Health
Next step for the fruitful collaboration between Makerere University and KI
One of KI’s largest international collaborations is with Makerere University in Uganda. In time for Makerere’s 100th anniversary, the partnership is to manifest itself in a Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health. A delegation from KI travelled in May to Uganda to cement the relationship.
“The foundation of a virtual centre for sustainable health gives us a totally new way to build international collaborations,” says KI president, Ole Petter Ottersen. “Mutuality and far-sightedness will pervade all our projects with the aim of improving health for all. The centre will enable more international collaborations, not just in Uganda but also with more countries in Africa, such as Somalia, and other parts of the world. In today’s turbulent world, it is especially important to work on a global stage and stand up for responsible internationalisation.”
From research to extensive collaboration
The partnership between Makerere University and Karolinska Institutet was established back in 2000. At first it was mainly focused on research, but it was soon extended to everything from student and teacher exchanges to joint doctoral studies. There is now a related alumni network containing hundreds of researchers and healthcare workers in Sweden and Uganda.
One of the students who was quick to snap up the chance to change their study environment from Makerere University to Karolinska Institutet was Noeline Nakasujja. Today, she is a practising psychiatrist and departmental head at the Department of Psychiatry at the College of Health Sciences, Makerere University.
“I spent a month in Stockholm in 2005, which was a real eye-opening experience,” she says. “It opened a window onto our cultural differences and onto the differences in resources between universities. It made me realise how much we can achieve even with limited resources.”
Since the exchange programme began, some 300 students and teachers have participated.
“During my time in Sweden, I almost immediately saw a clear difference in student-teacher relations,” she continues. “We have a much more marked hierarchy. At Karolinska Institutet, I saw how it was even possible to have a more relaxed relationship without compromising the seriousness of the teaching.”
After her exchange, Noeline Nakasujja also took the opportunity to take a joint PhD at KI and Makerere.
“My time as a doctoral student led to me receiving a doctoral student from KI,” she says. “That personal contact was the key to creating a platform that has enabled others to successfully navigate a foreign university.”
Since then, Noeline Nakasujja and her department have accepted numerous students from KI, and she finds her first-hand experience of the Swedish study environment comes in very useful here. She now believes that the new Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health can deepen the relationship between the two universities even more.
“We need to strengthen the preventative work we’re doing in Ugandan healthcare,” she says. “Patients with Alzheimer’s can particularly benefit from early intervention, such as physical exercise and social activities that help to slow the onset of disease.”
She goes on: “The only way to create truly sustainable health and social care services is by breaking the circle and offering prophylactic intervention.”
There are several partners attached to the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health, including universities in Congo, Somalia, Kenya, Malawi and Ethiopia.
“The collaboration enables us to create an environment for the exchange of knowledge and experience that will have a knock-on effect on other international partnerships,” she explains.
Innovation developed in Uganda now implemented in Sweden
Susanne Guidetti, professor of occupational therapy at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society has been involved in developing student and teacher exchanges between Makerere and KI since 2004. Back then, she had just come home from having lived with her family in Nairobi for a few years and was put straight in touch with Julius Kamwesiga, an affiliate of Makerere University.
The studies were conducted with Mulago National Specialised Hospital and gave the participants access to daily exercise with the help of their mobile phones. Stroke awareness is low in Uganda, where most people live in remote areas far from the nearest clinic.
“When we can work together to offer more people stroke rehabilitation, we give them a real possibility to live a better life,” Guidetti says. “After the project, one of the participants came up to me and said: ‘The surgeon helped me survive, but my contacts with the occupational therapist made life worth living again’.”
The study will now undergo a larger-scale follow-up in Uganda, and its findings have prompted further studies in Sweden.
“What made our study unique was that we brought knowledge and experience from Uganda to Sweden. Here, our innovation will make it possible to help stroke patients in remote parts of Sweden, too,” she says. “There are now several mobile phone-based rehab options, but in Uganda we helped to pioneer the technique.”
Today, Guidetti has an important part to play in the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health.
“Our project is a good example of how we can create an equivalent platform for sharing knowledge. Hopefully, we’ll be able to develop it further at the Centre and take new steps together towards sustainable health.”
The Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health enables not only the sharing of knowledge and experiences, but also the development and spread of innovations that can bring the goal of sustainable global health closer to being achieved. The knowledge and the network that the centre possesses make it easier for us to take on today’s pressing societal challenges together, not only in Sweden and Uganda but globally, too.
“We have an incredible amount to learn from each other,” says Professor Ottersen. “Let us be inspired by each other’s solutions, big and small, and together find more ways to tackle global health challenges. With the founding of the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health, our partnership takes the step from aid funding to being a true partner-driven collaboration.”
Agriculture & Environment
Makerere Hosts Inaugural Falling Walls Lab Competition as Innovators Pitch Solutions to National Challenges
Students and researchers from Makerere University and other institutions pitched 12 innovations addressing challenges in healthcare, clean energy, agriculture, waste management and community resilience during the inaugural Falling Walls Lab Kampala, held at the School of Public Health Auditorium, Makerere University.
The competition brought together emerging innovators to present solutions to practical challenges through a three minute pitch, followed by questions from a panel of judges.
Modelled on the Falling Walls format that originated in Berlin, the event required each participant to identify a “wall” a problem or barrier, and demonstrate how their innovation seeks to break it down.
Mudhasi wins with newborn jaundice screening device
Andrew Mudhasi of Makerere University emerged as the overall winner with a score of 90 per cent for a low cost medical device designed to improve newborn jaundice screening across different skin tones.
Mudhasi explained that the device uses optical sensor technology and a skin tone targeting algorithm to provide a rapid reading, with the aim of helping nurses and clinicians identify jaundice more efficiently.
