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BD and Fleming Fund Collaboration to Help Combat Threat of AMR in Asia and sub-Sahara

Published

3 years ago

February 17, 2020

Mark Wamai

L-R: Dr Mohamed Larmode-IDI, Renuka Gadde-Vice President, Global Health, BD, Dr. Lisa Nelson-CDC Uganda Mission Director and Dr. Andrew Kambugu-Executive Director at IDI at the Launch on 17th February 2020, Kampala Uganda.

Uganda has received three pioneering laboratory machines to speed up the process of testing and treating patients for bacterial infections as part of the Fleming Fund Country Grant, which is aimed at helping low and middle income countries tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The machines automate part of the laboratory tests that identify the bacteria causing a patient’s infection and can deliver results to doctors up to 18 hours quicker, saving critical time in the diagnosis of life-threatening conditions.

One of the machines, a mass spectrometer MALDI-TOF, is the first of its kind in Uganda and identifies bacteria in just two minutes, compared with 18-48 hours for conventional testing.

The aim is to improve the surveillance of AMR and generate relevant data that is shared nationally and globally. The £265M programme was set up to address critical gaps in surveillance of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in low and middle-income countries. This is the first major award under the new UK cross government overseas development assistance strategy, contracted through the UK Department of Health and Social Care.

The Lead Grantee is the Infectious Disease Institute and sub-grantees including Department of Medical Microbiology, Pharmacy Department, and the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity at Makerere University; and Department of Medical Microbiology, Mbarara University of Science and Technology. The project, which commenced in October 2018, had an award value of £1,798,971 and focused on strengthening national coordination structures and initiating antimicrobial resistance surveillance using a One Health approach.

The One Health, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, recognizes that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment. It is collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach — working at the local, regional, national, and global levels — with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes.

The Infectious Disease Institute in Makerere University, is helping to facilitate the training, in collaboration with medical equipment supplier BD. IDI is also supporting the development of a national AMR surveillance strategy, a One Health national governance structure and equipment delivery in animal health laboratories.

The equipment includes a BD Phoenix M50 for antimicrobial susceptibility testing and the BACTEC FX40, for automated blood culture which will be strategically positioned at Uganda’s national reference laboratories for human and animal health.

The launch of the Fleming Fund Country Grant in Africa’s partnership with BD took place on the 17th of February 2020 at Serena Hotel Kampala and attracted both local and international distinguished guests from as far as Sri Lanka and India.

“Up until now, treatment in Uganda has been based on symptoms, rather than based on laboratory testing or findings. This often results in misdiagnosis and can increase the risk of drug resistance if patients aren’t administered the correct medicines,” said Clinical Microbiologist for the Fleming Fund’s Management Agent, Mott MacDonald, Emmanuel Azore, who hopes the new machines will mitigate AMR.

“The new partnership between Fleming Fund and BD will bring much needed quality diagnostics for antimicrobial resistance to human health and animal health laboratories. I have no doubt that these will have a direct positive impact on clinical care and generate much needed surveillance data to inform policy and practice,” says Dr Mohamed Larmode, the head of department Global Health Security Programme at the Infectious Diseases Institute.

Article by Tracy Ahumuza, Corporate Communications Specialist, Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI)

General

Makerere University Launches National Parenting Draft Manual

Published

19 hours ago

October 3, 2022

Mak Editor

The Director of Culture at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Ms. Juliana Naumo Akoryo (Centre) and Dr. Godfrey Siu, the Principal Investigator from Mak-CHDC (Right) interact with a participant at the workshop on 22nd July 2022, Kampala.

_{By Agnes Namaganda}

On July 22^nd 2022, Makerere University–Child Health and Development Centre (Mak–CHDC) launched a draft manual for the National Parenting Standards. The Centre has been working together with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) with funding from UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund), to develop standards that are agreeable to all organisations in the country that are involved in parenting work. The draft manual was being presented to members of a consortium that brings together all these organisations together, called the Parenting Agenda Consortium.

“We produce many documents and they are shelved,” Irene Ayot Chono, who was speaking on behalf of UNICEF said. “We hope that this document will not be one of them,” she emphasized.

Irene Ayot Chono-UNICEF, urging participants to utilize the manual once it is complete.

Dr. Godfrey Siu, the Principal Investigator from Mak-CHDC who presented the draft manual to participants, emphasized that if any organization is doing parenting work, there should be a minimum package that they should offer.

