Health
Interventions to Increase Compliance Levels Around COVID-19 In Refugee Communities
By Joseph Odoi
Uganda’s open-door policy on refugee-hosting has been internationally acclaimed as “the world’s most compassionate”. And while Uganda is among the world’s top three refugee-hosting nations, possibly the first in Africa, refugee communities continue to be disadvantaged on many fronts with poor socioeconomic and health outcomes.
Refugee settings are already besieged with a socially disrupted existence, and the COVID-19 experience could have catastrophic consequences in their context. Yet the extent to which refugee communities are aware of Covid-19, have complied, and are coping with the related preventive measures, remains largely unknown.
Moved mainly by three issues: 1) Uganda’s open-door policy on refugee hosting; 2) COVID-19; and 3) the knowledge gap on COVID-19 impact in refugee communities, Makerere University researchers in partnership with different institutions in academia, policy and practice have commenced on a study contributing to increased compliance with the Ministry of Health’s Covid-19 prevention guidelines under the project entitled “Refugee Lived Experiences, Compliance, and Thinking” (REFLECT) in Covid-19.
According to Dr. Gloria Seruwagi, the Principal Investigator, study findings will contribute to filling gaps in knowledge, policy by designing programmes to increase understanding and compliance levels around COVID-19 and refugee communities:
“Little is known about how refugee communities have complied with the Ministry’s guidelines like social distancing, wearing masks, sanitizing or frequent washing of hands with soap. Yet it is widely known that their living arrangements in crowded spaces with massive WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) challenges have been a long-standing challenge, even before the Covid-19 pandemic. To address this knowledge gap the Ministry of Health has partnered (as a Co-Investigator) with our study team which also comprises other Co-Investigators from Gulu University, ACORD and Lutheran World Federation which are implementing partners in refugee settlements.” explained Dr. Seruwagi
‘’This mixed methods research has a sample size of ~1,500 participants evenly distributed across three study sites in Central, West Nile and South Western refugee settlements. Similarly, there was fairly even distribution across nationalities with Congolese (30%), Somalis (33%) and South Sudanese (33%). Overall, the majority of participants were aged between 25-34 years (35%), of female gender (68%), of Moslem (30%) or Protestant (36%) religious denomination, uneducated (40%) and earned less than UGX 50,000 weekly (57%). In addition, the overwhelming majority neither smoked (97%) nor drunk alcohol (92%). Except for age and gender, there were variations in demographic and behavioral characteristics across the three study sites’’ she added.
Preliminary Findings
As part of preliminary findings from the study, Dr Seruwagi noted that there are very high levels of awareness about COVID-19 among the majority of the adult population. However, there are variations in this knowledge across refugee settings, with urban refugees being more knowledgeable on average than their rural counterparts. However, in reverse they [urban refugees] also displayed and reported higher risk behaviour in regards to Covid-19 than their rural-based counterparts who showed relatively more compliance. Despite being more knowledgeable than women with regard to symptoms, causes, risk factors, and treatment of COVID-19, men have poor compliance with Covid-19 preventive measures compared to women.
Children ages 5-12 were found to have very low levels of knowledge, explained by the assumption that adults at home will always pass on information and so, no targeted information is being given to children. “Due to school closure, teachers who are key change agents and transmit information were not in contact with the children. We believe this is a missed opportunity greatly contributing to these low knowledge levels among children” Dr. Gloria explained while sharing findings at Makerere University (CTF1 Building). In addition to disenfranchisement around access to Covid-related knowledge, school closure further heightened children’s vulnerability with a marked increase in neglect, exposure to different forms of violence and teenage pregnancy.
On attitudes, Dr. Seruwagi noted that previous adverse experiences like war, torture, rape or hunger have produced a “survivor” mentality with little or no fear among respondents in refugee communities. One refugee said “I have dodged bullets, been tortured and slept hungry for days, what more harm can Covid do to me?”
