Health
Uganda’s Ministry of Health Embraces Family Planning Data, PMA Data to Influence Policy
Kampala, Uganda, Feb. 16, 2022 (MakSPH) – Commissioners at Ministry of Health in Uganda have applauded the Performance Monitory for Action -PMA Uganda project for its robust research in family planning.
Dr. Olaro Charles, the Director Health Services- Curative Services at the Ministry of Health says the Ministry is grateful for the work that PMA does, citing that it would cost government a lot of money since such work would require a consultant to do it.
“The data collected in this PMA survey inform monitoring and assessment, assessing the progress of the targets as we set in the Family Planning 2030 commitments and the costed implementation plan. I am happy that all of you were involved during the formulation and official launch of these commitments,” Dr. Olaro said at a recent dissemination of panel survey results for phase 2 at Golden Tulip Hotel in Kampala.
PMA Uganda, a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded project at Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), a leading public health institution in Uganda and within the East and Central Africa region uses innovative mobile technology to support low-cost, rapid-turnaround surveys monitoring key health and development indicators.
Between September and November last year, MakSPH-PMA project led by Principal Investigator Dr. Fredrick Makumbi and Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Simon Peter Kibira conducted a survey from 4,399 households where 4,346 females of ages 15-49 were interviewed. Also, data was collected in 384 health facilities and 2,370 client-exit interviews conducted.
According to the results, the trends in use of Contraception among all women of age 15-49 increased from 35% in 2020 to 40% in 2021 in all methods. On further analysis, those using modern methods of contraception increased from 29.5% to 34% while those using traditional methods of birth control rose slightly from 5.5% in 2021 to 5.9%.
“I am also happy to mention that I sit in the FP20 global committee, and as you know this is great not only for our country but as well as the region. From the first PMA survey, we were seeing the country making progress, however slow it is towards increasing modern contraceptive usage. As you all know the FP2030 objectives were launched and we need to be able to work. I will soon share with you the considerable plan, which is also a precursor for us to be able to achieve our Family Planning 2020,” said Dr. Olaro.
The Government of Uganda set an ambitious goal to increase the modern contraceptive prevalence rate to 50% by 2020. This however was not achieved. In acknowledging this, Dr. Olaro notes that there are still unsolved challenges with the quality of family planning services especially the counselling of users.
“If you go to back to our commitments, one of them is purposed to address this challenge. To address family planning misconceptions, government committed to improve counselling and in it, we provide what options are available, possible side effects and how we manage them, and how the users pick on a different component. So, with implementation and measurements, we shall be able to overcome the challenge,” says Dr. Olaro.
Hons. Catherine Namuddu, Sylivia Bahireira, Joel Ssebikaali, Charles Ayume, Hope Nakazibwe, Ronald Bagaga and Bayiga Rulume, all Members of the Health Committee of Parliament attended the dissemination.
Professor of Disease Control, Researcher, Public Health Expert and Dean, MakSPH, Dr. Rhoda Wanyenze says a lot of the work that done at MakSPH is geared towards ensuring equity and through evidence. According to Prof. Wanyenze, PMA program is one of the projects at MakSPH where researchers generate evidence and continue facilitating policy formulation.
“This program shows this because on the data we have generated, has to be used by all these stake holders here with us today. For example, we have just used the PMA data to inform Uganda’s FP2030 commitments and before that we were also looking at this data while implementing the costed development plan,” she said.
Speaking to an audience that had legislators under the umbrella of the Health Committee of Parliament, Professor Wanyenze said improving health requires holistic approach that includes several other sectors of development including education. She also appealed to the legislators and the sector planners to re-orient health by investing more in promotion of health and prevention of disease than focus only at treating people.
“We can also generate more evidence. You can tell us where it is that you need more evidence that you do not have so that we can work together to generate evidence. We are available and ready to work with you so you can make more evidence-based interventions,” she said.
In light of the Makerere University centenary celebrations, Dean Rhoda pledged continued generation of evidence that adds value.
Dr. Olaro paid emphasis on need for concerted efforts of Ministry of Health an its partners required to solve family planning challenges.
“We need to develop and adopt the use of innovative strategies to inform programming in an effort to address some, if not most of these challenges and I want to implore you to implement what works based on the findings,” Dr. Olaro said.
