When Arac Oscar was abducted in S.1 at Alito Secondary School in Kole District by the self-appointed ‘messiah’ of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)Joseph Kony, his world had come to an end. He could never believe that he could have any other opportunity to shape his future through education.
In those days, the spiritualist rebel group abducted thousands of children and adults to serve as porters and also fill the ranks of Kony’s Army.
We walk you his life journey of how he beat the odds to become today’s star. Born to the late Arac George and Esther Akello in April 1987, Oscar doesn’t have any memory of what his father looked like.
Dr. Rhoda Wanyenze, Professor and Dean MakSPH congratulates Arac Oscar on his first class. Photo-Davidson Ndyabahika
When he was born, he was told that his father passed on, shortly after his mother conceived; “My mother was 6 months pregnant. I wasn’t born yet and my father passed away. I am told he was a UPDF soldier who died at a rank of Sergeant. At that time, I am told that there was limited attention to photography in my village. As of today, I can’t figure out how he looked like”
He grew up under the care of his beloved maternal grandfather, the now late Mathias Obuku who stepped in to fill the father gap at Angwengotop village, Amuge Parish, Alito sub-county in Kole district.
His past, he says has shaped his view of life and influenced his life. In 1993, Osar Arac enrolled to Agoma Primary School where completed his Primary Leaving Examination and passed in 2nd division in 2001. He would later be admitted to Alito Secondary School where he studied for only one year but later transferred to Aculbanya Secondary School, also in Kole District in 2003 after the unfortunate abduction incident. He was here until 2005.
Arac recollects the ugly days of his childhood when he was abducted by the LRA when one day in the wee hours of the morning in June 2002 when they invaded his school, a few meters from his home and was abducted alongside other people he can’t recall.
At the age 13 then, Arac says his dream of ever going back to school had been shattered by the incident. It seemed mission impossible but kept patient and resilient until an opportunity presented itself for him to escape.
“I remember I had just turned 13 that year. My Guardian could not afford boarding fees. I, together with other colleagues rented a small room near the School to cut on the cost of living at the school dormitories. One night, the rebels invaded our school and took us along with them,” recalls Arac.
They trekked from Pajule via Pader district into the deep of the jungles. “This was horrific. I used to hear that the rebels would abduct people but had never witnessed. It was my turn. It felt like a dream but I realized I was under captivity when all my freedom was gone. I would spend almost every day of my three months in the bush crying. Sometimes I would fail to walk and they carry me on their shoulders in turns,” says Arac.
What kept him strong was the zeal for education he had. “Escaping from captivity was my priority and I badly wanted to go to back School,” says Arac.
Three months later, he says he, alongside other children were rescued by the UPDF soldiers when the rebel groups were attacked. Eventually, he was handed over to Red cross team which drove him to his home.
But he was living in fear of being abducted again by the rebels. At his tender age, he most times stayed awake in the nights in case the rebels came hunting for him.
This childhood experience however, would later torment his childhood life and subsequently affected his performance at School. But aware of his background, Arac says he knew the meaning of education and knew he would shape his future well only if he studied. He pursued his academics despite the numerous challenges along the way. In 2005 for instance, he passed his Ordinary Level Education with a 2nd Division grade at Aculbanya Secondary School.
He was then, admitted to a missionary School -Comboni College in Lira for his Advanced Level. He obtained 11 points in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Agriculture (PCB/A). These marks, earned him an admission to study a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Gulu University in 2008. This was however on Private and he could hardly raise any fees to pursue the course. He was told however that he would win a government slot if he went for a Certificate or Diploma in a tertiary institution.
In fact, his Uncle, Mr. Jasper Okello, an Environmental Health Officer in Otuke District inspired him to pursue a career by doing a Diploma of Environmental Health at Mbale School of Hygiene in 2008 which he enrolled, later graduating with a CGPA of 3.93 in 2010.