On adherence to preventive guidelines, Presidential directives and SOPs, handwashing was the most commonly adhered to guideline, again among the adults. Local leaders had come up with innovative mechanisms for ensuring compliance through supervision; and most households had washing points at the peak of COVID-19. ‘’Handwashing was even much higher in Muslim communities, mostly because it is in tandem with their religious and sociocultural practices’’ Dr. Seruwagi explained.
On masks, the researchers noted that there was not so much compliance in wearing masks, reportedly after restrictions were eased. There was a lot of “chin-masking” with those who had just wearing them on chins but without using them to cover up. Some other risky behaviours were observed such as borrowing masks at places where it was mandatory (health facilities, offices) or when they saw authorities and enforcers coming.
On social distancing: the researchers noted that local leaders have tried to enforce this at public meeting spaces; but it’s almost impossible at household level due to large family sizes. Also, sociocultural norms require them to sit together, eat together (including from the same utensils) which makes it almost impractical.
Despite the challenges, the researchers observed that there are also stories of resilience, innovation and improvisation among refugee communities. Local leaders made arrangements to help their people including translating prevention messages into local languages, having strict rules e.g. for social distancing at water collection points and enforcing handwashing facilities at household level. They also internally arranged some relief items. And new businesses (e.g. mask production) were birthed out of COVID-19. Key support systems during Covid-19 were reported to be health facilities, WASH, community leaders including religious leaders and the diaspora.
On the way forward, the research team highlighted the need for innovation and designing age-appropriate messages and interventions for children, incorporating mainstream COVID-19 messaging in all teacher-learner interactions, building on community resilience and leadership, continuous communication and impact messaging with heavy focus on risk reduction.
In his presentation entitled; REFLECT study implications for policy, Mr. Brian Luswata the Principal Legal Officer from Ministry of Health (MOH) reported that MOH is conducting an integrated Covid-19 response to the entire public regardless of nationality. He indicated that available data shows that over 151 refugees countrywide have contacted Covid-19 and 3 deaths have been registered. He further revealed that MoH conducts regular trainings of health workers in refugee settlements and quarantine facilities have been created to counter any spread of the pandemic. He noted the timeliness and importance of this study, saying it will directly feed into policy and guidelines on the prevention of COVID-19 and other similar pandemics.
Representing the Dean, Makerere University School of Public Health, Dr. Elizabeth Ekirapa commended the REFLECT study team led by Dr. Seruwagi noting that the study will shed more light on how to deal with issues like human behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“When COVID-19 started people were saying nobody is dying and now people have started to die. Human beings keep coming up with explanations in a manner that you wouldn’t expect. So this study will help us learn on how we can deal with ourselves’’ said Dr. Ekirapa who is also Chair of the Department of Health Policy Planning and Management at MakSPH.
She further appreciated the REFLECT study’s multisectoral approach adding that the findings will contribute to changes in the different multisectoral approaches Uganda is using to address COVID-19.
In her remarks, Prof. Josephine Ahikire, the Principal of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) said that the role of Makerere University is to create knowledge that will be used for societal development and transformation.
She equally thanked Government of Uganda for continuous support to Makerere University through the Research and Innovation Fund (Mak-RIF) which also has a provision for research on COVID-19. She congratulated the researchers for the timely study which underscores the academia role in social work, humanity and public health. She also thanked the partners for supporting the initiative.
Jesse Kamstra, the Country Representative for Lutheran World Federation (LWF) commended Uganda’s effort in the fight against Covid-19.
“I feel safer in Uganda than any other country due to the different adaptations they have taken up to make this disease less spread in the country’’ said Kamstra.
As implementing partners in the study, he mentioned that LWF expects actionable recommendations and evidence-based understanding of social behaviours of refugees during COVID-19. He further noted that the recommendations will be used to adjust future programming together with other implementing partners like Office of the Prime Minister (OPM)’s refugee department.
Ms Ellen Bajenja Kajura the Country Director for ACORD, also one of the study partners, expressed her pride at the partnership with Makerere and the other partners. Even from preliminary findings, she talked about some of the immediate actions her organisation will begin taking forward like designing child-friendly messages on Covid-19 in addition to strengthening ACORD’s programming in child protection and gender-based violence.