Further adding that; “These statistics that guide in programming should be progressively pursued and we are looking forward to continue good working relationships as we strive for better health of our communities in which we serve and live.”
Dr. Richard Mugahi Adyeeri, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Reproductive and Infant Health said MoH appreciates Dean Rhoda’s comments especially the call for evidenced based Interventions and the ability of the ivory tower, to keep producing this evidence whenever it is needed.
“We also appreciate your comment about the partnership with education, given the fact that the determinants of health, some of them fall in education, others are housed in agriculture, and we need a total rethink of our post pandemic public health interventions,” Dr. Mugahi observes.
The Head of surveys at Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Mr James Muwonge, while representing the Executive Director Dr. Chris Ndatira Mukiza congratulated MakSPH for pulling off this national survey and for having consistent data.
He encouraged research entities to continuously share information and best practices, as well as coordinate research efforts across different agencies. He also committed on behalf of UBOS to continue working together with MakSPH.
“The Dean has talked about the need to utilise information. There is a lot of information that is collected, but probably not much is being used but looking at the audience in here, I am encouraged and feel contented that the information is getting as far as the parliament because it influences policy and the fact that within the audience we have the policy makers, to me it is a testimony and really important,” said Muwonge.
National Population Council (NPC) Director General, Dr. Jotham Musinguzi said they advised Parliament on the need to invest in the population, reduce fertility in this country, and investments in education as a means to reduction of fertility.
NPC was established by the National Population Council, Act 485, 1994, to advise Government on all population matters. Dr. Musinguzi observes that if we do not reduce fertility fast enough, we will not be able to benefit from the demographic dividend.
“We have an opportunity now that Fredrick (Makumbi) and Simon (Kibira) have shown us that we can impact on contraceptive work, we can push it firmly, we need to make sure that education, health are working together so that the population moves from a pyramid that is very heavy at the bottom, to a pyramid that has a lot of people in the middle and these people get education, health and have skills,” he said.
In the last decade, Dr. Musinguzi says Uganda has been reducing on mortality and fertility rates citing that that’s when the country enters the realm of opportunity.
“I want say that this is something very important and we need to continue leaning to reproductive health and family planning especially use of contraceptives and through working with the Ministry of Health and other development partners. That is the only way we are going to achieve big impact on health, education of the population,” he said.
Dr. Betty Kyadondo, the head of Family Health Department at NPC noted that while there was an increase in the uptake of family planning services and that modern contraceptives, the country still needed to do more.
She says great attention to the issues of use of contraceptive by certain groups such as adolescents and men, that are largely under looked and misrepresented is important.
“They don’t get adequate counselling in times they need the service but we are seeing an increasing number of teenage pregnancy rates and if we don’t work with these young people, its risky and sensitive issue and many people are shy to talk about it but its high time we faced it and addressed sexually active adolescents about the use of family planning methods,” Dr. Kyadondo says.
She advances the need to leverage on the existing efforts in improving family planning service delivery such as human capital development program, community mobilisation and mindset change to reduce negativity and misconceptions about family planning, utilization of the parish development model through its pillars as well as integration of integrate technology into our family planning agenda.
Health
Ekyaalo Diagnostics; Johns Hopkins University Partners with Makerere and MUST to Advance AI Innovation for Breast Cancer Diagnosis
By Joseph Odoi
Globally, Breast cancer remains a serious health challenge, with the World Health Organization (2022) reporting over 2.3 million new cases annually and nearly 670,000 deaths. In Uganda, breast cancer is one of the leading cancers among women, yet the majority of patients are diagnosed at late stages due to delays in accessing diagnostic services, most of which are centralized at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) in Kampala. Since 72% of Uganda’s population lives in rural areas, women often face late diagnosis due to long travel distances. Even after accessing care, results can take 1–6 months due to the slow process of transporting samples to central laboratories. This delay directly impacts the timely start of treatment.
To address this gap, Johns Hopkins University in collaboration with Makerere University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), is spearheading innovative solutions that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and low-cost technologies to improve early diagnosis and treatment.
As part of this collaboration, the Centre for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Research at Makerere University School of Public Health led by Associate Professor Peter Waiswa in July hosted a team of graduate biomedical engineers from the Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design (CBID) at John Hopkins University.
