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MakCHS Student Innovation shines at HIHA 2021

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A team of students led by Ms. Anna Maria Gwokyalya – 4th year student of Medicine and Surgery at the College of Health Sciences (MakCHS), Makerere University won the award of ‘Student Innovation of the Year’ at the Heroes in Health Awards (HIHA) held on the 12th November, 2021. Her innovation was a book “The Mugishas’ COVID-19 Tale” designed to help children be more involved in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Inaugurated in 2019, The Heroes in Health Awards (HIHA) is a public private initiative adopted by the Ministry of Health with the support of Xtraordinary Media to offer opportunity to members of the public to motivate Uganda’s excellent health sector players, recognize and encourage new innovations that will transform our health care system.

Anna Maria shares the experience of the team in an interview below:

Tell us more about your team

We are a team of five students who have worked on numerous research projects and online campaigns to increase awareness of Antimicrobial Resistance under ARSU (Antimicrobial Resistance Stewardship Uganda). Whereas I was the leader of this comic book project, it’s the brainchild of the entire team, an indicator of respect, mutuality and friendship.

Describe your innovation and what motivated you to work on it

This book entitled, “The Mugishas’ COVID-19 Tale” contains fascinating illustrations with simplified information on symptoms, transmission and prevention of COVID-19 that includes both observation of the standard operating procedures and vaccination.

A photo of the HIHA 2021 'Student Innovation of the Year' Award-winning book.
A photo of the HIHA 2021 ‘Student Innovation of the Year’ Award-winning book.

The book is a means of creating awareness on COVID-19 disease and its prevention among children below 12 years, a vulnerable group that is not eligible for vaccination (as per Uganda’s Vaccination Guidelines) against this disease, we designed the book to help children be more involved in the fight against this disease.

Infection prevention and control is not only pertinent to fighting Antimicrobial Resistance but also to promotion of health and wellbeing of the people. Writing this book is our contribution to controlling of infection as well as prevention, an important aspect of primary health care.

What is the impact of the book from your perspective?      

Since the comic book is very illustrative and appealing to the eye, we anticipate that the children will gain knowledge on COVID-19 as they enjoy the illustrations. We also hope that they will be agents of change through sharing this knowledge with their peers both at home and at school, protecting them against the disease in the long run.

The wording on Ms. Gwokyalya's trophy.
The wording on Ms. Gwokyalya’s trophy.

What is your advice to others about new ideas and innovations?

My advice is drawn from two quotes;

Quote 1: “Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.” – Anonymous

Quote 2: “Teamwork is the secret that makes common people achieve uncommon results” –Ifeanyi Enoch Onucha

Innovations by MakCHS Research teams were exhibited at the HIHA Awards as well. These included:

VITEX (Medical Assistance Tool): Vitex is an integrated system that utilizes antimicrobial and affordable 3D plastics made out of 80% waste plastic, making it eco-friendly. The device sterilises wards up to 99.9%, thus preventing nosocomial infections by employing powerful pulsating U.V engine and spots latest in artificial intelligence to improve patient care and practitioner assistance.

VITEX – a Medical Assistance Tool designed by Dr. Justine Nnakate Bukenya (PI), Ainembabazi Samantha, Joeltta Nabungye, Kiirya Arnold, Mugisha Gift Arnold

Vitex is intended to improve health professionals’ quality of work by reducing workload and deters transmission of highly contagious infections such as COVID-19. It also improves access to vital medical literature, facilitates electronic consultation, service delivery in the medical environment, including carrying out consistent patient monitoring and reducing prescription/medication errors.

The device spots a Powerful Artificial Intelligence package that incorporates Intel RealSense, auto-follow, video capture, touch & voice control, playful expressions, and personality to keep patients in a cheerful mood. Vitex includes over-the-air updates making it viable for endless integration, including providing seamless data access for important time-sensitive decision-making through elaborate integrations.

Part of Team VITEX enjoys a photo moment with Dr. Sabrina Kitaka at HIHA 2021 on 12th November 2021.
Part of Team VITEX enjoys a photo moment with Dr. Sabrina Kitaka at HIHA 2021 on 12th November 2021.