At the event, Dr. Misaki Wayengera, Chairman of Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) on the National Taskforce for COVID-19 revealed that despite challenges brought by Covid-19, total reopening of various sectors will go on.
‘’We started opening up but some sectors remain closed because we are still studying transmission dynamics, however we shall continue opening up because we will have to live with COVID-19’’ he explained.
Professor Noeline Nakasujja the Adhoc Chair (psychosocial) on the COVID-19 Taskforce and also Head of Psychiatry Department of Makerere University College of Health Sciences noted the significant increase in Mental Health issues and psychiatry referrals during COVID-19. She decried the limited infrastructure or community capacity to handle these. She called on all stakeholders to work together in their different capacity to address mental health and psychosocial support especially for more vulnerable populations like those in refugee settings.
During the event, refuge representatives shared their experiences during pandemic response.
On what makes Uganda one of the best refugee host community, Ms. Lilly Anek a Refugee representative from Adjumani had this to say: ‘’Uganda is the best refugee host country because they treat us like brothers and sisters. This is why we intermarry as South Sudanese and Ugandans… people treat us so well’’ Similarly, other refuge representatives like Sandie from Kyaka II at the event were in agreement with her statement as they confirmed receiving handwashing detergents, face masks and training on COVID-19 prevention. Together, they called upon government of Uganda to put in a place an additional taskforce in the refuge communities so that new entrants are quarantined before joining the community.
The event was graced by officials from Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) which manages the national refugee response, UNHCR, representatives from the ministry of health, Makerere University, civil society, the media and other stakeholders. Discussions during this dialogue centered around the growing numbers of challenges during Covid-19, perceptions and nomenclature, infrastructural limits in refugee hosting communities and adaptations to the new normal in this Pandemic era.
Dr Julius Kasozi representing UNHCR assured the study team that UNHCR is more than ready to take forward and implement any actionable recommendations from the REFLECT study. In his closing remarks as government representative, Mr. Byaruhanga of OPM said there was a lot to learn and adapt from the study. He encouraged the study team to engage further with his office to ensure ownership and uptake of the study findings.
More about the REFLECT Study
The research topic is “Knowledge, adherence and the lived experiences of refugees in COVID-19: A comparative assessment of urban and rural refugee settings in Uganda”. The project has been shorted to the acronym REFLECT (Refugee Lived Experiences, Compliance, and Thinking).
The study is cross-sectional mixed and has a multinational focus covering refugees from South Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Burundi. Similarly, Study sites are Kisenyi in Kampala, Kyaka II Refugee Settlement in Kyegegwa, South-Western Uganda, and eleven (11) refugee settlements in West Nile.
The REFLECT study is funded by the UK government through Elrha/Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) supported by Wellcome Trust, UKAID and National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR). It is conducted by Makerere University with Dr. Gloria Seruwagi as Principal Investigator. The Co-Investigators are from Gulu University, Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD), Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the National Association of Social Workers of Uganda (NASWU) and Ministry of Health. The study team includes Dr Gloria Kimuli Seruwagi, Dr. Denis Muhangi, Dr. Betty Okot, Prof. Stephen Lawoko, Eng. Dunstan Ddamulira, Andrew Masaba and Brian Luswata.
Article originally posted on MakSPH
Kampala, 11 November 2025 —Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Joint Medical Stores (JMS) have launched a project to boost Uganda’s health supply chain. Backed by the Gates Foundation, it aims to improve emergency deliveries and use data to ensure lasting resilience.
The intervention began on Thursday, 6 November, with the flag-off of emergency distribution of medicines and health supplies at JMS in Nsambya. Under a sub-award from MakSPH, JMS is leading warehousing, distribution, redistribution of essential commodities, reverse logistics, and technical support to health facilities, including digital training for over 1,100 facilities in the Integrated Online Ordering System. The operation aims to deliver USAID-supplied medicines that had remained in storage since donor support was suspended earlier this year, preventing expiry and restoring last-mile delivery across the country.
