General
One Health Central and Eastern Africa (OHCEA) Births Gender Network
A team of gender champions formed a network within OHCEA on March 14, 2016 at Holiday Inn in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This was during a 5-day trainer of trainers (TOT) workshop on Gender, One Health and Infectious Disease. The workshop brought together 15 faculty from the seven OHCEA countries and 3 OHCEA Secretariat Staff. Participants were drawn from different disciplines including Veterinary Medicine, Human Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, Environmental Health and Social Sciences.
The workshop facilitators were gender experts namely Dr. Hellen Amuguni from Tufts University, Ms. Niyati Shah, the USAID Senior Technical Advisor on gender and Prof Anthony Mugisha, Dean at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Bio-diversity (COVAB).
Participants were exposed to highly interactive training methodologies that ensured full participant engagement, manifested cultural diversity and questioned gender biases and stereotypes. With simulation and case study development, participants demonstrated the knowledge gained at the workshop on outbreak detection, prevention and response. Social media was also made use of. Dr. Sarah Ssali, a gender expert at Makerere University posted tweets of the interactive processes, while Agnes Yawe set up a group page using WhatsApp for the network members to interact after the workshop.
At the end of the workshop, participants drew country action plans which shall be shared with the OHCEA country teams, with the aim of devising strategies of implementing plans. The Secretariat staff too, prepared a regional work plan that will guide the process of mainstreaming gender across the network and institutionalizing gender through development of a gender policy, strategy and monitoring and evaluation indicators.
To initiate the process of integrating gender in OHCEA work, some participants shall be invited to the OH modules development workshop scheduled for May 9-13, 2016 to engender the modules. The facilitators provided a Facilitator Guide, which they refined during the TOT workshop, to each participant to guide the planned country gender-related activities for students and faculty.
Article by OHCEA Communication Team
Organised by the Makerere Debating Union – a student-led initiative, the Inter-college Debate Tournament was held on 11th and 12th April 2025 with a vision to leave no student behind by nurturing a community of confident, articulate, and visionary leaders who will drive positive change in society. The tournament was held in three preliminary rounds, followed by semi-finals and a grand finale.
The first round covered democracy and youth participation in politics, while the second round covered inequality and wealth distribution, and the third, the ban on export of raw materials. The semi-final round debated apprenticeship for blue-collar jobs, while the grand finale debated national budget allocations for healthcare and education. In the spirit of inclusivity, all colleges, including the Jinja Campus participated in the tournament.
Commenting on the choice of topics, the organisers noted Makerere University as a bastion of academic excellence has a profound responsibility to cultivate the next generation of leaders who will shape the future of our nation. These leaders, they added, ought to be equipped with 21st century skills of self-expression, critical thinking, and problem-solving so as to navigate the complexities of an ever-evolving world.
On the whole, Makerere Inter-college Debates were conceived as a strategic initiative to foster a culture of intellectual curiosity, creativity, and innovation. The Debating Union aims to empower the future leaders by providing a platform for students to engage in respectful discourse, articulate their thoughts, as well as develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Furthermore, the Debates serve as a platform for not only honing the intellectual prowess of students but also cultivating leadership skills, teamwork, and communication abilities that are essential for success in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. It is envisaged that this initiative will have a lasting impact on the lives of students, by exposing them to debates on topical issues that can shape the mindsets of transformative leaders our nation needs.
After a thrilling two days of debate, Daphine Kemigisha and Jibril Ssekandi from the School of Law (SoL) emerged as winners of the Makerere University Inter-college Debate Tournament 2025, while Olara Emmanuel George from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) was the Public Speech Champion, and Namujuzi Martha Mociita from the College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS) was the Poetry Champion.
The 2025 Tournament was organized by Mayanja Owen and Nkalubo Oprah – 91st Guild Representative Councils (GRCs) of the Debate Union, Akatwijuka Arthur – Chairperson Debate Union, and Debate Union Representatives from colleges. The Uganda National NGO Forum (UNNGOF) partnered with the Debate Union to deliver the 2025 edition.
Addressing students at the award ceremony, UNNGOF’s Mr. Derrick Baluuku encouraged the youth to step out of their comfort zones and think of solutions to inspire change in their communities.
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