Team: Dr. Justine Nnakate Bukenya (PI), Ainembabazi Samantha, Joeltta Nabungye, Kiirya Arnold, Mugisha Gift Arnold

The Early Preeclampsia Detection Strip (EPED Strip): The Early Preeclampsia Detection (EPED) Strip is a urine-based point-of-care detection strip for preeclampsia that pregnant women can use at home to self-screen for the condition. Preeclampsia is a maternal condition characterized by high blood pressure of 140/90mmHg and proteinuria after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Worldwide the condition is responsible for over 500,000 infant deaths and 70,000 maternal deaths annually. By seeking medical care at the early onset of preeclampsia, the condition can be appropriately monitored and controlled, thereby reducing the detrimental health impacts of undiagnosed preeclampsia which is a health burden to LMICs. Thus, the EPED strip is being designed to diagnose this condition early and functions very similar to a pregnancy test where urine is applied to one end of the strip, and pulled across it by capillary attraction to where antibodies specific to the biomarkers are immobilized. In the reaction matrix there are two lines, a test line and a control line. The presence or absence of the control and test lines indicates the presence or absence of the captured conjugates. This is designed with adaptation from the existing lateral flow assay (LFA) technology. While the primary goal of the EPED strip is to be a home-based early detection tool, the EPED strip can also be used to assist the diagnosis of preeclampsia in a clinical setting from large-scale national hospitals to remote health clinics.

Team:Prof Paul Kiondo (PI), Brian Matovu, Zoe Ssekyonda, Calvin Abonga, Olivia Peace Nabuuma, Dr. Robert Ssekitoleko

The Maternal PPH Wrap: The maternal PPH wrap; a wearable device strapped around the mother’s waist; affordable compared to the other devices that is able to carry out external compression of the uterus through the abdominal wall in order to stimulate myometrium contraction. The design is based on already used bimanual uterine compression techniques which are manually done by qualified and skilled personnel.

Despite the number of interventions, postpartum haemorrhage still remains the leading cause of maternal death globally. Most of the interventions that are recommended under standard clinical practical guidelines such as uterotonic drugs, therapeutic devices or even surgery are unavailable in the communities of low and middle income countries including Uganda simply because they are unaffordable and most times require qualified/skilled personnel and highly sterile environments.

The device will rely on an inflatable rubber bag to provide the pressure to do the sustained compression. The inflation will be done using a bulb similar to the one used by a sphygmomanometer. This is way less labour intensive than the procedure of bimanual uterine compression. The overall aim Is to create an efficient device that is affordable in Uganda and all developing countries’ healthcare markets as a leading lifesaver of mothers.

Team: Owen Muhimbisa, Kiwanuka Martin, Arinda Beryl, Maureen Etuket, Denis Mukiibi, Robert Ssekitoleko.

Zaam Ssali is the Principal Communication Officer SoL & MakCHS

Zaam Ssali

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TWAS recognises Dr. Angelina Mwesige Kakooza for her research

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Dr. Angelina Mwesige Kakooza, Associate Professor of Paediatrics in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health receives her award.

Dr. Angelina Mwesige Kakooza, Associate Professor of Paediatrics in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) received the 2025 TWAS-Fayzah M. Al-Kharafi Award in Medical Sciences. She was recognised for her research on neurodevelopmental disorders – particularly epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and nodding syndrome – and for advancing policy and research, mentorship, as well as local community interventions to enhance children’s health.

The award was given at the recent 17th General Conference of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil under the theme ‘Building a Sustainable Future: The Role of Science, Technology, and Innovation for Global Development.’ Organized in partnership with the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and TWAS, the conference brought together leading scientists, policymakers, and institutional leaders from across the global South and beyond.

In her remarks after receiving the award, Dr. Kakooza said, “This award highlights the importance of neurodevelopmental disorders which are a great health problem worldwide, often diagnosed late and treated poorly,” said Kakooza. “It affirms my contribution to science in Africa, strengthens advocacy for gender equity in science and education and makes me a role model for others, increasing my influence in the scientific community.”

