to national development. He noted that the institution is targeting a return to pre-COVID enrolment levels and a substantial increase in postgraduate numbers by 2030, with a focus on producing highly skilled graduates, innovators, and researchers.
He emphasized that the Strategic Plan positions the University as a key driver of Uganda’s transformation through knowledge generation, innovation, and entrepreneurship, aligned with national priorities.
“The staffing distribution is shown here. Under the approved establishment, we intended to have 419 Professors, but we currently have only 75. We planned for 473 Associate Professors, but currently have only 144. This clearly demonstrates that we still have considerable room for growth in strengthening our academic staff profile,” the VC said.
The VC appreciated researchers and research centres, that continue to attract substantial research funding. He highlighted the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) and the Makerere University Walter Reed Project which attracted approximately US$70 million in international research funding into Uganda.
“When you combine the grants won by all our researchers through competitive international funding, the total exceeds US$200 million,” he said.
In her remarks, the Chairperson of the University Council, Dr. Lorna Magara, described the Strategic Plan as more than an institutional roadmap, calling it “a public covenant with the people of Uganda.”
She noted that the Plan marks “the launch of Makerere University’s next chapter,” adding that decisions taken over the next five years will shape not only the future of the institution, but also Uganda’s development trajectory through graduates, research, innovations, and leadership.
Dr. Magara emphasized Makerere’s unique national role as Uganda’s premier public university, entrusted with public resources and public confidence.
“Every investment made in Makerere must produce measurable value for the people of Uganda,” she said, underscoring the need for accountability, integrity, and impact.
Ambitious Targets for Transformation
The Council Chairperson and the Vice chancellor outlined bold performance targets under the Strategic Plan, including doubling postgraduate enrolment, increasing STEM enrolment from 30% to 55%, improving PhD completion rates from 10% to 35%, and more than doubling peer-reviewed research output, alongside a significant rise in patents and innovations.
Dr. Magara stressed that these targets are not aspirations alone but binding commitments against which institutional performance will be measured.
“Ambition is precisely what this moment demands. A strategic plan is not measured by the elegance of its language, but by the lives it transforms,” she said.
Call for Stronger Governance and Legal Reform
Dr. Magara also highlighted the need for reform of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, Cap. 262, noting that the current legal framework has not kept pace with the evolving realities of university governance and innovation.
She called on Government and Parliament to support a timely review of the Act to enable universities to better optimise knowledge systems, productive assets, and innovation capacity in support of national development.
Government Endorsement and Strategic Alignment
Hon. Henry Musasizi commended the University for developing a forward-looking Strategic Plan aligned with Uganda’s Vision 2040 and the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), which serves as the foundation for the country’s Tenfold Growth Strategy.
He explained that Uganda’s ambition to grow its economy from about USD 50 billion to USD 500 billion requires accelerated growth driven by productivity gains, innovation, and strong human capital development.
“Universities are central actors in national transformation. They are engines of knowledge creation, innovation, and human capital development,” he said.
The Minister stressed that government priorities include strengthening research, promoting industrialization, and ensuring that knowledge generated in universities is translated into practical solutions that support economic growth. He further highlighted the importance of accountability, efficiency, and value for money in public investments in higher education.
Universities as Drivers of the Tenfold Growth Strategy
In his presentation, the Senior Planner at the National Planning Authority, Samuel Kasule, emphasized that the Strategic Plan is firmly anchored in Uganda’s comprehensive development framework under Vision 2040 and NDP IV.
He noted that the Tenfold Growth Strategy seeks to accelerate Uganda’s economic growth into double-digit territory, enabling the country to achieve structural transformation and reach upper middle-income status.
Kasule underscored that universities play a critical role in this transformation through labour productivity, research, and innovation. He pointed out that priority sectors such as agriculture, tourism, minerals, oil and gas, and ICT depend heavily on skilled graduates and strong research ecosystems.
He also highlighted the importance of competency-based education, alignment of academic programmes with national human resource needs, and strengthening postgraduate training and research outputs.
A Shared Commitment to Transformation
Across all speeches, a strong message emerged: universities are central to Uganda’s development agenda and must evolve into research-intensive institutions that directly contribute to economic transformation.
The Strategic Plan 2025-2030 was widely commended for its focus on innovation, industry collaboration, digital transformation, and the commercialization of research outputs.
Government leaders reaffirmed continued support for higher education institutions through research funding, innovation ecosystems, and strengthened university–industry partnerships.
Conclusion
The launch of the Strategic Plan 2030 signals a renewed commitment to positioning the University as a key partner in Uganda’s development journey. With strong alignment to national priorities, the Plan is expected to accelerate research, innovation, and skills development necessary for achieving Uganda’s long-term economic ambitions. The Strategic Plan may be accessed at: https://mak.ac.ug/about/strategic-plan
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