General
Health Innovations Conference Convenes Expats on Digital Technology
Today, healthcare organizations are facing unprecedented challenges to improve quality and access to health care service packages. As such, innovations in health have become a major focus once again with the goal to reduce health care disparities.
In order to address the above need, The Ugandan Academy for Health Innovations and Impact in March 2019, hosted a successful second edition of the Annual Health Innovations Conference at Serena Kampala hotel. The event was attended by 270 participants, an upsurge from last year’s 175 participants.
The two-day event was attended by implementing partners from The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Clarke Group, Case Hospital, Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Andela Uganda, Innovation Village and Janssen, the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson among others.
This year’s theme “Sustainable Health for all: Harnessing the fourth Industrial revolution” featured presentations and demonstrations aimed at bringing health innovations to the last mile and ensuring that scale up is achieved for start-up innovations.
During the opening ceremony which was led by the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Makerere University, Prof. Umar Kakumba appreciated the Ugandan Academy and the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) for working towards research and addressing healthcare service delivery needs in Uganda.
“I continue to thank the Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ugandan Academy, National Institutes of Health (NIH) and all the other partners who have been very generous with their support and in turn boosted the image of Makerere University,” he said.
The lineup of reputable speakers included Kwame Rugunda (the chief executive officer of Crypto Savannah and head of the Block chain Association of Uganda), a technology entrepreneur, Prof. Elly Katabira (founder of the first HIV clinic and The Ugandan Academy Board co-chair) and Brian Gitta, founder of Matibabu a non-invasive device that detects malaria in less than two minutes.
Also present was Solomon King, the founder of Fundi Bots, who called upon developers to always remember the end user when innovating – “The danger of being a techie, is your infatuation with your product, but you should always remember the end user has to be at the center of your thinking.”
Unique to this year’s conference was a 17-hour Hack-a-thon spearheaded by Andela Uganda – #AndelaIDIHealthHack. Culminating out of the hack-a-thon were three fan favorite groups which displayed applications to address, breast cancer and sexual reproductive health. Among the three, the overall champion of the health hack was team Cephor who designed a Breast Cancer Glove kit which can be used for breast cancer screening.
As a climax to the conference, David Blair the Chief Technology Officer of Andela handed over awards to the three winning teams with team Cephor receiving six months’ worth of technical support from the Innovation Village, to improve their idea and gauge feasibility. Other winners in the abstract presentations, both oral and poster, included Alpha Doctors, whose innovation revolves around tele-medicine, Mbabara University’s Neonatal resuscitator designed to reduce deaths in newborns due to failed breathing as well as William Wasswa also of Mbarara who presented on a pap smear automated analysis tool for diagnosis and classification of Cervical cancer from pap-smear Images. The awards included a Hisense television, cash prizes ranging from UGX500,000 to UGX2,000,000.
The conference also featured a live painter Rolands Tibirusya who visualized the proceedings through painting on a canvas. Lastly, for those that missed the HIV history exhibition which was displayed at the Uganda museum in partnership with The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) and Uganda AIDS Commission in December 2018 and January 2019, were able to view an abridged version of it at the conference.
The closing ceremony was presided over by, Prof. Elly Katabira, the Board Co-Chair of the Ugandan Academy who urged young innovators to take heart and continue to incessantly pursue their goals. “I might be skeptical to endorse your idea because am scared it may fail and people say that’s the professor who endorsed the failed project so I might discourage you, but I encourage you to politely tell me that am wrong and work hard to see that its completed.”
Article by Tracy Ahumuza, Communications Officer, The Uganda Academy for Health Innovation and Impact
By Moses Lutaaya
Kampala, September 4, 2026 — Makerere University and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have explored new opportunities for strengthening academic, research and innovation collaboration between Uganda, Japan and other African countries, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence (AI), aerospace engineering, materials and remote sensing, food value chains, energy, water and climate change.
The discussions took place on Friday, September 4, 2026, at the Makerere University Main Building in the Vice Chancellor’s Board Room, during a visit by a JICA delegation led by Dr. Okano Takasei, Senior Advisor, Human Development Department of JICA.