The team is developing a low-cost, AI-powered technology called Ekyaalo Diagnostics, aimed at reducing the turnaround time for breast cancer diagnosis, especially in hard-to-reach areas. As part of their work, they undertook a learning tour at the Ministry of Health, Uganda Cancer Institute, and regional cancer referral centres. The purpose was to map stakeholders in the breast cancer space, gather Ekyaalo diagnostic technology usability feedback, and understand the local innovation ecosystem in breast cancer care.
Ekyaalo Diagnostics and Bringing Pathology Closer to Communities
The flagship innovation, Ekyaalo Diagnostics, is a portable AI-powered whole-slide scanner (WSS) designed to digitize cytology samples at Health Centre IVs and General Hospitals. These digitized images are securely transmitted to pathologists at higher-level facilities for timely review, eliminating the need for physically transporting samples to Kampala.
This technology has the potential to reduce diagnosis delays from several months to just a few days, thereby improving survival outcomes for breast cancer patients.
Building Local Solutions to Global Challenges
In addition to Ekyaalo Diagnostics, Makerere researchers at the Department of Biomedical Engineering are also advancing other innovations such as development of artificial breast prototypes to be used in educating women on breast cancer symptoms while Research at Mbarara University led by Dr. William Waswa, are developing PapsAI, a low-cost automated tool that support whole slide scanning of slides for cervical cancer screening.
These initiatives are aligned with the National Cancer Control Plan (NCCP) of the Ministry of Health, which emphasizes prevention, early detection, timely diagnosis.
Design Challenges and Considerations
Despite the progress being made, challenges persist, according to the team’s findings from the tour,these technologies hold great promise however their success in Uganda will depend on addressing some critical barriers.
One of the biggest challenges is limited staffing. Many lower-level health facilities lack trained laboratory personnel to prepare slides. For this reason, new technologies must be designed to be simple, user-friendly, and capable of being adopted after short training sessions.
Another major barrier is equipment maintenance. Past medical innovations in Uganda have often struggled with frequent breakdowns and software failures. The team emphasized that new diagnostic tools must be affordable, durable, and resistant to common system crashes if they are to serve rural health facilities effectively.
Finally, high operational costs continue to undermine sustainability. Some innovations fail because their maintenance costs are too high or because they are incompatible with existing health systems. Ensuring cost-effectiveness and system integration will therefore be vital for the long-term success of breast cancer diagnostic technologies in Uganda.
MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT
The project is led by the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design (CBID) in collaboration with Makerere’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and MUST researchers. Field learning tours have already been conducted at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Jinja, Mbarara, and Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospitals, with input from clinicians, technologists, and innovators in Uganda’s health ecosystem.
The Johns Hopkins team has conducted usability interviews with clinicians, laboratory technologists, and surgeons at multiple hospitals including Mulago, Jinja, Mbarara, and Fort Portal. They have also engaged with Uganda’s innovation ecosystem, including makerspaces and industry partners. It has been noted that the Ministry of Health together with Partners working on treatment of cancer has drafted the National Cancer Control Plan (NCCP) that is aimed at reducing incidence, morbidity and mortality through prevention and early treatment and palliative care. The Plan will give guide on health education, early detection, and diagnosis among others Special thanks go to the Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design (CIBID) Johns Hopkins University for funding this field learning tour, Centre for Maternal Newborn and Child Health Research at School of Public health (Makerere University) for hosting the team, Departments of Bioengineering at Makerere University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mulago pathology department and the Uganda cancer institute, Regional Referral hospitals of Jinja, Mbarara and Fort Portal among other General hospitals and Health center IVs visited for technical input.
Health
VectorCam Project; Makerere, Johns Hopkins, and MoH to Scale Up AI-Powered Malaria Surveillance across Uganda
On August 20, 2025, Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) convened a timely workshop on Strengthening Equitable Partnerships in International Research Collaboration in Uganda. Held at the MakSPH Auditorium, the event brought together researchers, policymakers, and institutional leaders to reflect on how Uganda, and indeed the wider region, can engage more effectively and derive greater benefit from global research collaborations.
