Research
Mak-RIF Inaugurates New Grants Management Committee Members
By Harriet Adong
On Wednesday August 3rd, 2022, Makerere University’s Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Henry Alinaitwe presided over the inauguration of the new Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF) Grants Management Committee (GMC) Members. Prof. Alinaitwe was representing Makerere University’s Vice Chancellor; Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe at this engagement. The engagement took place at the Mak-RIF gardens; Quarry Road Plot 70, Makerere University. It was attended by the Mak-RIF Grants Management Committee Members including Prof. Umar Kakumba, Makerere University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor In-Charge of Academic Affairs, Head and Staff of the Makerere University Grants Administration and Management Support Unit, Directorate of Research and Graduate Training and Mak-RIF staff.
The New Mak-RIF GMC Members include the following;
| 1. | Prof. Fred Masagazi Masaazi | Chairperson |
| 2. | Dr. Sabrina Bakeera Kitaka | Vice – Chair Person |
| 3. | Assoc-Prof. Isa Kabenge | Member |
| 4. | Dr. Zahara Nampewo | Member |
| 5. | Prof. Frank Mwiine | Member |
| 6. | Dr. Robert Wamala | Member |
| 7. | Dr. Roy Mayega William | Member |
| 8. | Dr. Michael Owor | Member |
| 9. | Dr. Stephen Wandera | Member |
| 10. | Dr. Mercy Amiyo | Member |
| 11. | Dr. Hellen Nkabala | Member |
| 12. | Dr. Dorothy Kabagaju Okello | Member |
| 13. | Dr. Eddy Walakira | Member |
| 14. | Prof. Umar Kakumba | Member |
| 15. | Mr. Yusuf Kiranda | Member |
Prof. Masagazi Masaazi, Mak-RIF Chairperson welcomed all participants to the engagement noting that Mak-RIF is now implementing Year 4 activities and throughout the period, several achievements had been registered. He said, among these achievements was the fact that;
- Multidisciplinary stakeholders had been and have continued to be engaged by the Mak-RIF Secretariat, researchers and innovators.
- Many groups of individuals including faculty and students had benefited from Capacity Building sessions on Research Project Management, Finance and Administration, Accountability, Communication, Dissemination including Policy and Knowledge Briefs development, Intellectual Property Rights acquisition processes among others.
- In addition, currently over 700 multidisciplinary research and innovation projects are being funded and supported by the Government of the republic of Uganda through Mak-RIF. “Join me to sincerely thank the Government of the Republic of Uganda for funding research and innovations at Makerere University. This funding has yielded spillover effects since the researchers and innovators partner with individuals in and from other institutions including Universities, Ministries, Community Based Organizations and Private Sector among others”, Prof. Masagazi said.
- He also noted that the Mak-RIF round 4 call for proposals attracted 296 applications and these had been cleaned and sent out to a pool of multidisciplinary internal and external reviewers.
Prof. Henry Alinaitwe, Ag. Deputy Vice Chancellor In-Charge of Finance and Administration at Makerere University speaking on behalf of the Vice Chancellor thanked the new GMC members for accepting to serve and thanked the formerly serving members for a job well done. He also thanked the Government of the Republic of Uganda for the continued support noting that it is such initiatives like Mak-RIF which are contributing to Makerere University’s efforts to move towards being research led university. He also thanked Prof. William Bazeyo, the former Mak-RIF Chairperson (even if he was not part of this engagement) for diligently serving Makerere University, other institutions and Uganda. He noted that Prof. Bazeyo’s commitment to looking out for resources to support research, innovations and other aspects of the university and country at large were immensely felt and cannot go unrecognized. He also thanked the University Management for creating and ensuring that there is an enabling environment for research and innovations to flourish at Makerere University.
He noted that to-date, it is fulfilling that no funds or resources have disappeared or have not been accounted for. Indeed, the activities of the Mak-RIF GMC and Secretariat help in galvanizing Makerere University towards research led university. In addition to this, the knowledge generation and transfer happening plus the partnerships created and being created as a result of Mak-RIF cannot go un mentioned. “Thank you, colleagues at Mak-RIF, for contributing to products, processes among others to positively impact our communities” he added.
Prof. Alinaitwe also said, “Now that you are in your own home and enjoying a good working environment, we urge you to succinctly think about commercialization of the research and innovation outputs from the ongoing work. You should also pay keen attention to accountability related issues and ensure to account both physically with tangible outputs and otherwise. In addition to this, please work together with the team at DRGT to secure patents for the products coming out of this good work”. He once again congratulated the Mak-RIF leadership and staff for acquiring a befitting home which also houses the Makerere University Grants Administration and Management Support Unit.