Makerere keen to deepen collaboration with JICA
Welcoming the delegation, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Prof. Sarah Ssali, highlighted Makerere University’s long-standing tradition of research, international collaboration and contribution to knowledge generation in Uganda and beyond.
Prof. Ssali noted that Makerere has built a strong global research footprint through partnerships with institutions around the world, observing that the University is well positioned to deepen international collaboration as emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, continue to transform research and higher education.
“Uganda has a very long history of doing research, and particularly it has informed research findings in the areas global health research,” Prof. Ssali said, pointing to Uganda’s historical contribution to global scientific knowledge.
She cited the country’s contribution to medical and biological research, including early research on sleeping sickness, noting that Uganda’s unique research environment continues to offer opportunities for scientific discovery.
Prof. Ssali said Makerere’s history of collaboration with Japan is particularly significant, noting that Japanese cooperation has contributed not only to academic and research activities but also to infrastructure development and other sectors in Uganda.
She cited the establishment of the JICA building at Makerere, describing it as one of the visible symbols of Japan’s long-standing partnership with Makerere University.
According to Prof. Ssali, the building, which houses College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS) disciplines of geology, petroleum studies and administrative offices, was constructed during her undergraduate years and completed within a remarkably short period.
Prof. Ssali said the long-standing relationship between Uganda, Makerere University and Japan provides a strong foundation upon which new areas of collaboration can be built. She encouraged the visiting JICA delegation to explore the University and identify areas where existing partnerships could be strengthened or new areas of cooperation developed.
“Please take time and explore and see where either you already have a footprint, where you’ve ever had a footprint, or where you could explore new areas,” she said.
Prof. Ssali added that Makerere was privileged to host the JICA delegation and expressed optimism that the visit would lead to meaningful and sustainable partnerships.
Strengthening Joint Collaboration through AJ-ASPIRE
Dr. Okano, in his remarks as leader of the delegation said the visit formed part of a broader JICA initiative aimed at promoting academic and research collaboration between Japanese and African universities.
He explained that the initiative was launched on the occasion of the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), held in Yokohama in September 2025, with the objective of strengthening academic and research partnerships between Japan and Africa.
According to Dr. Okano, the initiative is intended to benefit both African and Japanese universities by providing platforms for internationalisation, collaborative research and the exchange of knowledge, researchers and students. “We would like to play a role of facilitator between universities in Japan and Africa and Uganda as well,” he said.
He explained that JICA is currently promoting the initiative through three African hub universities where JICA already has ongoing projects and experts on the ground.
The three institutions are Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) in Egypt, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in Kenya, and Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
Dr. Okano said the selection of the three institutions was informed by the presence of ongoing JICA-supported projects and experts who can facilitate collaboration between the hub universities and institutions across Africa and Japan.
The hub universities are currently coordinating research with Japanese universities in strategic areas, with E-JUST focusing on energy, JKUAT leading work on food value chains, and Stellenbosch University focusing on water and climate change.
Dr. Okano said JICA was particularly pleased to explore collaboration with Makerere University under the African-Japan Initiative for Research and Education Partnerships, known as AJ-ASPIRE.
He outlined three major avenues through which Makerere could participate in the initiative.
The first is participation in existing research programmes hosted by the three hub universities. He added that Makerere researchers could join ongoing research on energy, food value chains, water and climate change, thereby creating opportunities to work with Japanese and other African researchers.
“We would like to explore opportunity for researchers from Makerere University to participate in these ongoing research activities and expand collaboration with Japanese and African partner institutions,” Dr. Okano said.
The second area is the development of new research networks in artificial intelligence and aerospace engineering. Dr. Okano said JICA was planning to establish new research groups focusing on the two areas and would be interested in having Makerere researchers participate in the emerging networks. “We would like to also invite researchers from Makerere University to join these networks and implementation of future collaboration in these two research topics, aerospace engineering and AI,” he said.