Associate Professor Angelina Mwesige Kakooza.
Associate Professor Angelina Mwesige Kakooza.

Dr. Angelina Kakooza Mwesige is a Ugandan scholar with over 25years teaching experience whose research focuses on neurodevelopmental disorders in children centred on their epidemiology, early screening, identification and community based interventions in Uganda. Her current areas of research cover studies on early detection and interventions for young infants at high risk of neurodevelopmental delay and disability in Nepal and Uganda; development of community engagement projects to empower adolescents living with epilepsy in Uganda reduce stigma in their communities; as well as development and testing of an interactive epilepsy smart phone application to improve resilience among them.

TWAS is a global merit-based science academy based in Trieste, Italy, and administered as a UNESCO Programme Unit. Read more here: https://twas.org/

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Zaam Ssali

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Refugee Health Journalism as Empowerment: Why Accuracy, Dignity & Context Matter

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Participants in the Media Training Workshop on Refugee Health and Migration Reporting that brought together twenty journalists from Kampala, Kyaka II, Adjumani, and other refugee-hosting districts at MakSPH on 3rd October 2025. Media Training Workshop on Refugee Health and Migration Reporting that brought together twenty journalists from Kampala, Kyaka II, Adjumani, and other refugee-hosting districts, Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), Kampala Uganda, East Africa on 3rd October 2025.

In July this year, I joined a study tour to Imvepi Refugee Settlement in Uganda’s West Nile region under the RISK-WASH Project, led by Dr. Richard Mugambe. Established in 2017 in what is now Terego District, Imvepi is one of several settlements created to host people fleeing conflict in neighbouring South Sudan. Now home to more than 60,000 refugees, it reflects Uganda’s progressive refugee policy, anchored in the 2006 Refugee Act, which promotes the integration of displaced families within host communities, allocates land for livelihoods, and ensures access to national services. It remains a model both commendable and instructive for the region.

With nearly two million refugees and asylum seekers, most of whom are women and children, Uganda stands among the world’s leading examples of inclusive, community-based refugee protection. The RISK-WASH Project, implemented by the Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) in collaboration with IHE-Delft, BRAC, and icddr,b, with support from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organised the three-day visit. The project builds evidence for better Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) decision-making in humanitarian settings, developing practical tools to assess how exposure to unsafe water, poor sanitation, and environmental hazards affects the health of both displaced and host populations.

The RISK-WASH Project team, together with officials from the Uganda Red Cross Society, meet the Imvepi Refugee Settlement Commandant during a field visit in July 2025. Media Training Workshop on Refugee Health and Migration Reporting that brought together twenty journalists from Kampala, Kyaka II, Adjumani, and other refugee-hosting districts, Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), Kampala Uganda, East Africa on 3rd October 2025.
The RISK-WASH Project team, together with officials from the Uganda Red Cross Society, meet the Imvepi Refugee Settlement Commandant during a field visit in July 2025.

In Imvepi, that evidence takes human form. Water points run dry under intense demand or drought; latrines overflow during rains; fragile health systems strain to contain preventable diseases that flourish in such conditions. One nurse may attend to hundreds of patients in a single day, treating malaria, respiratory infections, and diarrhoeal diseases directly linked to inadequate WASH infrastructure. The images linger long after one leaves, especially when reflecting on the media’s role in shaping refugee narratives. What struck me most was how such realities are often reduced to statistics or fleeting headlines that reveal little about the lives behind them. I left Imvepi convinced that we, in the media, must not only report but listen differently.

When we cover refugees, we often begin with numbers. Yet behind every statistic is a heartbeat and a history the news cycle rarely pauses to hear. Refugee health, perhaps the most human measure of displacement, is still too often framed as a crisis rather than a continuum of resilience, policy, and rights. The World Health Organisation’s World Reports on the Health of Refugees and Migrants reminds us that refugees frequently experience poorer health outcomes than host populations, not because they are inherently vulnerable, but because access to care is often obstructed by law, language, and logistics. Health, like truth, then, becomes interestingly dependent on who is allowed to speak and who is heard.

