Health
Six MakSPH Early Career Scholars Receive Seed Research Funds
Six early-career scholars at the Makerere University School of Public Health have been awarded funding to support their research.
Cycle three (3) of the MakSPH Small Grants Program has six awardees that are: Rawlance Ndejjo, Solomon Wafula, Dr. Arthur Bagonza, Frederick Oporia, Catherine Ninsiima, and Bonny Enock Balugaba.
Each of the awardees is to receive up to US$5000 (about 18 million Uganda Shillings) for the research. The awards were announced by Dr. David Musoke, the newly appointed Grants and Research Capacity Building Committee chairperson in a virtual 32nd Meeting of the Committee held on Tuesday, March 23, 2021.
Representing the Seed Grant recipients, Mr. Rawlance Ndejjo, a Ph.D. Student and Research Associate at the School hailed the School management for the initiative towards supporting early-career scholars to grow their research capacity.
“On behalf of the recipients of this third round, I want to thank you. A big thank you to the Grants and Research Capacity Building Committee for awarding us these grants. It’s an honor. It’s always very nice to wake up to such good news. We want to thank you for giving us funding to implement some of our ideas,” Ndejjo said.
He also thanked the School Management and the Dean for starting this initiative to support young researchers.
“This will be a big stepping stone for us as we look forward to winning other grants. I also want to congratulate my colleagues for getting this far and I promise that we shall work as a team to move the different research agendas forward,” Mr. Ndejjo said.
On her part, Dr. Rhoda Wanyenze, Professor and Dean, MakSPH congratulated the team of six researchers for emerging winners of the 3rd round of the seed grants from the School.
“They are seeds to grow our individuals and young faculty, our stars for tomorrow. They are also seeds because they are growing new areas of research where we are not doing as much as we ought to. But they are also seeds because they are growing us as a School,” Prof. Wanyenze said.
The Dean also appealed to the grantees to exhibit professionalism, ethics, and accountability.
“When you receive a seed, please do not eat it. This is meant to grow. Please make sure that it grows in various directions. Make sure that it grows you as an individual, and the subject of research you are going to work on. In other words, do a good study, look out for other grants that you can apply for to move that agenda forward, and also make sure that it grows the School. We are looking up to you and hopefully, this seed grant can add value to you all,” Prof. Wanyenze added.
Overall, a total of 11 applications were received but six were successful. Dr. David Musoke congratulated the grantees on the awards and encouraged them to conduct good quality research so as to be a stepping stone for better things in the future.
The studies:
Mr. Solomon Tsebeni Wafula, a Research Associate, Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health at MakSPH will be assessing the indoor air quality, risk factors, and potential health effects among residents in an urban informal settlement, Uganda.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rawlance Ndejjo, a Research Associate in the Department of Disease Control and Environmental at MakSPH Health will be studying the lifestyles of slum dwellers in Kampala with particular interests in cardiovascular diseases.
Also, Dr. Arthur Bagonza, a veterinarian and public health fellow at MakSPH will be investigating the effect of COVID-19 on pediatric fever treatment among registered private drug sellers in East Central Uganda.
Mr. Frederick Oporia, an Injury Epidemiologist and Research Associate in the Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health will be expanding his research on preventing drowning. 
Mr. Oporia will be particularly investigating the effectiveness of Lifejackets used by boaters on Lake Albert, Uganda in the prevention of drowning.
With this funding, Catherine Ninsiima, a research associate at MakSPH will be undertaking a study on adherence to dietary approaches to stop hypertension diet and factors associated with adherence amongst hypertensive patients attending Uganda Heart Institute, Mulago Hospital.
Bonny Enock Balugaba, a Research Associate in the Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health at MakSPH will be investigating the effect of lockdown measures on traffic injuries in Kampala.
Professor David Serwadda, the out-going chairperson of the Grants and Research Capacity Building Committee said the launch of the Small Grants, which was passionately championed by Professor Rhoda Wanyenze’s leadership, is one of the exciting achievements of the Committee.
“This resulted from our strategic planning where we realized that the young faculty members probably do not have many opportunities to engage in research,” Prof. Serwadda.
The Small Grants Program was initiated in 2018, and the committee was interested in public health fields that had initially been neglected. Later, the first cohort of grantees was awarded in 2019 and the second in 2020.
“This has been really very exciting for the young faculty. Recently, we had an evaluation of this program and it is extremely important that we continue this scheme. Despite the fact that funding from the Makerere Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF) is available, we feel this is still very important for the School of Public Health,” Prof. Serwadda observed.
Already two peer-reviewed articles have been published in public health journals and about four are in advanced stages. This means that all the initial grantees will most likely publish with this support. “This program is intended to increase publications especially from the young faculty in the School. The grants are very successful and should be encouraged to continue,” Prof. Serwadda says.
Article originally published on MakSPH
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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
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