Draft Manual Content

The manual which will have several modules. These modules will be delivered face-to-face in 1.5 hour sessions. Some of these include; Module 6 which will focus on “understanding responsible masculinity and fatherhood” and on “understanding the concept of head of family.”The draft manual also proposed that Module 11 focuses on Parenting in the 21^st Century. Some of the sessions in this module will include Children and Technology, Contemporary Influence on Children and Modernity, Culture and Morality.Module 9 will focus on Parenting for Adolescents and some of the suggested sessions within this module are Needs for Adolescents and The Art of Communicating with Adolescents. Module 5 will focus on Preventing Violent Parenting and Promoting Alternative Discipline Strategies while Module 10 will be about Parenting to Address the Mental Health for Children and Adults.

Dr. Godfrey Siu, the Principal Investigator from Mak-CHDC presenting the contents of the National Parenting Standards Draft Manual.

Participants’ suggestions

After the presentation, participants raised several suggestions for discussion and consideration. These included whether there should be a module on spirituality since Uganda is a strongly religious nation. There was also the concern of how children in remand homes should be parented. Another concern raised by a participant was as to whether teachers who make an undeniable contribution to parenting, should be taken through the parenting manual.

A participant gives her input at the National Parenting Standards Draft Manual launch.

In her closing remarks, Ms. Juliana Naumo Akoryo, the Director of Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) said that the manual is for the parenting organisations to utilize and not for MGLSD.

The Director of Culture at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Ms. Juliana Naumo Akoryo making closing remarks at the workshop.

Ms. Chono also adjured the team behind the manual to use picture illustrations in the manual that can be relatable by the Ugandan parents.

Contact: Agnes Namaganda – agnesvioletnamaganda@gmail.com

General

Launch of Mak-RIF Round 4 Awards & PhD Call for Proposals

Published

6 days ago

September 28, 2022

Mak Editor

Mak-RIF 4 Awards and PhD Call For Proposals, 29th September 2022, 9:00 to 10:00 AM EAT.

Makerere University received funding from the Government of the Republic of Uganda, earmarked to support high impact Research and Innovations. This unique initiative arose after engagements between the top University Management and the Government of Uganda. This fund illustrates the increasing importance that the Government attaches to Research and Innovation as a driver of development and transformation. The objective of the fund is to increase the local generation of translatable research and scalable innovations that address key gaps required to drive Uganda’s development agenda.

In the Financial years 2019/2020, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 the Government of the Republic of Uganda through Mak-RIF has funded implementation of over 750 multidisciplinary research and innovations within the various Colleges, while engaging multiple stakeholders within and outside Makerere University. The Grants Management Committee (GMC) has finalized the award process for the Mak-RIF round 4 call for funding for this Financial Year 2022/2023.

The Grants Management Committee (GMC) hereby invites you to the Launch of the Mak-RIF Round 4 awards and PhD Call for Proposals scheduled to take place tomorrow Thursday 29^th September 2022 from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. EAT.

Please use the following details to join the launch.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpcu-urDIjE9ZgxdsbEmA2IkNMMiJVECt_
Meeting ID: 884 5662 9992
Password: 292624

General

Notice: Makerere Disability Scheme 2022/23 Medical Review Exercise

Published

7 days ago

September 27, 2022

Mak Editor

One of the PWD graduands at the 69th Graduation during the Session held on 17th January 2019.

The Academic Registrar, Makerere University invites persons with disability who applied for admission to public universities under the disability entry scheme for 2022/2023 Academic Year to appear for medical/review exercise at Makerere Unive, Senate Building, Level Two (2) in the Telepresence Centre.

NOTE: Only those who have the minimum entry requirements of at least two principal passes at A’ Level or its equivalent and at least five (5) passes at O’ Level or its equivalent will be interviewed.

Only candidates who sat ‘a’ level in 2020, 2019 and 2018 are eligible for admission.

THE EXERCISE WILL BE CONDUCTED ON 3rd, 4^th and 5^th October, 2022 respectively from 9.00 A.M – 1.00 P.M each day.

IMPORTANT:

(i) If you fail to appear on any of the given days above, there will be no other chance for you.

(ii) Applicants with Government Scholarship for the previous years are not eligible for admission

ALFRED MASIKYE NAMOAH

Acting. ACADEMIC REGISTRAR