Floods in Adjumani refugee settlement left shelters destroyed and water sources contaminated, heightening the risk of disease outbreaks and exposing the fragile health conditions faced by displaced families. Photo taken in 2024 during a MakSPH study on refugee health and climate change. Media Training Workshop on Refugee Health and Migration Reporting that brought together twenty journalists from Kampala, Kyaka II, Adjumani, and other refugee-hosting districts, Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), Kampala Uganda, East Africa on 3rd October 2025.
Floods in Adjumani refugee settlement left shelters destroyed and water sources contaminated, heightening the risk of disease outbreaks and exposing the fragile health conditions faced by displaced families. Photo taken in 2024 during a MakSPH study on refugee health and climate change.

It was in this spirit that, on October 3, 2025, we convened the Media Training Workshop on Refugee Health and Migration Reporting at MakSPH. The one-day seminar brought together twenty journalists from Kampala, Kyaka II, Adjumani, and other refugee-hosting districts. Our goal was not to add another humanitarian angle to the news but to rethink how the media can report with depth, ethics, and empathy. Working with partners such as Africa Humanitarian Action, Emesco Development Foundation, and Farmamundi, we explored the subtle power the media wields to either dignify or diminish, to clarify or distort, the lived realities of refugees, particularly in the realm of health.

During my session, Refugee Health Reporting as Empowerment: Negotiating Accuracy, Dignity, and Context,” I invited participants to view journalism through the lens of Paulo Freire, the celebrated Brazilian transformative educator who wrote the Pedagogy of the Oppressed while in exile in 1970. Through his influential work, Freire argued that oppression persists when those in power control language and narrative, when others are spoken for rather than heard. Liberation begins, he said, when people “name their world.” That principle remains profoundly relevant to our craft as journalism and communications practitioners. Refugees must not remain objects of our storytelling; they are its subjects. Journalism, in its truest public function, becomes liberating only when it is dialogic, when we report with people, not merely about them.

I led a session titled “Refugee Health Reporting as Empowerment: Negotiating Accuracy, Dignity, and Context” on October 3, 2025, framing it around Paulo Freire’s pedagogical philosophy of liberation through dialogue and critical reflection. Media Training Workshop on Refugee Health and Migration Reporting that brought together twenty journalists from Kampala, Kyaka II, Adjumani, and other refugee-hosting districts, Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), Kampala Uganda, East Africa on 3rd October 2025.
I led a session titled “Refugee Health Reporting as Empowerment: Negotiating Accuracy, Dignity, and Context” on October 3, 2025, framing it around Paulo Freire’s pedagogical philosophy of liberation through dialogue and critical reflection.

This transformation begins with accuracy. In Uganda, refugees share the same health system as host communities, one already strained by staff shortages, drug stock-outs, and donor fatigue. Yet many stories stop at official statements or NGO press releases. Limited access, shrinking newsroom budgets, and bureaucratic gatekeeping tempt journalists to rely on polished humanitarian narratives. But when we do, we risk becoming megaphones for the powerful. Accuracy demands courage, the willingness to verify, to cross-check, and to step beyond curated camp tours. In refugee reporting, truth is not just a professional standard; it is an act of respect.

Still, truth without dignity can harm. Too often, images of refugees serve as shorthand for despair—dust, hunger, tents. Such imagery may evoke sympathy, but it often strips away humanity. From practice, I have seen journalists lower their lenses before asking names. I have also seen how a small shift in approach, say seeking consent, giving space, and listening before photographing, can restore dignity to both subject and story. Words matter too. Calling someone an “illegal immigrant” or describing an “influx” of refugees turns people into problems. Language should humanise, not flatten. To describe refugees as mothers, health workers, or students is to reassert their agency and affirm our shared humanity, something Freire would have deeply valued today.

