This is also in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, Kampala Capital City Authority -KCCA and World Health Organization -WHO, starting with staff from the College of Health Sciences and administrative units at the University Hospital. The exercise is deemed to occur between 9:00 AM and 03:00 PM.
Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Vice-Chancellor of Makerere University, upon receiving his jab, urged all staff to get the vaccination and affirmed its safety.
Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Vice-Chancellor of Makerere University receive his COVID-19 jab at Makerere University Hospital on Friday March 26, 2021. Photo by Davidson Ndyabahika.
“I have just received the first Jab for COVID-19 vaccine here at the Makerere University Hospital. I want to assure all Makerere Community, all Ugandans that the Vaccine is safe,” Professor Nawangwe said after receiving the jab.
“Please make sure that you get your jab if you are in the priority group because this is the only opportunity you have to ensure that you are protected. Please come according to the schedule that you have received,” he added.
Dr. Josaphat Byamugisha, Associate Professor and Director of University Hospital upon receiving his jab also appealed to staff to heed the call and take the chance to receive the vaccine.
Dr. Josaphat Byamugisha, Associate Professor and Director of University Hospital receives his Jab.
According to Dr. Byamugisha, Makerere University Hospital has received 500 Jabs to kick-start the process. He says they intend to vaccinate all the 3,150 Makerere University staff.
“I want to encourage the University community to come and get the vaccine. The information available is that this vaccine is safe and it is going to protect all of us from this severe disease. So it is very important that each one of us endeavors to come and get the vaccine. It is labor-intensive and so we would like people to adhere to the schedule provided,” Dr. Byamugisha said.
The Hospital Director adds that; “We must say we are very grateful to the Ministry of Health, Kampala Capital City Authority, and the WHO whom we are very closely collaborating with in terms of training, vaccinations, and follow-up in case there is any side effects.”
Chaplain, St. Francis Chapel, Rev. Onesimus Asiimwe receiving his COVID-19 jab. He has urged the Christians to embrace the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Photo/ Davidson Ndyabahika
“I have just received the COVID-19 jab here at Makerere University Hospital. And so far, so good. No immediate reaction. In fact, one of the things, I feared most other than the effects was the pricking of my body but it was done so gently, professionally. So, I want to encourage you friends, St. Franciscans, Makerere University community, and fellow citizens to respond to this call,” Rev. Asiimwe said.
He adds; “You need to be safe. There has been a lot of conspiracy theories about the vaccine but I want to encourage you to take this vaccine and be safe because COVID-19 is an enemy and God has provided a solution through the vaccine. God Bless you and prepare to receive yours.”
As of 24th March 2021, Uganda’s cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases were 40,751. A total of 46,444 vaccinated persons against COVID-19. The Minister for Health, Hon. Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng says that government plans to cascade this vaccination process until the entire population is covered to prevent severe disease and death.
“We thank the COVAX facility and the Government of India for enabling Uganda to access the initial 964,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. So far, a total of 663,520 doses have been distributed to all districts in the country,” Dr. Aceng noted.
Professor JYT Mugisha, Principal CONAS taking a COVID-19 Jab. Photo: Davidson Ndyabahika
The exercise follows a consultative meeting on Friday, March 19, 2021, between Makerere University communications officers, University Hospital representatives, and the Ministry of Health team.
Led by Dr. Driwale Alfred, the assistant Commissioner Vaccines and Immunization (UNEPI), the meeting aimed at developing schedules for the effective rollout across all the nine colleges of the institution.
Dr. Driwale Alfred, the assistant Commissioner Vaccines and Immunization (UNEPI) presenting a consultative meeting on Friday, March 19, 2021, between Makerere University communications officers, Makerere Hospital staff and Ministry of Health
During the consultative meeting, Dr. Driwale related that Ministry Health had arranged and trained people along local government structure to implement the vaccination activities and to advocate and sensitize leaders and create awareness on COVID-19 vaccination.
‘’We got six members in five teams of vaccinators per district and this is in rural districts, so when it came to Kampala district being more complex, each division in Kampala will have 5 teams of vaccinators and of which Makerere University falls under the Kawempe division”.
He added that Makerere University has got a very big and complex community and therefore two teams had been assigned to Makerere-Mulago hill because of its six and nature.
Communications Officers, Mak Hospital staff Being rallied for COVID Vaccination Campaign
During the training, Dr. Byamugisha observed that the training on vaccinations was to prepare the community and hospital staff for any possible effects that may develop.
“It’s very important to note that there is a national database for these vaccinations so it is a very well-organized exercise so that if anything happens, it can even be detected very early and will inform the rest of the activities.”
