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
At a ceremony held on 30th May 2025, themed ‘They taught us without saying a word’, the Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) commemorated the silent teacher which are the cadavers (bodies) used in anatomy classes for medical students. In addition to a commemoration service, the event was used to create awareness and sensitise the public about the the importance of whole body donation.
The chief guest at the commemoration was Professor Mukadasi Buyinza, Deputy Vice Chancellor – Academic Affairs representing the Vice Chancellor, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe. The event attended by MakCHS students, staff and alumni was organised by students under Anatomy Society of MakCHS supported by Department of Anatomy and MakCHS leadership.
Welcoming guests to the event, Waziwu Mordecai–final year student of medicine and surgery who serves as President of the Anatomy Society, MakCHS explained that the reason for the gathering is three-pronged: to commemorate the silent teachers who make a profound contribution to medical education; to instill knowledge, compassion, and professionalism in future healthcare providers; and call on the community to support this noble act through awareness, advocacy, or future donation. ‘May the memory of our silent teachers live on in every life we will one day save’, he said.
The Anatomy society was founded in 2013 with aim of students providing peer mentorship to fellow students in lower years, such mentorship sessions help students appreciate better the anatomy of the human body. The society has supported:enhanced learning and mentorship; promoted academic participation including internal and external quizzes; and fostered connections including strengthen relationships between students across classes and with alumni.
Professor Elisa Mwaka, Head – Department of Human Anatomy welcomed all present for attending the ceremony. He thanked the College management led by the Principal, Professor Bruce Kirenga for the support provided in organizing the ceremony. He also expressed utmost appreciation to the Vice Chancellor for attending despite the competing priorities requiring his attention.
Professor Mwaka highlighted that we are here today, to pay our respect to the individuals whose bodies have been used for medical examination and research at MakCHS through offering prayers as well as sensitize people about willful/consented whole body donation.
Professor Mwaka explained that globally, sources of whole bodies for medical education and research are got through willed whole-body donation, unclaimed bodies in hospitals, imported bodies, executed persons among other means. In Uganda, unclaimed bodies in hospitals are used for medical as determined by the Uganda National Rules in the Penal Code Act of 1957.
In 2012 International Federation of Anatomy Associations (IFAA) recommended voluntary donation as the desirable and the only acceptable source for acquiring bodies. Almost all Africa countries and some European countries lack national body donation programs.
Speaking at the event, Professor Bruce Kirenga, Principal – MakCHS thanked Professor Mwaka for the insightful presentation. He welcomed Professor Buyinza to MakCHS and for accepting to attend despite the late invitation. He recognized the presence of the staff present and support towards the college activities.
Professor Kirenga underlined the importance of biomedical science under which human anatomy falls in medical education. ‘Biomedical sciences play a key role, once someone in grounded in the area, then he will be a good doctor’, he said.
The Principal also stressed that during his term of office operation efficiency will remain key ingredient for service delivery as well as rebuilding and rehabilitation of teaching and learning facilities. ‘Works to make the Biochemistry laboratory a model lab has commenced with a contract awarded to service provider; the refurbishment will be in phases’.
Professor Buyinza Mukadasi thanked the College, Human Anatomy department and the students for organizing the commemoration. ‘The amount of joy I have this morning, we should have done this a long time ago’, he said.
He expressed happiness at this commemoration for the silent teachers who unknowingly give so much to medical education and therefore mankind. He advised that community engagement to create awareness about the need for whole-body donation, regulatory compliance, and alignment to best practices.
He noted that disciplines like medicine is more like charity because medical practitioners give so much of themselves. ‘The number of people attending this ceremony is show of love for the discipline and commitment to the calling’ he said.
Professor Buyinza reiterated the commitment of Makerere University management to support MakCHS endeavours including this culture of commemorating the silent teacher. ‘Well-trained and season doctors are a result of the process explained here and the absence of bodies affects the quality of education provided and therefore the doctors produced’, he added.
Candles for the cadavers were lit and services representative of Anglican, Catholics and Muslims were conducted to remember the souls of the departed and wish them a peaceful rest. Ordinand Cosmas Ddembe for Anglican, Father Valentine Amuneke for Catholic and Dr. Haruna Kiryowa for Muslim preached the importance of respect for the dead and sacrifices of the dead for advancement of research and education in the medical field and health services.
Giving closing remarks, Professor Mwaka noted that setting up whole-body donation programs in Africa requires a holistic approach involving education, cultural sensitivity, legal structures, and partnerships with medical institutions.
Reasons why Africa has failed to establish body donation programs:
- Low awareness and willingness to donate bodies.