Building on this, MakSPH convened a stakeholder consultative workshop on Monday, 10 November, at Kabira Country Club to guide the research component of the initiative. Officials from the Ministry of Health, development partners, and health logistics experts reviewed the scope of a new study on strategic analytics to strengthen a sustainable and resilient health supply chain. The consultation focused on refining research questions to ensure alignment with national priorities and stakeholder needs.
Dr. Suzanne Kiwanuka, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Health Policy, Planning, and Management (HPPM), stressed the need for practical, evidence-based collaboration.
“Our commitment is to make sure that whatever evidence we generate is useful. We want perspectives on governance, implementation, and the frontline, because when the supply chain isn’t functioning, a lot goes wrong,” said Prof. Kiwanuka.
The Ministry of Health has welcomed ongoing support from partners to stabilise the supply chain.
“I want to draw attention back to our 10-year health supply chain roadmap. Despite disruptions, we made important milestones in the first five years, and with support from Makerere University School of Public Health and the Gates Foundation, we are now focused on understanding challenges and building a resilient, sustainable supply chain,” said Dr. Ajulong Martha Grace, Assistant Commissioner, Pharmaceutical Supply Chain and Logistics.
Over the past decade, Uganda’s health supply chain has made steady progress under the 10-Year Roadmap for Health Supply Chain Self-Reliance (2021/22–2031/32), which sets out a vision for a self-reliant, efficient, and transparent system that ensures uninterrupted access to essential medicines. Efforts have focused on increasing financing, digitising logistics, strengthening local manufacturing, and expanding infrastructure.
Despite these gains, the system remains vulnerable. Limited financing, capacity gaps at subnational levels, and poor commodity reporting have contributed to stockouts and wastage. Heavy reliance on donor support, compounded with back-to-back shocks, has left Uganda’s health system exposed to shocks, such as the recent suspension of USAID support, which disrupted last-mile delivery to over 530 private not-for-profit health facilities.
Commodities worth more than UGX 79 billion have remained in storage, risking expiry and could potentially reverse service delivery gains. The Gates Foundation’s support comes at a critical moment to stabilise last-mile distribution while generating analytics to address deeper structural challenges.
“Before these financial disruptions, our public sector supply chain was already under intense pressure to meet rising last-mile demands. The current challenges are a critical opportunity to address long-standing bottlenecks, improve delivery of essential medicines, strengthen real-time monitoring, and build a more sustainable health system in Uganda,” said Timothy Musila, a Health Policy, Planning and Financing Specialist.
MakSPH, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, will carry out Strategic Systems Analytics to strengthen Uganda’s supply chain. The research will examine financing gaps, fiscal space, operational inefficiencies, and performance at the subnational and last-mile levels. This co-created evidence generation will also identify opportunities for sustainable financing and efficiency gains to reduce reliance on external aid and to guide reforms that ensure that essential medicines and products remain accessible to all Ugandans.
This work is spearheaded by Professor Rhoda Wanyenze, as the Principal Investigator, and Associate Professor Suzanne Kiwanuka, the Co-Principal Investigator/Research Technical Lead on the Makerere University side. Dr. Charles Olaro, Director General of Health Services at the Ministry of Health, is the focal person on a five-member steering committee overseeing the implementation. The team includes Pamela Achii, Procurement and Supply Chain Management Specialist at the Ministry, and Mr. Timothy Musila.
Health
JASH2025 wraps with the 23rd Matthew Lukwiya Memorial Lecture and Kampala Declaration Statement
The 19th Joint Annual Scientific Health Conference (JASH) and Inaugural National Annual Communicable and Non-Communicable Conference (NACNDC) held at Speke Resort Munyonyo ended on Friday 7th November, 2025 with the 23rd Matthew Lukwiya Memorial Lecture and a Kampala Declaration Statement.
The joint conference that began on 3rd November, 2025 themed, ‘Unified Action Against Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases’ was organised by Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS), Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) and Ministry of Health (MoH). The meeting brought together representatives from Central Government, Ministry of Health, academia, civil society, local governments, private sector, development partners, professional associations, local governments and communities.
Kampala Declaration Statement
Dr. David Musoke, Assoc. Professor at MakSPH who was Co-Chair of the Organising Committee delivered the Kampala Declaration which defined the priorities/commitments of the delegates from the dialogue at the conference.