During questions from the jury, Mudhasi said the device had not yet been tested on actual babies but had undergone laboratory testing using simulated skin tones.
He reported an accuracy rate of 94 per cent when the device was compared with laboratory spectrophotometers.
The innovation is intended initially for use in clinics and hospitals, with Mudhasi saying the team is also considering a version that could eventually allow mothers to screen babies at home.
Mudhasi’s innovation has previously received recognition at the African Business Concept Challenge and the iF Design Student Award, according to his presentation.
Rhonda’s innovation tackles diaper waste
Rhoda John of the University of Nairobi emerged in second place with 89.6 per cent for an innovation addressing the problem of used diaper waste.
Under the theme “Breaking the wall of diaper waste and drug soils,” Rhonda explained that her team extracts sodium polyacrylate, the absorbent polymer found in diapers, and replaces the sodium with potassium.
The resulting potassium based superabsorbent material is designed to act as a “water battery” in soil by absorbing and retaining water for plants during dry periods.
John said testing showed a 99 per cent increase in germination and a 23 per cent increase in drought resistance.
The innovation also seeks to reduce the amount of used diapers ending up in landfills and the environmental effects associated with their decomposition.
During the question and answer session, John explained that her team was working with government environmental officials in Nairobi on a pilot collection system to address the challenge of gathering used diapers at scale.
Mahera takes third place with herbal peptic ulcer treatment
Stuart Mahera of Makerere University finished third with 86.2 per cent for a herbal formulation targeting peptic ulcers.
Presenting under the theme “Breaking the wall of Nature and Modern Medicine,” Mahera argued that conventional treatment for peptic ulcers can involve multiple medicines and may be associated with side effects and antimicrobial resistance.
His proposed formulation, MARAC capsules, is intended as a monotherapy, combining properties required for peptic-ulcer treatment in a single capsule.
Mahera said his team had carried out quality control work, including characterisation and dose quantification, and had conducted preclinical trials on laboratory mice.
He also told the jury that an application had been submitted to the National Drug Authority as the team awaits the next stage of the regulatory process.
According to Mahera, the proposed seven day treatment would cost about Shs21,000, compared with the existing 14 day treatment approach.
Innovators present solutions to practical challenges
The remaining presentations covered a wide range of challenges.
Esther Nakungu of Utamu University presented Agri-Track, a digital record keeping solution intended to improve visibility, accountability and management of farm operations and financial information.
Dr. Jimmy Chachiga, a Makerere University participant, presented a solar photovoltaic cooker with a heat storage system designed to provide a cleaner and more reliable cooking option during both sunny and non sunny periods.
His presentation focused on reducing dependence on biomass fuels and addressing the challenges associated with intermittent solar energy.
Abdul Noor Luttamaguzi, a PhD student and senior government fisheries officer, presented a mobile application aimed at helping fish farmers and extension officers report, track and manage disease outbreaks.
Henry Duke Tamale presented a herbal cream targeting antibiotic resistant biofilm infections associated with diabetic foot ulcers.
Marvin Seruwu proposed adapting existing near infrared brain monitoring technology to help detect extra-axial brain bleeds in health facilities where access to CT and MRI equipment is limited.
His proposal seeks to repurpose existing technology towards a diagnostic need that could be particularly important in settings where advanced imaging facilities are not readily available.
Kennedy Kisame presented a poultry alert and diagnosis system combining satellite weather information with computer vision disease detection. The proposed system could be accessed through a smartphone application, SMS or USSD, making it potentially usable by farmers with limited internet access.
Frank Atwiine proposed a solar powered mobile diagnostic van designed to bring ultrasound and other diagnostic services closer to rural communities.
Johnson Makmot, a software and blockchain developer, presented a platform that combines GPS tracking and blockchain-based tokens to incentivise and verify plastic-waste collection in Kampala.
Dr. Nelson Ndugu, from a partner university, presented an artificial intelligence tool designed to translate agricultural research publications into local Ugandan languages and generate voice notes for radio-based extension delivery.
The final presentation came from Dr. Juliet Akola, a Ugandan post doctoral researcher at Mangosuthu University of Technology in South Africa.
Akola presented a community digital resilience initiative focused on mapping risks in Kampala’s informal settlements, including flooding, fire, poor sanitation, waste management and inadequate infrastructure.
Her proposal seeks to combine local community knowledge with geographical information systems and link identified risks to action plans involving municipalities and other stakeholders.
Nawangwe calls for more investment in innovation
Closing the event, Prof. Nawangwe congratulated all the participants and described their presentations as an important beginning for Makerere University, Uganda and the wider region.
Drawing on his experience attending the Falling Walls conference in Berlin, the Vice Chancellor said initiatives of this nature are important because innovation will play a major role in determining the future of countries.
He encouraged participants to make their pitches more precise by clearly identifying the problem they are addressing, explaining their proposed solution and demonstrating what they have already achieved.
Prof. Nawangwe also welcomed the participation of innovators from other universities and countries, noting that the Kampala event had attracted participants beyond Makerere.
He thanked the Africa Office of the Falling Walls Foundation for its role in bringing the initiative to Makerere and encouraged continued support for innovation.
The Vice Chancellor further linked innovation to Uganda’s growing youth population and the need to develop home-grown solutions to address challenges such as youth unemployment.
The inaugural Falling Walls Lab Kampala ultimately provided a platform for innovators to move ideas beyond the classroom and laboratory and demonstrate how research, technology and creativity can be applied to challenges affecting communities.
| Position | Winner | Institution | Score |
| 1st | Andrew Mudhasi | Makerere University | 90% |
| 2nd | Rhoda John | University of Nairobi | 89.6% |
| 3rd | Stuart Mahera | Makerere University | 86.2% |
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