- Cultural and traditional beliefs
- Religious beliefs
- Fear of mishanding bodies
- Lack of legislation/ ambiguous regulations
- Lack of institutional policies and standard operating procedures
- Institutions should be encouraged to hold Services of thanksgiving or commemoration for those who have donated their bodies for medical education and research.
The following is required to change the current status:
- Cultural sensitivity and awareness
- Community engagement and awareness creation
- Educational campaigns
- Developing legal and ethical frameworks
- Building partnerships between hospitals and medical institutions
- Establishing local body donation systems i.e.,
- donation registration process,
- consent documentation,
- Logistical infrastructure necessary for the
- donation process.
- Effective communication, public trust,transparency.
- Training and professional development of healthcare providers.
- Global collaboration and funding: to share knowledge, best practices, and resources.
- Government support
- Funding and incentives
- Inclusion of body donation in national health strategies.
In a decisive step toward ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030, Uganda on Thursday, May 29, 2025, officially launched the third Uganda Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (UPHIA 2025) survey, a nationally representative household study expected to provide updated measurements on the status of the HIV epidemic by the end of the year.
The effort is led by Uganda’s Ministry of Health (MoH), with technical assistance from Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC), funded by the U.S. government through PEPFAR.
The Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA) surveys were first launched in 2014 as a global initiative at the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP), based at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Supported by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the U.S. CDC, the surveys have been conducted in at least 15 high-burden countries globally, including Uganda.
Led by national Ministries of Health, the PHIA surveys provide robust, population-level data on HIV prevalence, incidence, and viral suppression, offering a clear picture of epidemic trends and the effectiveness of national responses. They are designed to track progress, identify persistent gaps, and inform strategies to reach epidemic control, in line with global targets, including the fast-approaching goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
In Uganda, this survey was first rolled out between August 2016 and March 2017. The second followed in February 2020 but was disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak, continuing through to March 2021. Both rounds were supported by ICAP at Columbia University, which provided technical assistance to strengthen data collection systems, improve laboratory infrastructure, and build national capacity to design, implement, and analyse the two national HIV surveys.
What sets UPHIA 2025 apart is the shift in technical leadership to Ugandan institutions for this third survey, reflecting local capacity to lead rigorous, high-quality public health research. For UPHIA 2025, Makerere University School of Public Health, in partnership with the Uganda Bureau of Statistics and the Uganda Virus Research Institute, is providing technical leadership to the Ministry of Health, alongside U.S. CDC. Implementation began with initial recruitment and training of over 300 field teams that begun on May 19, 2025, ahead of their nationwide deployment for data collection starting this June.
The first survey (UPHIA 2016) was an important milestone in informing Uganda’s national HIV response. This survey, concluded in 2017, measured, among things, the viral load suppression at the population level and provided household-based HIV testing and counselling, with results returned to participants and those who tested positive referred to care. The survey also assessed HIV incidence, HIV and syphilis prevalence, as well as hepatitis B infection rates. These findings would offer nationally representative data to track Uganda’s progress in controlling the HIV epidemic at both national and regional levels.
The next survey, UPHIA 2020, building on past success, was again executed with technical leadership from Columbia University’s ICAP, working with Uganda’s Ministry of Health alongside UVRI, UBOS, regional referral hospitals, local governments, and the U.S. CDC. It offered useful insights that showed encouraging progress, indicating that up to 88% of people living with HIV in Uganda at the time knew their status, 98% of them were on treatment, and 90% had achieved viral suppression. These results reflected momentum toward the UNAIDS global 95-95-95 targets, ensuring that most people living with HIV are diagnosed, treated, and have the virus under control, and advancing the broader goal of ending the epidemic by 2030.
Since the release of these findings nearly five years ago, which helped shape national HIV programming in Uganda, the country has made notable progress, but challenges remain. The UPHIA 2020 findings reported major gaps in testing coverage, particularly among young people and men. The results were also instrumental in identifying service delivery shortfalls and guiding decisions on resource allocation, program design, and policy. Yet today, Uganda remains one of the most heavily burdened countries in the world, with over 1.5 million people living with HIV and over 50,000 preventable new infections recorded per year.
It is this trend that Uganda’s Ministry of Health is working urgently to reverse. Launching UPHIA 2025 at the Ministry’s headquarters in Kampala on May 29, 2025, amidst great hope and expectation among the participants, Uganda’s Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, noted that the long-anticipated and previously delayed survey had arrived at such a critical moment. She welcomed UPHIA 2025 as both a measure of the country’s resilience and a guide for the final stretch toward ending AIDS by 2030, now just a few years away.