The Ministry of Health developed the vaccination deployment plan to be followed in administering the vaccine, inclusive of teachers and staff in all education institutions – public and private not-for-profit, as well as private for-profit will follow, among the priority categories.
They estimated to have 550,000 teachers and lecturers who are to be vaccinated against coronavirus and this is a local Government mandate.
Uganda targets to vaccinate 49.6 percent of the population, which is about 21,936,011, in a phased manner. Each phase is planned to cover 20 percent of the population – approximately 4.38 million people.
Also, among those that have so far received their jabs at the Makerere University Hospital are; Dr. Vincent Ssembatya, Director Quality Assurance, Makerere University, Mr. Alfred Masikye Namoah, the Academic Registrar, Dr. Helen Byamugisha, Associate Professor and University Librarian, Mr. Godwin Okiror, Human Resources Officer MakCHS, among others.
According to a schedule provided by the Makerere University Hospital, the Program for vaccination will runup to April 1st, 2021. Staff from the College of Health Sciences and all administrative units are expected to take their jabs on Friday, March 26, 2021.
The 92nd Guild Ministry of Health is set to host the Annual Makerere Guild Medical Camp, a three-day outreach that will bring free and essential medical services to students, staff, and the surrounding community. The camp will run from 17th to 19th September 2026, from 8:00am to 5:00pm each day, at the Freedom Square.
Themed around promoting student wellness for academic excellence, the medical camp is organised under the leadership of Hon. Wamezaya Ebenezer, the Minister of Health in the 92nd Guild Government, in alliance with several partner organisations supporting the university’s health and wellness agenda. The initiative reflects a growing recognition within student leadership circles that academic performance is closely tied to the physical and mental wellbeing of the university community.
Comprehensive Range of Services
The medical camp will offer a wide range of services designed to address both routine and specialised health needs. On the general health side, attendees will have access to general and specialist medical consultations, allowing students, staff, and community members to seek professional advice on a variety of health concerns without the usual costs associated with private or even public healthcare.
A female medical personnel attends to a male client.
Screening services will also be a central feature of the camp. Organisers have confirmed that sickle cell testing, malaria rapid diagnostic testing, and HIV screening will be available on site, giving participants the opportunity to know their status and receive guidance on appropriate next steps. Eye care services and laboratory diagnostics will round up this category, addressing common but often neglected areas of student health.
Beyond diagnostics and consultations, the camp will provide free essential medicines to those who need them, easing the financial burden that often accompanies treatment even after a diagnosis has been made. Reproductive health counseling will also be offered, giving students a confidential space to discuss matters that are frequently overlooked in general campus health conversations. Mental health counseling completes the list of available services, an inclusion that speaks to the increasing attention being paid to psychological wellbeing within the university community.
A Camp Open to the Wider Community
While the camp is organised by the Guild Ministry of Health and centred on student welfare, its reach extends beyond the student body. Organisers have made it clear that the free medical services will be available to students, staff, and members of the whole Makerere community, positioning the event as a broader public health contribution rather than a strictly internal university affair. This inclusive approach mirrors similar outreach efforts previously undertaken by student leadership and university departments, which have sought to position Makerere University not just as a centre of learning but as an active contributor to community welfare in the areas surrounding its campuses.
A male client gets his BMI checked.
Freedom Square, long regarded as the symbolic heart of student activity and expression at Makerere University, was selected as the venue for the three day event. Its central location and historic significance make it an accessible and fitting site for an initiative of this scale, expected to draw considerable numbers of participants over the course of the camp.
Health as a Pillar of Academic Success
The organisers have anchored the medical camp around the message of promoting student wellness for academic excellence, a theme that underscores the connection between health and academic performance. University life often places significant demands on students, both physically and mentally, and untreated health concerns can quietly undermine academic progress long before they become visible crises. By bringing screening, treatment, and counseling services directly to students at no cost, the Guild Ministry of Health is addressing barriers that might otherwise prevent students from seeking care, whether due to cost, distance, or stigma, particularly around mental health and reproductive health matters.
The 91st Guild Minister of Health, Hon. Bbosa Sharif (L) poses by the event banner in the Freedom Square.
The inclusion of mental health counseling alongside more traditional physical health services is particularly notable. It signals an evolving understanding among student leaders that wellness cannot be addressed through physical checkups alone, and that psychological support deserves equal standing within campus health initiatives. Similarly, the presence of reproductive health counseling reflects an effort to normalise conversations that many young people find difficult to initiate on their own.
What to Expect
Over the three days, participants can expect a structured environment at Freedom Square, with separate service points catering to the different categories of care on offer. Medical professionals will be on hand to conduct consultations and screenings, while counselors will provide guidance on reproductive and mental health matters in a setting designed to protect privacy and encourage openness.