The declaration highlighted the background of setting the priorities as thus: 1. Uganda’s dual disease burden from communicable diseases (CDs) alongside the growing rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). 2. The biological, social and clinical intersections between CDs and NCDs, which compete for limited resources. 3. Threats posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR), climate-sensitive diseases, zoonotic spillovers, and emergency outbreaks such as Ebola, COVID-19, and Marburg. 4. Uganda’s commitment to Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the Africa CDC’s New Public Health Order, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the International Health Regulations (IHR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). 5. The integration of health services at facility level continues to face challenges due to high patient-to-health worker ratios and inadequate infrastructure, which impede the delivery of comprehensive, timely, and quality healthcare services;
Emphasizing the need to involve all stakeholders—including from education, agriculture, environment, engineering, urban planning, gender, as well as community and religious leaders, and others—in the fight against communicable and non-communicable diseases; 6. The persistent challenges in access to healthcare across the country due to delays in diagnosis and treatment-seeking, and emphasizing the urgent need to strengthen early detection, ensure timely access to quality healthcare, and enhance community awareness about prompt medical attention; 7. Protection and promotion of human rights are fundamental to ensuring health, dignity, and well-being for all citizens, as these rights form the foundation of equitable access to quality healthcare services; 8. The global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), now causing an estimated 700,000 deaths annually, and recognizing its strong link to self-medication, poor diagnostic capacity, and weak public health interventions; 9. Health policies and investments have focused more on curative than preventive care, underscoring the need to reinstate a strong prevention-oriented approach; 10. Many Ugandans remain inadequately informed about health issues affecting them and their role in promoting health within their communities; 11. Rapid industrialization, urbanization, and lifestyle changes are significantly contributing to the rising burden of NCDs;
The Kampala Declaration was presented as a shared call to action, a platform for sustained collaboration, and a blueprint for strengthening integrated and equitable health systems. The declaration is premised on the following priorities:
- Multisectoral Collaboration and One Health Approach: Affirmation of the requirement for involvement of the whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach to accelerate disease prevention, health promotion, and self-care through evidence-based awareness.
- Integrated, People-Centered Disease Prevention and Care: The urgent need to focus on people, not diseases, using a life-course approach and strengthening integrated service delivery across CDs and NCDs at all levels.
- Strengthened Data, Research, and Policy Translation: Recognition of the importance of timely, interoperable, and disaggregated data to inform policy, financing, and implementation decisions. In addition, commit to collaboration between academic institutions, policymakers, CSOs, and community influencers to bridge the gap between research and practice.
- Financing: Commit to advocate for increased domestic financing to progressively reduce dependence on external aid, ensuring predictable and sustainable resources for integrated disease prevention and care. Promote efficiency and accountability in health spending by strengthening budget tracking, performance-based financing, and public financial management systems. Support innovative financing mechanisms, including public-private partnerships, social health insurance, and community-based financing schemes to expand coverage and affordability.
Specific calls were directed to the various stakeholders respective to their mandates and roles.
Government of Uganda and the Ministry of Health: To accelerate implementation of integrated strategic plans for CDs, NCDs, and epidemic preparedness under a unified health systems approach; Institutionalize NACNDC–JASH as the official Annual Integrated National Health platform for disease dialogue and innovation, co-led by the Ministry of Health and academia; Mobilize domestic and international financing to strengthen primary healthcare, laboratory networks, and community systems; Enforce laws and policies aimed at preventing and controlling substance abuse nationwide.
Academia: Generate policy-relevant evidence and drive innovation in diagnostics, surveillance, and culturally appropriate care; Establish multidisciplinary working groups to connect research, clinical practice, and policy; Train health professionals in integrated, competency-based, and future-ready approaches; Create innovation hubs and partnerships linking academia, communities, and industry to co-develop scalable, people-centred solutions; Leverage technology and innovation to effectively address CDs and NCDs; and Prioritize locally led research focused on Uganda’s health realities, including NCDs, CDs, mental health, and climate-linked risks.