“The UPHIA 2025 survey comes at a strategic time to help us recalibrate and refocus our efforts,” the Health Minister said, underscoring the importance of its outcomes. “This will be Uganda’s final population-based HIV survey before 2030, the target year for ending AIDS as a public health threat. The findings will serve as a baseline for tracking our progress toward this national and global goal. They will also guide the next phase of strategic planning, ensuring that the final push toward 2030 is grounded in robust and reliable data.”
This third round of the survey will be carried out in 6,685 randomly selected households across the country. The exercise will involve interviews with approximately 15,000 individuals aged at least 15 and selected through a national household listing by UBOS. Of those, around 14,980 are expected to provide blood samples for HIV testing and analysis of viral suppression and other health indicators. The survey will also include interviews with 1,300 children and adolescents aged 10 to 14, though no blood draws will be taken from this group. Participation is voluntary, free of charge, and requires consent from the head of each household.
Dr. Aceng explained that beyond providing updated estimates of HIV prevalence, incidence, and viral load suppression, and examining regional and demographic disparities, the survey, which will cover the rest of the year, will include a qualitative post-survey assessment component to gather insights from people living with HIV, particularly those not virally suppressed, to understand their challenges and strengthen support services. Also, for the first time, this survey will assess the burden of non-communicable diseases among people living with HIV and include focused interviews with adolescents aged 10 to 14 in Mid-North and Mid-Eastern Uganda, where viral suppression was reported to be lowest in UPHIA 2020.
These activities are made possible thanks to the development support from the U.S. government, which invested $10 million (about UGX 37 billion) for this survey. Speaking at the UPHIA 2025 launch, U.S. Ambassador to Uganda William W. Popp noted that the United States has partnered with Uganda for over three decades to help people live longer, healthier lives;
“The bulk of our annual support, approximately $500 million this year, is dedicated to health programs, making the U.S. government the largest single provider of health assistance to Uganda,” the Ambassador said. He added, “Through PEPFAR, the United States has played a major role in Uganda’s progress toward ending HIV as a public health threat. Since 2003, when Uganda became one of the first countries to implement the program, we have invested nearly three billion dollars—almost 11 trillion Uganda shillings—in HIV prevention, care, and treatment services, saving millions of lives and making both our countries safer from HIV.”
With the benefit of hindsight, Uganda’s early encounter with HIV in the 1980s marked the beginning of one of the region’s most severe epidemics. But over the decades, a determined national response, driven by political leadership, community mobilisation, collaboration and global support, has delivered measurable progress. In the recent past, adult HIV prevalence fell from 7.2% in 2010 to 5.1% in 2023. Among women, it declined from 8.5% to 6.6%, and among men from 5.8% to 3.6%. AIDS-related deaths dropped from 53,000 to 20,000 over the same period, with female mortality declining by 66% and child deaths by 77%.
All these gains, amidst the challenge, go to show what is possible with sustained commitment. What is more, throughout this long journey of Uganda’s battle with eradicating HIV, Makerere University School of Public Health has played a pivotal role. From the early work of Prof. David Serwadda, whose ground-breaking research during the initial detection of HIV helped shape Uganda’s early response, to last year’s 2024 landmark Purpose 1 study on the twice-yearly injectable Lenacapavir that proved 100% efficacy in preventing HIV infection, MakSPH has remained at the forefront of innovation, evidence generation, and policy influence.
That legacy continues today, with the School providing technical leadership to the Ministry of Health in the implementation of UPHIA 2025. At the launch, MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze expressed pride in the School’s role as a trusted partner in Uganda’s fight against HIV and other public health challenges. She noted that for over 70 years, during which the School has existed, MakSPH has helped shape the country’s public health landscape through rigorous research, training, and policy support, anchored by a strong, long-standing partnership with the Ministry of Health and partners.
She also noted that the collaboration between Makerere University and the U.S. CDC has helped build national capacity in surveillance and epidemiology, while also strengthening Uganda’s ability to lead high-quality, large-scale national surveys, asserting that:
“The partnership between Makerere University and CDC has not only helped build national capacity in surveillance and epidemiology, but has also strengthened our ability to lead high-quality, large-scale national surveys. After two decades of joint work, we are proud that UPHIA 2024–2025 is now a fully Ugandan-led effort. This is critical to the sustainability of the skills and knowledge generation to inform our local response.”
The survey builds on MakSPH’s experience conducting similar national studies, including those on tuberculosis, prison health, family planning, schistosomiasis, and non-communicable diseases such as the STEPS survey. It will leverage the School’s strong capacity in research and impact evaluation, both in Uganda and across the African region, with a firm commitment to delivering high-quality data guided by the same rigour and integrity that have defined our work over the years, Prof. Wanyenze affirmed.
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