Delivering the keynote address, Prof. David Musoke Serwadda, a Professor Emeritus at Makerere University and a globally recognised HIV researcher and epidemiologist, urged a rethinking of how international research partnerships are structured. A former head of the Institute of Public Health (IPH) and later Dean of the School, serving between 2003 and 2009, Serwadda is also the founding director of the Rakai Health Sciences Programme (RHSP), which is one of Uganda’s most influential research initiatives on HIV. While acknowledging the many benefits Uganda has gained from global research collaborations, he cautioned that too many times, these partnerships remain transactional, shaped by donor priorities, bound to project cycles, and offering limited long-term value to local institutions once projects close.
Prof. Serwadda, himself a globally recognised and well-accomplished researcher, with over four decades of experience and numerous awards for his contributions to science and global health, observed that Ugandan partners are many times included in research projects for visibility rather than substance, often excluded from core roles such as Principal Investigators or from influencing agenda-setting, budget control, and authorship. “Partnerships are not an end in themselves; they exist to help us achieve mutually agreed objectives built on shared responsibility and reciprocal obligations. Too often, Southern institutions are brought into projects late, simply for optics. That is not equitable collaboration,” he insisted.
During his talk, he stressed that this imbalance undermines both research quality and sustainability, noting that normally, when local researchers are sidelined, studies often fail to align with national priorities or build capacity that endures. By contrast, partnerships that are grounded in mutual respect, fair resource sharing, co-design, and shared decision-making have the impact of producing knowledge that is globally relevant and locally impactful.
“Equity in partnerships is about fairness, ensuring that all partners, regardless of context, can contribute meaningfully. This also requires responsibility on our part in the Global South. We must insist on involvement from project conception, negotiate fair terms, and strengthen our own systems to manage collaborations effectively,” Prof. Serwadda advised, emphasising that strong institutions, clear strategy, agenda and objectives are key for local institutions to engage in mutually fair and beneficial research collaborations at the global and continental stage.
As Director and later Dean of MakSPH, Prof. David Serwadda spearheaded numerous research collaborations and attracted substantial grants that elevated the School and the University’s global standing. Today, MakSPH is recognised as Makerere University’s flagship unit for its wide-ranging partnerships and robust research management systems. Since its beginnings as a small Department of Preventive Medicine in 1954, through its transformation into the first Institute of Public Health in sub-Saharan Africa in 1975, its elevation to School status in 2007, and most recently its reinstatement as a standalone School with college status within Makerere University in January 2025, a status first granted in 2001, MakSPH has built a 70-year legacy of advancing public health through research, training, and policy engagement.
The School’s evolution, as often couched by its leadership, has been anchored on strategic and strong partnerships. These collaborations, be they local, regional or global, have driven health systems innovation, strengthened capacity, and informed policy, making partnerships the cornerstone of the School’s past achievements and future ambitions. At the celebration of the School’s 70th Anniversary, marked in December 2024, Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe hailed MakSPH’s research output, community impact, and strong partnerships cultivated throughout the years. The Mak VC cited the School’s pioneering role in the HIV response led by Prof. Serwadda in the 1980s, the establishment of nutrition centres such as the Mwana Mugimu Unit at Mulago Hospital and across Uganda by the late Prof. John Kakitahi in the 1990s with support from Rotary International, and community projects like Kasangati Health Centre along Gayaza Road with support from the Rockefeller Foundation in the late 1950s, which advanced public education on healthy environments and wellness.
“The School of Public Health brings in almost half of all research grants at Makerere University, both in number and value, and these partnerships have been central to tackling Uganda’s public health challenges. From pioneering HIV/AIDS work that shaped global prevention strategies to interventions in maternal health, malaria, and infectious diseases, MakSPH has consistently combined academic excellence with community service. Its leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic further showed its ability to respond to national health emergencies with evidence-based solutions that directly benefit the people,” Prof. Nawangwe said with gratitude for the work done by the School through collaboration.
In 2024, the School had over 350 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact international journals as a result of this wide network and partnerships. MakSPH currently maintains a strong mix of North–South and South–South collaborations. Within the continent, the School is actively working in more than 25 countries, often partnering with multiple institutions within individual countries to advance research, capacity building, and policy influence. One such recent collaboration is the Partnership to Enhance Technical Support for Analytical Capacity and Data Use in Eastern & Southern Africa (PERSuADE) Project, funded by the Global Fund. Under PERSuADE, MakSPH, the prime grant recipient, hosted the secretariat led by Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze as Principal Investigator, tasked with overall coordination across 12 countries, while a Steering Committee chaired by Prof. David Serwadda provided oversight.