Development Partners and Donors: Align technical and financial support with Uganda’s integrated disease control priorities; Support the development of a national research agenda driven by local health needs; Strengthen health system resilience, digital transformation, and community-led interventions; and promote regional knowledge sharing, South-South collaboration, and local manufacturing of diagnostics and medicines.
Private Sector and Civil Society: Engage in public-private partnerships to expand access to diagnostics, care, and innovation; Champion community-responsive models for disease prevention; rehabilitation, and continuity of care; Strengthen advocacy, accountability, and public education through multimedia and grassroots platforms; Raise public awareness on mental health, sickle cell disease, asthma, and diabetes, integrating these services into primary care and reducing stigma and discrimination.
In view of the background, priorities and expected action from the stakeholders as highlighted above, the declaration also endorsed the development and dissemination of: a National Integrated Disease Control Strategy, informed by best practices and policy dialogues from this conference; a Multisectoral Action Framework guiding collaboration among health, education, agriculture, environment, and finance sectors; A Monitoring Mechanism to track implementation and institutionalize annual
reporting on disease integration; and the continuation of joint annual NACNDC and JASH conferences to sustain momentum.
Setting the Pace
Through the conference, keynote speakers delivered addresses which set pace for the dialogue by participants at the conference.
Dr. Queen Dube, Lead – Newborn Programme Implementation, Policies and Standards at the World Health Organisation (WHO), Geneva and Co-Chair of Every Woman, Every Newborn (EWENE) Country Implementation Group highlighted the reasons for rising disease burden of NCDs across sub-Saharan Africa including industrialization and urbanization; shifting dietary patterns; improved means of transport and communication which converts to less movement.
Dr. Dube noted that, the poorer one is, the higher the risk of one dying due to an illness either through communicable or non-communicable diseases. She stressed the importance for a unified action against diseases as opposed to fragmentations or silos by different working groups of various diseases. Duplication of efforts spreads thin the available resources, yet more efficiency and effectiveness could be enjoyed, she added.
Her call for action was, ‘health is interconnected, our response must be to; collaboration saves lives; and together, we can build a healthier, more resilent world’.
Delivering his keynote speech on the final day of the conference, Prof. Francis Omaswa, Founder and Director – African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST) reminded the delegates that, ‘it is up-to us to achieve our goals provided we commit to do what is expected of us in the best possible way’.
He questioned why Africa continues to lag behind in the global health indices considering the professionals present on the continent. ‘Inclusiveness, equity and working together is the way forward’, he advised.
Prof. Omaswa reminded the delegates that Uganda in particular achieved in areas like HIV/AIDS control, therefore the means we used then must be employed in fighting communicable and non-communicable diseases. He heighted that, some of the means included leadership at all levels, working together, for monitoring and reporting, engagement of youth through the means they respond to among others.
‘Let no one go to sleep, each one of us is a leader at our levels of responsibility and we must make sure that there is coordination and supportive supervision within the health system’, Prof. Omaswa reiterated.
In his keynote speech, Dr. David Serwadda, a Professor in the Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health at MakSPH reminded researchers and academia the importance of their work to disease prevention and control. He stressed that the link between research and implementation is critical for a unified action, and there bridging the gap must be intentional.
23rd Dr. Matthew Lukwiya Memorial Lecture
Dr. Matthew Lukwiya is remembered for his leadership and selflessness as a Ugandan physician at the forefront during the Ebola virus disease outbreak in Uganda in 2000 until de succumbed to the disease. He was the supervisor at St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor, outside Gulu City, Uganda; Gulu district was an epicentre of the disease at the time.
As has been the case at the previous JASH conferences, the 23rd edition of the Matthew Lukwiya Memorial Lecture was held on the final day of the conference, themed, “Identified Critical Gaps in the Response to Outbreaks”.
The session convened leading scientists, policymakers, community and health professionals to reflect on lessons learnt from past epidemics and chart strategies for stronger preparedness, response and resilience across the health system.
The Way forward
At the end of the meeting, delegates were advised that information from the meeting will be shared through a link on the MakSPH website and abstracts will be published as well.
Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, Dean-MakSPH who also represented Prof. Bruce Kirenga, Principal-MakCHS thanked all participants for attending the dual conference and willingness to share information in support of integrating to improve Uganda’ Health System. She also thanked the organising committee and partners for the support leading to a successful conference.
‘What is it that touched you at this conference, what are the takeaways and I implore you to reflect on the discussions and create a change. This is not business as usual and let us make change.’, the Dean said.
Prof. Wanyenze handed the baton to the School of Medicine who will work with the MoH in organising the conference in 2026.
Closing by the Permanent Secretary
The conference was officially closed by Dr. Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary-MoH. She highlighted five points for all of us to remember as takeaway from the dialogue.
- All of us should innovate solutions for the challenges before us including innovative leadership. Uganda’s population growth remains high and the resources are not growing at same rate therefore challenges will continue to arise therefore innovation is necessary.
- Inculcate a culture and mindset change and remember health change begins with each of us.
- Integrate not verticalization because it is the right thing to do, leads to efficiency and gives results.
- As government continues to explore means of resource mobilisation, smart investments in high impact activities and priorities are critical.
- Call upon all of us, to implement the resolutions reached.
She thanked all stakeholders for the contributions made towards success of the conference.
The two-day 2nd Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Health Africa Conference that kicked off today in the Main Hall, Makerere University has been described as not being about technology but about people – the vulnerable communities bearing the burden of infectious diseases and other health challenges – and the promise AI holds as a panacea. Officially opened by Hon. Dr. Monica Musenero, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation the conference will be held under the theme “Setting AI for Sustainable and Inclusive Health Systems in Africa”.
Africa Must Enter the ‘Evil Forest’
In her now characteristic style of speaking from the heart, Hon. Dr. Musenero observed that Africa has from the first industrial revolution to the current fourth and impending fifth industrial revolutions experienced emotions ranging from non-recognition, rejection and skepticism to the current consumption with awe. This current emotion, though receptive unlike previous ones, continues to position Africa at a disadvantage economically, she noted.
“We are positioning ourselves to disadvantage in skill; we have positioned ourselves at the consumption end and we’ve stood in awe of this technology,” she observed, using the example of the amount of admiration a user who whips out the latest iPhone 17 attracts from those around them. “We respect you for your iPhone 17, but I would be happier if you were able to design and manufacture iPhone 5” intimated Hon. Dr. Musenero.
The Minister urged fellow scientists to wake up to the realization that the future of Africa lies in their hands. “We can no longer be passive participants, we can no longer reside on the shallow end of science; we must be willing, as I said when I was here last week, to enter the ‘evil forest’”.
The ‘evil forest’ is Hon. Dr. Musenero’s analogy of Africa’s perception of current technology ecosystem drawing parallels with scenes often dramatized by Nigerian Movies. She notes that though depicted in these movies as scary and potentially dangerous, the ‘evil forest’ is loaded with hidden treasures, necessitating resilience and wisdom for one to navigate the pitfalls until they discover the treasure trove. Upon discovery, the value of this treasure has the potential to turn around the fortunes of the family, community or entire kingdom. Entering the ‘evil forest’ therefore, is her way of encouraging scientists to go beyond adapting imported technology for local use to understanding how it works enough to develop homegrown solutions.
Building AI Capacity through Synergy
Representing the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Academic Registrar, Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi concurred with Hon. Dr. Musenero that Uganda needs to accelerate investment capacity in AI, if it is to be used as tool to manage health challenges. He nevertheless underlined the steps Makerere has undertaken to close the gaps by hosting units such as the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI), AI and Health Lab, Innovation Pod, while working with various partners.
“We want to renew our commitment that we shall continue to translate our research findings into service delivery and products that improve the livelihoods of our people,” pledged Prof. Buyinza, who also noted that this will be undertaken within institutional ethical guidelines and policies, bolstered by good practices and recommendations arising from the conference.
Taking cognizance of contributions of various partners to strides made so far, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Dr. Aminah Zawedde who was represented by Mr. Ambrose Ruyooka, the Ministry’s Head of Department of Research and Development, thanked the Makerere University AI Health Lab, IDI, Health AI for All Network, the Research and Innovation Fund, the African Population and Health Research Centre, and the Mastercard Foundation for convening the second edition of the conference.