Given the scale of services on offer and the open invitation extended to staff and community members in addition to students, organisers anticipate strong turnout throughout the three day period. Those interested in attending are encouraged to plan their visits within the stated hours of 8:00am to 5:00pm to take full advantage of the services available.
H.E. Bbosa Sharif receives female students at the Medical Camp.
For any inquiries regarding the medical camp, members of the university community and the public have been directed to reach out to Hon. Wamezaya Ebenezer, the Minister of Health, through the contact provided by the Guild Ministry of Health.
Building on a Guild Tradition
The Annual Makerere Guild Medical Camp is not a new concept within student governance at the university. Successive Guild Ministries of Health have used the medical camp as a recurring platform through which they translate campaign promises around student welfare into visible action. Each edition tends to build on the lessons of the one before it, with organisers typically expanding the range of services offered as new partnerships are secured and as feedback from previous camps is incorporated into planning.
Sickle Cell Screening (Left Tent) was one of the services offered.
This year’s edition, organised under the 92nd Guild Ministry of Health, appears to place particular emphasis on breadth of service, combining preventive screening, curative consultation, and psychosocial support within a single three-day window. The decision to bundle sickle cell testing, malaria and HIV screening alongside eye care and laboratory diagnostics suggests an intention to make the camp a one stop point for health assessment, reducing the need for participants to seek out multiple providers across the city for basic checks they might otherwise postpone indefinitely.
Why Timing Matters
The scheduling of the camp in September places it at a point in the academic calendar when many students are settling back into campus life after recess, a period during which health concerns accumulated over the break, whether physical ailments left unattended or emerging mental health pressures tied to academic anxiety, tend to surface. Offering free consultations and counseling at this juncture allow students to address these concerns early, before they compound into more serious complications that could interfere with coursework, examinations, or general campus participation.
A female medical personnel attends to a female client.
For staff members and residents of the areas surrounding the university, the timing also offers a convenient opportunity to access services that might otherwise require travel to distant health facilities or extended waiting periods within an already strained public health system. In this sense, the camp functions as a modest but meaningful supplement to existing healthcare provision in the vicinity of the university.
As the 17th of September approaches, the Annual Makerere Guild Medical Camp stands as another example of the Guild Ministry of Health stepping beyond the boundaries of policy and advocacy into direct, hands-on service delivery, a model that continues to shape the character of guild ministries at Makerere University. Students, staff, and members of the surrounding community are encouraged to take advantage of the free services on offer and to look out for further communication from the Guild Ministry of Health as the event draws closer.
For more info, reach Hon. Wamezaya on +256784541248
Makerere University School of Public Health, in collaboration with Jhpiego, invites applications for 49 short-term positions under the Scaling the Optimal Use of Multiple ACTs to Prevent Antimalarial Drug Resistance (STOP-AMDR) Project.
The short-term assignments will support data collection in Buikwe and Busia districts, with some national-level activities. Applicants are encouraged to review the requirements for their preferred position before applying.
Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), through the Africa-Europe Cluster of Research Excellence (CoRE) for Preparedness and Response to Pandemics and Shocks, has shared findings from its study of Uganda’s Mpox response with stakeholders in Kasese, Amuru, Nakasongola and Mayuge districts to strengthen district preparedness for future outbreaks.
The Africa-Europe CoRE is a partnership co-led by MakSPH and the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters at UCLouvain, Belgium. It brings together universities in Africa and Europe to strengthen research, training and preparedness for pandemics and other public health shocks.
The district-level dissemination meetings, held from 10 to 14 August 2026, brought together more than 100 local government, health and security officials, Village Health Teams, implementing partners and community representatives. The meetings enabled stakeholders to validate the district-level findings, identify practical actions and provide feedback for the study’s final analysis and national dissemination.
Mr. Philliam Jabim shares the Mpox response study findings with participants during the dissemination meeting in Nakasongola District on 12 August 2026.
Uganda confirmed its first two Mpox cases on 24 July 2024 at Bwera Hospital in Kasese District. The Ministry of Health declared an outbreak on 2 August 2024. As documented in the study, the response involved health workers, communities, local governments, security agencies, political leaders, and implementing partners.
In response to the outbreak, a MakSPH research team led by Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, Dr. Rawlance Ndejjo, Dr. Steven Kabwama and Mr. Douglas Bulafu conducted a study in May 2025 to assess Uganda’s Mpox response, including its policies, interventions, strategies and challenges, and generate lessons to inform recovery and strengthen preparedness for future public health emergencies.
