Humanities & Social Sciences

Supporting Govt. Efforts to Address COVID-19, Youth Unemployment and Drug Abuse

Published

4 years ago

February 5, 2021

Mark Wamai

The Vice Chancellor-Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe (C) with the Principal CHUSS-Dr. Josephine Ahikire (4th R), Deputy Principal CHUSS-Dr. Julius Kikooma (3rd R), Dean School of Psychology-Dr. Grace Kibanja (4th L) and researchers at the closing day of the seminar on 2nd February 2021, CTF1, Makerere University, Kampala Uganda.

With support from the Government of Uganda through the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF), academics from the School of Psychology in 2020 set out to investigate and provide solutions to various national development challenges. Through different projects, the researchers sought to, among other issues, establish and address the psychological impact of the public health measures put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, the factors undermining adherence to the measures, and the COVID-19 related mental health challenges in refugee settlements. The researchers also investigated factors fueling drug abuse in schools and the causes of unemployment among the youth and refugees in the country. On 1^st-2^nd February 2021, the researcher disseminated their findings to the Makerere University community and general public, making strong recommendations to avert the challenges. The joint dissemination seminars were graced by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe.

Research projects and recommendations for addressing the challenges

Under a project titled; Children’s Tales: the Reality of COVID-19 related trauma on school children in rural Busoga, a team of researchers led by Dr. Richard Balikoowa investigated the linkage between the COVID-19 preventive measures and the increasing trauma amongst school children in three representative districts of Busoga sub-region. Using child-friendly qualitative methods like drawing, story circles and focus group conversations, the researchers assessed over 418 children’s perception of the public health measures and their understanding of public information about COVID-19.

Disseminating the research findings at Makerere University on 1^st February 2021, Dr. Balikoowa informed participants that all sampled children decried the COVID-19 preventive measures. He explained that the uncertainty (lack of clear information) on when the schools and worship centres would open, the feeding challenges, and the different forms of violence exacerbated by the preventive measures increased trauma amongst the children. In their report, the researchers indicated that whereas 3.11% and 22.73% children reported little or no signs of trauma, 46.17% and 27.99% reported moderate and severe signs of trauma. The study however revealed that there were other underlying factors that traumatized the children, noting that COVID-19 only contributed 2.7%.

In a bid to address trauma amongst the children, the researchers called for better packaging and dissemination of information on the pandemic to ensure it reaches all children including those in rural areas. “Children have been largely neglected in all communications regarding COVID-19. There is urgent need for child-tailored messages to avoid uncertainties that may increase trauma amongst the children,” the researchers explained. They called for continued sensitization and counseling of children in a bid to avert serious psychological effects like peritraumatic and pre-traumatic stress disorders, as well as pathological aggression that may result into intergenerational and multigenerational trauma challenges.

In a study titled; “Wandering the COVID-19 Corridors: Examining the Social Distancing Prevention Measure among the Restless Youth in Uganda”, the researchers namely; Dr Florence Nansubuga (Principal Investigator), Dr Khamisi Musanje and Dr Martin Baluku sought to establish the factors undermining adherence to the social distancing measure amongst the youth. The study conducted in Kampala and Wakiso districts revealed that the attitude of the youth towards the pandemic was one of the major causes of complacency. Presenting the findings of their study, Dr Nasubuga noted that whereas 94% of the youth had sufficient knowledge about the pandemic, the majority were adamant to practice the preventive measures. “Many of the youth believed they were not susceptible to the virus –that it was a disease of old people and the whites. Others thought the disease had been turned political to fulfill the interests of those in power,” she explained. Besides attitude, the researchers observed that there were several cultural factors (habitual routines) affecting the implementation of social distancing. “In many of our cultures embracing is viewed as a sign of affection. Social distancing has therefore been perceived as a barrier not a benefit,” she noted.

The researchers observed that the health belief model on which the social distancing measure is premised disregards social norms that govern human choices and habitual routines. In the event of COVID-19, the researchers recommend the use of the social practice model, particularly the component of community of practice in the efforts to transform health seeking behaviors amongst the youth. The researchers call for community engagement in addressing the challenges.

Related Topics:COVID-19 dissemination featured health Mak-RIF Psychology refugee Research School trauma youth

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Call for Applications: CHUSS Inter-disciplinary PhD Programme by Research

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The following have been admitted by the University’s Admissions Committee on Private Sponsorship for the 2025/26 Academic Year

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Special Exam Results -Diploma in Performing Arts 2025/26

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1 week ago

June 28, 2025

Mak Editor

The results for the 2025/2026 special entry examination for the Diploma in Performing Arts held on Saturday 17^th May, 2025. Candidates who scored a final mark of 50% and above passed the Examination and have been recommended to the university’s Admissions Committee for consideration.

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Health

MakSPH, DJC Launch Short Course on Health Communication

Published

2 weeks ago

June 20, 2025

John Okeya

The heads of the Department of Journalism and Communication and the Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences (centre) with participants from the first cohort of the Health Communication short course at Makerere University. June 5, 2025. Intensive one-month course on Health Communication, first cohort June 5 to July 24, 2025, jointly offered by Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH)’s Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences (CHBS) and the Department of Journalism and Communication (DJC), School of Languages, Literature, and Communication (SLLC), co-designed in 2024 with support from the Rockefeller Foundation through Amref Health Africa, Kampala Uganda, East Africa.

_{By Okeya John and Primrose Nabankema}

The intensive one-month course, running for the first time from June 5 to July 24, 2025, is jointly offered by Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH)’s Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences (CHBS) and the Department of Journalism and Communication (DJC) at the School of Languages, Literature, and Communication (SLLC), co-designed in 2024 with support from the Rockefeller Foundation through Amref Health Africa.