Media trainer Mr. Wilson Akiiki Kaija facilitates a session on “Centring Humanity” during the Refugee Health and Migration Reporting Workshop at MakSPH, underscoring the media’s role in advancing accuracy, dignity, and context in refugee reporting. October 3, 2025. Media Training Workshop on Refugee Health and Migration Reporting that brought together twenty journalists from Kampala, Kyaka II, Adjumani, and other refugee-hosting districts, Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), Kampala Uganda, East Africa on 3rd October 2025.
Media trainer Mr. Wilson Akiiki Kaija facilitates a session on “Centring Humanity” during the Refugee Health and Migration Reporting Workshop at MakSPH, underscoring the media’s role in advancing accuracy, dignity, and context in refugee reporting. October 3, 2025.

And no story exists in isolation. Every health headline in a settlement echoes across systems of policy, climate, economics, and gender. A cholera outbreak in Kyangwali is not merely a medical event or isolated incident; it may be showing broken sanitation infrastructure and the politics of aid, which may result in a national disease outbreak. Context is the soul of credibility. Without it, even accurate stories can mislead. In Imvepi, I saw first-hand that refugees’ health challenges are inseparable from Uganda’s own development journey, from how budgets are made to how global partners value African hospitality. The more connections we draw, the closer we come to the truth.

By the close of the workshop, it was evident that empowerment in journalism is not a slogan but a discipline. It demands patience, humility, and persistence. It calls for the co-production of stories, revisiting them, verifying them, and allowing refugees to narrate their realities. It also calls on institutions to invest and fund field reporting, train correspondents in trauma-sensitive and peace journalism, and protect journalists pursuing uncomfortable truths. Without such support, even good intentions dissolve into soundbites.

I often return to Freire’s words of wisdom: To speak a true word is to transform the world. This means that words are not just passive descriptions but powerful tools for action and social change, especially when they are paired with critical reflection and a commitment to praxis (work and action). Refugee health journalism, at its best, is precisely that kind of speech: accurate, dignified, and deeply contextual. It is not merely charity reporting; it is solidarity reporting. For anyone, given the wrong circumstances, can become a refugee. And solidarity, unlike sympathy, does not look down; it stands beside. When we write from that conviction, our stories do more than inform. They humanise, connect, and remind us that telling the truth well is, in itself, an act of justice.

From right: Africa Humanitarian Action’s Mr. Yakobo Kaheesi and Emesco Development Foundation’s Mr. Patrick Ssentalo join facilitators and organisers Mr. Wilson Akiiki Kaija and Mr. Davidson Ndyabahika in awarding certificates to media participants after the successful training on Refugee Health and Migration Reporting on October 3, 2025. Media Training Workshop on Refugee Health and Migration Reporting that brought together twenty journalists from Kampala, Kyaka II, Adjumani, and other refugee-hosting districts, Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), Kampala Uganda, East Africa on 3rd October 2025.
From right: Africa Humanitarian Action’s Mr. Yakobo Kaheesi and Emesco Development Foundation’s Mr. Patrick Ssentalo join facilitators and organisers Mr. Wilson Akiiki Kaija and Mr. Davidson Ndyabahika in awarding certificates to media participants after the successful training on Refugee Health and Migration Reporting on October 3, 2025.

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Professor Nakimuli awarded at FIGO Congress for outstanding contribution to Women and Child Health

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Dr. Annettee Nakimuli, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Dean, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences. Kampala Uganda, East Africa.

Dr. Annettee Nakimuli, an Associate Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Dean – School of Medicine at Makerere University College of Health Sciences was awarded by the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) for her outstanding contribution to improving the health of Women and children as a researcher and practitioner.

She received the award on the 6th Oct 2025 at the FIGO General Assembly/FIGO Congress that is ongoing in Cape Town, South Africa.

Professor Nakimuli is a leading maternal health researcher focused primarily on investigating the aetiology, treatment, prevention and long term outcomes of pregnancy complications among women in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is committed to building maternal and new-born research capacity in Africa and her aim is, with East African and International colleagues, to establish a multidisciplinary centre for African maternal and neonatal health research located at Makerere University in Uganda.

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Zaam Ssali

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