Using purposive sampling, the research team conducted 20 key informant interviews and five focus group discussions in each of the four districts, drawing perspectives from western Uganda in Kasese, northern Uganda in Amuru, central Uganda in Nakasongola and eastern Uganda in Mayuge.
Participants and the MakSPH research team at the Mpox response study dissemination meeting in Nakasongola District on 12 August 2026.
The study, titled Assessment of the Mpox Response in Uganda: Documenting Challenges, Lessons and Innovations to Strengthen Emergency Preparedness and Response Capacities, was funded by the Government of Uganda through the Makerere UniversityResearch and Innovation Fund (Mak-RIF).
“This study is helping us move beyond recounting the Mpox response to identifying the actions that districts and national partners can take before the next outbreak. By validating the findings with stakeholders who led and experienced the response, we are ensuring that the evidence reflects local realities and can inform stronger surveillance, risk communication, coordination and community engagement,” said Mr. Bulafu, who led the MakSPH team during the dissemination meeting in Amuru.
Mr. Douglas Bulafu engages participants during the Mpox response study dissemination meeting in Amuru District on 10 August 2026.
In Amuru, the 10 August meeting brought together over 25 stakeholders from the district health team, political leadership, security agencies, Village Health Teams, implementing partners and the community. On the same day, a second MakSPH team, led by Mr. Keneth Sebukeera and Mr. Filimin Niyongabo, convened stakeholders in Kasese for a parallel validation meeting. The consultations then continued in Nakasongola on 12 August and concluded in Mayuge on 14 August, extending the study’s engagement across all four districts.
Across the districts, stakeholders said the results reflected their experience during the outbreak. They pointed to strengths in leadership, coordination, community engagement and partner support, while also describing gaps in documentation, logistics, diagnostic access, staffing, risk communication, public trust and continuity of essential health services.
They also noted inconsistent implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) 7-1-7 target, which calls for detecting a suspected outbreak within seven days, notifying public health authorities within one day and completing early response actions within seven days.
The MakSPH research team, led by Mr. Keneth Sebukeera and Mr. Filimin Niyongabo, with participants during the Mpox response study dissemination meeting in Kasese District on 10 August 2026.
In Kasese, stakeholders highlighted gaps in documentation, financial and logistical resources, and human resources. They identified Village Health Teams and grassroots, religious and cultural leaders as important resources for community surveillance and risk communication. They called for stronger collaboration between technical and non-technical leaders, engagement with traditional healers, greater use of local radio for public sensitisation, and better facilitation of district epidemic response teams to reach distant communities.
Amuru participants called for proactive preparedness in the border district, citing misinformation and rumours as barriers to risk communication. They urged timely, accurate information from health workers and other authorities; training in disease surveillance and grant writing to strengthen capacity and resource mobilisation; and compassionate care, psychosocial support and community awareness to reduce stigma and support survivor reintegration.
During the meeting in Nakasongola, stakeholders identified Community Health Workers and Community Health Extension Workers as potential resources for strengthening community surveillance and addressing workforce shortages. Given the district’s position around Lake Kyoga and along the Kampala-South Sudan transit corridor, they also called for stronger documentation, note-taking and reporting, accurate real-time information, closer communication with the Ministry of Health, and collaboration among technical, political, religious and community leaders.
Ms. Eunice Vivian Asingo, Senior Nursing Officer at Nakasongola Health Centre IV, contributes to the discussion during the Mpox response study dissemination meeting in Nakasongola District on 12 August 2026.
Ms. Eunice Vivian Asingo, Senior Nursing Officer at Nakasongola Health Centre IV, called for a permanent, adequately resourced outbreak-management centre to help protect routine services during future epidemics. “We appeal for better facilities to manage epidemics and outbreaks. At Nakasongola Health Centre IV, spaces previously used for outbreak management have been repurposed for other services, and we have limited staff. During the Mpox response, colleagues assigned to manage patients later returned to the general team, creating fear among staff already under pressure,” she said.
In Mayuge, Dr. Basembeza highlighted leadership, coordination and surveillance structures operating from district to community level as important factors in the response. He said the structures enabled the district to receive and respond quickly to community alerts. “Whenever there is a rumour or an alert, we are able to respond. Within 20 minutes, we had a response because of the structure we have,” Dr. Basembeza said.
Based on the findings, the research team recommends increased preparedness financing, stronger community engagement, decentralised diagnostic services through stronger district laboratory capacity, and improved health information and research systems.
Across the four districts, stakeholders reaffirmed that trusted community structures and coordinated action across sectors are essential to strengthening outbreak preparedness.
General2 weeks ago
Business & Management2 weeks ago
Law2 weeks ago
General1 week ago
Humanities & Social Sciences2 weeks ago