PERSuADE was implemented in two phases between 2018 and 2023. The project brought together 12 universities and 12 Ministries of Health in East and Southern Africa to strengthen analytical capacity and promote data use in national health programmes, cascading skills to districts and lower facilities. In its second phase, the project trained over 1,500 health staff, including 934 at the sub-national level, in data analysis and use, and generated more than 80 analytical outputs on HIV, TB, and malaria. These informed National Strategic Plans in seven countries and improved programme strategies in all 12. Sixteen in-service staff from seven countries received specialised training in HIV key population surveillance, health information systems, and data use. The project also piloted the Maturity Index Model in five countries, helping ministries track progress in institutionalising data-driven decision-making.
In Uganda, the PERSuADE project was implemented in Kiboga, Buikwe, Kasanda, Mukono, and Mityana districts, selected by the Ministry of Health. According to the Principal Investigator, Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, strengthening data analysis and use has greatly enhanced the capacity of Ministries of Health to deliver targeted interventions that directly benefit communities. She noted that improved analytical skills at national and subnational levels now enable ministries to identify disparities in HIV, TB, and malaria burdens, while district and facility health workers can use data to strengthen local service delivery. “With better data, districts can plan more efficiently, allocate medicines, and implement tailored prevention campaigns to address specific risks, raise awareness, and reduce new infections,” she said, emphasising the role of equitable collaboration as a key success factor in Uganda and across the continent for this partnership.
Indeed, during a learning visit to Uganda in September 2024, Dr. Estifanos Biru Shargie, Senior Specialist for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Country Analysis at the Global Fund, commended the PERSuADE Project for strengthening local capacity and fostering sustainable health system improvements through South-South partnerships among schools and ministries. “The impact has been significant. In Kiboga, I was impressed by how teams mapped gaps in services and addressed them over four years, using data to inform decisions and monitor progress. Working with Makerere University School of Public Health has been an honour. The School blends academic excellence with practical implementation, backed by strong financial management and a long-standing relationship with the Ministry of Health. Their coordination, networking, and efficiency have been exemplary,” Dr. Shargie said.
Another currently ongoing initiative at the School is the African Leadership and Management Training for Impact in Malaria Eradication (ALAMIME) program, led by MakSPH with ten participating institutions across nine malaria-endemic countries, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Co-led by Prof. Elizeus Rutebemberwa and Prof. Dosithée Ngo Bebe, ALAMIME is cultivating the leadership Africa needs to defeat malaria by strengthening institutions, building capacity, and fostering regional networks. In 2024 alone, the program trained over 250 participants, nearly half women, from national malaria programs, ministries, and NGOs. Through structured training, alumni-led webinars, and cross-country exchanges, the program has demonstrated how equitable, multi-country partnerships translate investment into sustainable systems and shared momentum toward malaria elimination.
For nearly 15 years now, MakSPH has also hosted the NTU–Mak Partnership, a collaboration between Makerere University and Nottingham Trent University, first conceived in 2010, with Assoc. Prof. David Musoke and Prof. Linda Gibson as the Uganda and UK Co-Leads. One of the key reasons for the success of this partnership is equity, and it has since attracted over £1.4 million in grants, trained more than 900 Village Health Teams in Wakiso District, supported over 350 practitioners in antimicrobial stewardship, and facilitated exchanges for more than 200 students and faculty. It has also equipped community health workers to respond to non-communicable diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and the COVID-19 pandemic, while generating over 30 peer-reviewed publications and convening global platforms such as the first International Community Health Worker Symposium, held in Kampala in 2017.
Dr. Musoke, the Co-Principal Investigator for the project on strengthening equitable research collaborations in Uganda, described the NTU-Mak partnership as a model North–South partnership that has produced both joint scholarship and lasting institutional ties. He noted that its success has inspired wider collaborations, as the current project on equitable partnerships builds on this foundation. Emerging from a British Academy regional workshop in Nairobi in 2024, MakSPH extended its engagement to Mountains of the Moon University (MMU), Uganda Martyrs University (UMU), and the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO). Together with Nottingham Trent University, these institutions are now advancing reforms to embed equity in research partnerships across Uganda’s research ecosystem.
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