The third proposed avenue is increased collaboration between Makerere University and E-JUST, which Dr. Okano said offers fully funded scholarship opportunities for African students through a programme jointly supported by the governments of Egypt and Japan.
He noted that a number of Makerere graduates have already benefited from the programme, including researchers who have pursued doctoral studies and research opportunities in Egypt and Japan.
Dr. Okano cited the example of Mr. Abdonoor Kalibala, a Makerere alumnus whom he recently met in Hiroshima, Japan, following completion of PhD in Mechatronics and Robotics engineering at E-JUST. Mr. Kalibala conducted research in Japan for up to six months under the supervision of a Japanese professor as part of his doctoral programme.
Dr. Okano said such programmes could help strengthen the movement of researchers between Uganda, Egypt and Japan and create lasting institutional partnerships.
He added that JICA is also providing small research grants to alumni of the programmes to help them maintain and expand research collaboration involving Japan, E-JUST and African institutions.
He said Makerere could leverage such opportunities to increase the participation of its students and researchers in international research networks.
AI, Materials and Remote Sensing and International Relations Set the Pace
Prof. Robert Wamala, Director of Research, Innovations and Partnerships at Makerere University, said the visit followed an online engagement held a few weeks earlier between Makerere University and JICA, during which several areas and units within the University were identified as potential points of collaboration.
Prof. Wamala said these included the Makerere University AI Lab, the University’s International Office and researchers working in space engineering, particularly in materials and remote sensing.
He welcomed the transition from online discussions to physical engagement, saying the visit would allow JICA representatives to interact directly with researchers, academic units and University authorities. “This interest is being followed up through an in-person visit, which provides us an opportunity for JICA to engage directly with the relevant units and researchers at Makerere University,” Prof. Wamala said.
For Makerere, he added, the initiative provides an opportunity to connect the University’s research strengths with Japanese universities, research institutions and development partners to address shared development challenges.
Prof. Wamala said the University was particularly interested in identifying practical areas of collaboration that could move beyond general discussions to concrete research partnerships, joint projects and opportunities for students and researchers.
He noted that the JICA delegation’s on-campus interactions scheduled to take place throughout the day would enable the two sides to identify specific areas of mutual interest. “We hope these engagements will help us identify specific areas of future interest and provide a basis for developing concrete areas of collaboration under the AJ-ASPIRE,” Prof. Wamala said.
He reiterated Makerere’s commitment to strengthening international research partnerships and thanked JICA for its continued interest in the University.
Dr. Okano, was accompanied by Mr. Ito Idomu, Research and Advisor at the Embassy of Japan, Mr. Osaki Mistuhiro from JICA headquarters, Ms. Eric Maeda from JICA Headquarters, and Ms. Ruth Mbabazi from JICA Uganda.
JICA follow-up meetings with Makerere research units
Following the high-level meeting in the Vice Chancellor’s Board Room, the JICA team, together with the Directorate of Research, Innovations and Partnerships, proceeded to engage with key research and administrative units at Makerere University identified as strategic to the proposed areas of collaboration.
The delegation held meetings with the Makerere University AI Lab, led by Dr. Joyce Nabende of the College of Computing and Information Sciences (COCIS), to explore opportunities for cooperation in artificial intelligence and related emerging technologies.
The team also met officials from the Makerere University International Office, led by Mr. Mathias Ssemanda, where discussions focused on opportunities for strengthening international academic linkages, mobility and institutional partnerships.
A further engagement was held with the Department of Geomatics and Land Management, focusing on materials and remote sensing, led by Prof. Lydia Kayondo from the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT).
The engagements provided an opportunity for the JICA team and Makerere researchers to move from broad discussions on collaboration to more specific conversations around research interests, expertise, existing projects and potential areas for joint work.
The visit marks an important step towards strengthening Makerere University’s engagement with Japanese and African research institutions under AJ-ASPIRE, while opening opportunities for researchers and students to participate in emerging international networks in artificial intelligence, aerospace engineering, remote sensing and other strategic areas of science, technology and innovation.
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