It seeks to equip healthcare providers at the community level, public health and environmental health practitioners, communication specialists, health educators, community development officers, social scientists, and policy makers, among others, with strategic communication skills to improve public health messaging, strengthen community engagement, and support evidence-based interventions, ultimately empowering participants to effectively engage communities and improve population health outcomes across Uganda and the region.

Launching the course, the heads of the Department of Journalism and Communication and the Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences noted that participants who complete the short course will gain practical tools to influence behaviour change, build trust, and deliver timely, accurate, and relevant health information to the communities they serve. The first cohort attracted more than 60 applicants, with 36 reporting for the opening in-person session on June 5, 2025, at MakSPH in Mulago. Between now and July, participants will undergo a hands-on, multidisciplinary learning experience within the Certificate in Health Communication and Community Engagement program, which combines theory and practice.

Among the participants in the first cohort of the certificate course, designed as a pilot for the anticipated Master of Health Promotion and Communication to be jointly offered by the two departments at Makerere University, is Ms. Maureen Kisaakye, a medical laboratory technologist specialising in microbiology and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and currently pursuing a Master’s in Immunology and Clinical Microbiology at Makerere. She is driven by a passion to help reverse the rising tide of AMR, a growing global health threat where drugs that once worked are no longer effective. Kisaakye is particularly concerned about common infections, like urinary tract infections, becoming increasingly resistant and harder to treat.

“I enrolled in this course because I’m an advocate against antimicrobial resistance, and it came at a time when I needed to deepen my knowledge on how to implement our projects more effectively and engage with communities. The experience has broadened my understanding of AMR and its impact on society, and strengthened my passion for community-driven health initiatives and advocacy,” Kisaakye said, explaining why she enrolled for the short course.

Ms. Maureen Kisaakye (in white) during a youth-led community AMR and WASH awareness campaign in informal settlements in Kamwokya, Kampala, on 12th April, 2025. Intensive one-month course on Health Communication, first cohort June 5 to July 24, 2025, jointly offered by Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH)’s Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences (CHBS) and the Department of Journalism and Communication (DJC), School of Languages, Literature, and Communication (SLLC), co-designed in 2024 with support from the Rockefeller Foundation through Amref Health Africa, Kampala Uganda, East Africa. — ***Ms. Maureen Kisaakye (in white) during a youth-led community AMR and WASH awareness campaign in informal settlements in Kamwokya, Kampala, on 12th April, 2025.***

Kisaakye’s work in antimicrobial resistance extends beyond the lab. Having earned her degree in medical laboratory science from Mbarara University of Science and Technology, she founded Impala Tech Research in 2024 to drive impact and save lives. She has led grassroots AMR campaigns that integrate antimicrobial stewardship with water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) education in underserved urban communities, including the informal settlements in Kampala. She also has since designed peer-led initiatives that empower university students as AMR Champions, building a network of informed youth advocates. Kisaakye believes the health communication course will sharpen her ability to design and deliver impactful, community-centred interventions in response to the growing threat of drug resistance.

“The department collaborates with many partners within and beyond the University, including the School of Public Health, where we are working to develop the subfield of health communication and promotion. Our goal is to train specialists in this area and build a community of practice, something we have each been doing in our own spaces. There’s a lot of work ahead, and COVID-19 showed us just how urgently we need a generation trained to do this kind of work, and to do it very well,” said Dr. Aisha Nakiwala, Head of the Department of Journalism and Communication, during the opening of the short course on June 5.

Dr. Aisha Nakiwala, Head of the Department of Journalism and Communication, underscored the partnership between DJC and MakSPH as a crucial step toward strengthening public health through strategic communication. June 5th, 2025. Intensive one-month course on Health Communication, first cohort June 5 to July 24, 2025, jointly offered by Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH)’s Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences (CHBS) and the Department of Journalism and Communication (DJC), School of Languages, Literature, and Communication (SLLC), co-designed in 2024 with support from the Rockefeller Foundation through Amref Health Africa, Kampala Uganda, East Africa. — Dr. Aisha Nakiwala, Head of the Department of Journalism and Communication, underscored the partnership between DJC and MakSPH as a crucial step toward strengthening public health through strategic communication. June 5, 2025.

She assured participants they were in good hands and underscored the importance of the partnership between the Department of Journalism and Communication and the School of Public Health, describing it as a vital collaboration that brings together strategic communication and public health expertise. This dynamic, multidisciplinary approach, she noted, is essential to developing practical solutions that empower communities, strengthen health systems, and ultimately improve livelihoods.

The course offers a hands-on, multidisciplinary learning experience, with participants intended to explore key modules including Health Communication and Promotion, Risk Communication, Smart Advocacy, Community Mapping, Community Mobilisation and Empowerment, and Strategies for Community Engagement. The course combines theory with real-world application, and its assessment includes a field-based project and a final exam.

“You are our first cohort. We are seeing the fruits of our efforts in bringing this short course to life. It was born out of a joint initiative to develop a Master’s programme in Health Promotion and Communication,” said Dr. Christine Nalwadda, Head of the Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences. “We carried out extensive consultations with our different key stakeholders during the process and discovered a real need for such a course. It was the stakeholders who even named it; this course name didn’t come from us.”

For Kisaakye, by the end of the course in July, she hopes to have sharpened her skills in health promotion and strategic communication, particularly in crafting targeted messages that help individuals and communities effectively respond to threats such as antimicrobial resistance. She also aims to gain practical experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating community health initiatives that can strengthen her advocacy and drive lasting impact.