“I loved how he conducted himself. Changing the health status of the community he worked in made me love the course. When I joined the course, I found it unique because it was a course where you get field experience by engaging with communities, change their health behaviors and make them responsible for their health,” says Arac.
While at Mbale School of Hygiene, Arac says he juggled between work and studies. He obtained a job as a pump attendant “I faced a lot of financial challenges since I am the bread-winner in the family.”
Following his Diploma, Arac says he tried several job opportunities fruitlessly. He recalls the days he applied to work as a Health Inspector in Kole, Alebtong, and Otuke District but could not get a slot.
First Class graduands from the School of Public Health 2022. #Mak72ndGrad. Photo by Davidson Ndyabahika
After several unsuccessful attempts to get a job, Arac says a friend urged him to join the the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF), which at that time was recruiting health professionals and that is how he joined the Army in 2011. Upon completion of his training, he got deployed as a Health Inspector with the Chieftaincy of Medical Services under the Directorate of Public Health, UPDF.
In 2016, he was admitted to Makerere University but could not proceed with the the course because of financial calls. He applied again and in 2018, Arac was admitted on Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Public Health, Makerere University.
Being a privately sponsored student, it meant that he had to continue work to secure his tuition and fend family. “The course is so practical and it demanded almost all my personal time. But I pressed on. I am thankful to the UPDF family especially the Education Implementation Board for giving me an opportunity to study,” says Arac.
His inspirational quote is from Harriet Tubman; who once said ‘Every great dream begins with a dreamer.’ I am very excited that I am here as one of the best students,” says Arac.
Arach attributes his outstanding performance to teamwork, and not just an individual effort, a trait he has since learned from the forces.
Arac Oscar, First Class Graduand of the 72nd Graduation Ceremony from the Makerere University School of Public Health. Photo-Davidson Ndyabahika
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.
Every academic year, a new group of students enters Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) with different professional backgrounds, questions and ambitions. For the School, each cohort adds to a growing community of professionals and researchers shaping public health practice, policy and research in Uganda and beyond.
On Friday, 7 August 2026, MakSPH held its orientation for newly admitted students for the 2026/2027 academic year at the MakSPH Auditorium. The orientation introduced students to the School’s academic programmes, leadership, departments, academic administration, student support services and expectations for university life.
For this academic year, ending July 2027, Makerere University admitted more than 370 students to academic programmes hosted at MakSPH. The intake comprised 75 students in the Bachelor of Environmental Health Science, the School’s only bachelor’s programme, 277 across the nine master’s programmes, and 21 across the two doctoral programmes, PhD by Research and PhD by Coursework and Research.
Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze (centre) with MakSPH staff, student leaders and new students during orientation for the 2026/2027 academic year.
The master’s intake includes 103 students in the Master of Public Health by Distance Education, the highest enrolment for the year, followed by 59 in the Master of Public Health Full-Time. The remaining students joined programmes in Biostatistics, Environmental and Occupational Health, Health Informatics, Health Services Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, Nutrition, and Public Health Disaster Management. Together, the programmes reflect the breadth of knowledge and skills needed to address public health challenges and bring together students pursuing further training from diverse professional backgrounds.
Welcoming the new cohort, MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze urged students to approach their studies with purpose, discipline, and resilience, and focus on what they would be able to do with the knowledge and skills they acquire.
“Please find time to enjoy your journey. I know you’re looking ahead to exams and so many other pressures, but let this journey also be one that you enjoy in terms of what you learn and how you grow, so that you leave here better, not because of the paper that you took but because of the capability that you pick up during your time with us.”
MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze addresses new students at orientation for the 2026/2027 academic year, 7 August 2026, MakSPH Auditorium, urging them to value capability over paper.
The Dean’s message speaks to the different reasons students are beginning their journeys at MakSPH. For some, the opportunity is to build on professional experience and strengthen their capacity in roles they already hold. Among them is Dr. Judith Nalukwago, a dental surgeon, former 85th Vice Guild President of Makerere University, and Makindye Division III Lord Councillor, who serves as Executive Secretary for Education, Gender and Public Health at City Hall and the Office of the Lord Mayor.