“This year’s theme aligns perfectly with Uganda’s digital transformation vision. It reminds us that while innovation is powerful, true progress lies in ensuring it is equitable, ethical, locally relevant, and accessible to all” read Dr. Zawedde’s remarks.
She noted that when used responsibly, AI empowers healthcare workers to do more with greater precision and efficiency while extending services to under-served communities, essentially amplifying their impact whilst preserving the essential human touch that defines care. Dr. Zawedde reiterated the Government of Uganda’s commitment to positioning AI as a catalyst for national development and improved service delivery through the national AI governance framework. “By the end of 2025, we expect to reach a decision on whether to adopt a comprehensive AI policy or a flexible, sector-led regulatory approach.”
Referring to projects already underway at the College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS), the Principal, Prof. Tonny Oyana underscored the great promise AI holds for not only improving affordability but also diagnosis of disease. He nevertheless called for targeted investment in data centres so as to build the required capacity to process the large amount of data that AI thrives on.
The Executive Director IDI and conference Co-Chair, Dr. Andrew Kambugu described the conference timing as “impeccable”. Citing a recently convened conference on Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases that discussed Universal Health Coverage, he shared “there are people in this country who are one step away from disaster because of health.”
He therefore paid tribute to his conference Co-Chair, Dr. Rose Nakasi, whose AI-automation work with the light microscope, one of game-changing inventions in human medicine to-date, has improved precision, accuracy and efficiency in diagnosis of malaria, tuberculosis and cancer in healthcare facilities. Dr. Kambugu therefore urged his audience to always be eager to learn about the capabilities game changing tools such as AlphaFold.
“Our African Centre of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Data Intensive Science (ACE) in collaboration with CoCIS has been one of the first trainers of AlphaFold in Africa” remarked Dr. Kambugu. He added that the to ensure inclusive training ACE has attracted funding to support the She Data Science (SHEDS) project, an initiative that offers MSc and PhD fellowships to Ugandan women in the fields of data science and bioinformatics, with a strong emphasis on health data.
How Ocular is shaping healthcare
Conference Co-Chair and Principal Investigator of Ocular, Dr. Rose Nakasi noted that their project that aims at empowering healthcare professionals with AI-powered microscopy was motivated by the fact that wrong diagnoses have a cascading effect on prescription, treatment, recommendation and surveillance services. “Where health practitioners have been taking 30 minutes or more to diagnose malaria, and days to diagnose cancers, we are slashing down that time to literally 5 seconds to diagnose and make a recommendation.” She added.
Dr. Nakasi added that beyond diagnosis, the Ocular project is supporting the Ministry of Health with more precise surveillance and monitoring of diseases by quicker augmentation of information for faster roll-out of interventions as opposed to current weekly or monthly reporting period required by the Digital Health Information System (DHIS 2).
“The beauty about AI is that it has the capability not to just learn with one dataset but also provide insights on different pieces of data – for diseases such as malaria where climate has an effect, we want to integrate climate datasets and seasonality aspects so that interventions by Government are timely and targeted to specific locations.”
Beyond the plenary sessions, the 2nd AI in Health Africa Conference will feature abstract presentations, a Makerere AI Health Lab Showcase, Breakout Sessions, Workshops, Masterclasses and a hackathon for prototypes developed during the conference. Please see downloads for a detailed concept and programme.
-
General6 days agoMakerere University Writing Centre trains first cohort of staff on professional minute writing
-
General1 week agoMeet Sedrick Nuwagaba, a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni Contributing to Uganda’s Oil & Gas Industry
-
General3 days agoCall For Applications: Mak-BSSR Postdoc, PhD, Master’s Fellowship-level Training
-
Health1 week agoNACNDC & 19th JASH Symposium Breaks Silence on Mental Health in Schools & Universities
-
Business & Management1 week agoUganda National Academy of Science inducts Professor Edward Bbaale as Distinguished Fellow