“I am back here to study a Master’s in Public Health. I am very excited. I have a clinical background and have been practising as a clinician, and it has been a joyful experience. But when I joined the journey of leadership, there were challenges because, as Executive Secretary for Public Health in Kampala, we deal with everyday people’s health challenges,” said Dr. Nalukwago, adding:
“Now I am in management and leadership, and that posed a challenge to me as an individual. I asked myself, what course can I do to add to my skills? Where can I gain skills that can help me overcome this challenge while I am dealing with people? And I remembered that we have the School of Public Health at Makerere University.”
Watch: Dr. Judith Nalukwago on why she returned to MakSPH for a Master’s in Public Health:
Her experience during the Ebola response, when she served on the task force, further highlighted the need for broader public health knowledge. She said the training would strengthen her ability to contribute to policy and public health management, particularly in her role at City Hall, where councillors develop policies, bylaws, and ordinances.
For Mr. John Othieno, the motivation is similarly grounded in applying his training to practical problems. A Software Engineering graduate who previously completed a Master’s in Health Informatics at MakSPH, he has returned to pursue a PhD under the Department of Health Policy, Planning and Management. His research focuses on using technology and health informatics to address health-system challenges, including the adoption of picture archiving and communication systems for managing healthcare imaging and data. He said he wants his research to produce solutions that can be applied beyond academia.
“I purposed that, in my academic journey, I would not do research for the sake of having it gather dust on the shelves, but that it would actually be actionable research that can be translated into action, into solutions for our population,” he said.
Watch: Mr. John Othieno on why he returned to MakSPH to pursue a PhD in Public Health:
Nalukwago and Othieno reflect the diverse professional backgrounds that come together at MakSPH, where training, research, and community engagement have been central to the School’s work for over seven decades. Their journeys point to a sustained impact on public health education, seen not only in enrolment and graduate numbers but in the skills and expertise those graduates carry into policy, research, and health systems across Uganda and the region. At the close of the 2024/2025 academic year, MakSPH enrolled 1,140 students across 12 degree programmes, more than 90 percent of them in postgraduate training.
At Makerere University’s 76th Graduation Ceremony on 25 February 2026, MakSPH presented 231 graduates, comprising seven doctoral, 195 master’s and 29 bachelor’s graduates, adding to the health workforce within the region. Among the graduates was Dr. Harriet Aber, who completed her PhD on child substance use in Uganda’s health system and shared her experience with the new cohort during the orientation. She spoke candidly about the demands of postgraduate study and the need to remain positive through its challenges.
Dr. Harriet Aber, a MakSPH PhD graduate, shares her postgraduate journey with new students at orientation, 7 August 2026, MakSPH Auditorium, urging them to maintain a positive attitude through the challenges ahead.
“It’s not a rosy journey. You’re going to have so many moments where you celebrate, where you’re happy about something, but there are also several moments when maybe you’re stuck with the paper, you have to respond to comments, the proposal is not moving, the concept is not clear. Throughout all those processes, one of the things that you just have to maintain is having a positive attitude,” Aber affirmed.
Her experience offered the new cohort a glimpse of the journey ahead, while Prof. Wanyenze’s message focused on how they could make the most of it. The Dean urged students to plan ahead, pursue research opportunities, think independently, and use artificial intelligence responsibly, while seeking mentorship and making full use of the support and opportunities available at the School.
“Our students are our colleagues, and they are our future workmates. Many of them have ended up staying with us. And I know many of you are going to stay with us in the School,” the Dean said, urging students to take seriously the relationships they build with their classmates and faculty, because “we are a network that’s bound together in the same profession.”
General1 week ago
General1 week ago
Computing & IS1 week ago
General2 weeks ago
Business & Management1 week ago