To the incoming Mak-RIF GMC members, he said “I urge you to serve diligently, remain transparent at all times and ensure that all stakeholders are satisfied with what we are doing as a university.
To the outgoing Mak-RIF GMC members, Prof. Alinaitwe said “Please do not shy away from taking on more and other responsibilities including assignments once you are called upon. You did so well and the university relies heavily on efforts and abilities like yours. Thank you so much for offering yourselves to serve when you were called upon to do so”.
The incoming GMC members then took on the oath committing to serve without fear and favor and calling upon God to help them.
“We wish all the new Mak-RIF GMC Members the very best as they embark on serving humanity and we are grateful to all the previously serving GMC Members for the work well done” noted Prof. Fred Masagazi Masaazi, Mak-RIF Chairperson.
More photos are shared on https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BBm3g6mOHbQ-Lq0zl7Nevv41RbdobQdf
Uganda must strengthen the systems that move university research beyond prototypes and publications into policies, public services, products and enterprises that improve people’s lives, Hon. Eng. Jonard Asiimwe Akiiki, Minister in charge of Science, Technology and Innovation in the Office of the President (STI-OP), has said.
He made the call during a visit to Makerere University School of Public Health on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, as part of his wider engagement with Makerere University’s research and innovation ecosystem. Accompanied by University Management, led by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Minister met researchers presenting work across major public health priorities before touring the School’s new building.
Hon. Eng. Asiimwe linked the challenge to Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy, which targets expanding the country’s GDP from nearly USD 50 billion in 2023 to USD 500 billion by 2040. He argued that science, technology and innovation must help deliver that ambition by raising productivity, improving public services and creating viable enterprises.
“The Tenfold Growth Strategy will not be achieved by one particular project alone,” he stated. “It will be achieved when science, technology and innovation repeatedly raise the productivity and incomes of millions of ordinary people.”
The work presented at MakSPH showed how public health research can contribute to that ambition by shaping clinical guidance and national policy, strengthening systems that improve services and protect population health, and advancing technologies towards wider testing and adoption.
One such example was the PURPOSE 1 study, a 2022–2024 trial that evaluated Gilead Sciences’ twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir for HIV prevention among adolescent girls and young women. Prof. Noah Kiwanuka served as Site Principal Investigator for MakSPH’s work at Makerere-Kalangala site through the UVRI-IAVI collaboration. The trial recorded no HIV infections among participants who received lenacapavir, contributing evidence that informed regulatory decisions and WHO’s 2025 recommendation of the drug as an additional HIV prevention option.
In maternal and newborn health, MakSPH’s Centre of Excellence for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health recently partnered with St. Francis Hospital Nsambya to establish Uganda’s first human milk bank and generate evidence on the safe use of pasteurised donor milk. The work has now contributed to Uganda’s first National Donor Human Milk Guidelines and provides a model that other hospitals could adopt.
The exhibition also showed how university expertise can strengthen national systems. Through the Monitoring and Evaluation Technical Support (METS) Programme, MakSPH worked with the Ministry of Health for more than 15 years to develop and support platforms for health reporting, disease surveillance and programme management. The U.S. CDC funded the programme through PEPFAR, providing US$103.8 million across three five-year grants. In March 2026, MakSPH transitioned 16 digital health systems developed through METS, together with their supporting infrastructure, to Ministry of Health stewardship.
Makerere University School of Public Health Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze said the School embeds teaching and research within communities, health facilities and public institutions through its “Public Health School Without Walls” model, designing research around the problems it must address and the value it can create.
“For us, translation is not alien. It is where we start when designing our research,” Prof. Wanyenze noted. “We examine what drives ill health and what we can do to solve the problem. As we consider translation and commercialisation, we must define how scientific impact grows into societal impact and track that contribution through health outcomes and economic growth.”
That approach informs VectorCam, an artificial intelligence-enabled smartphone tool that MakSPH is evaluating in Mayuge and Adjumani districts. It enables community health workers to identify mosquitoes by species, sex and feeding status, generating faster data for malaria-control decisions. Prof. Peter Waiswa serves as Uganda Principal Investigator for the Gates Foundation-funded project, which MakSPH implements with Johns Hopkins University. The partners plan to extend it to 22 districts and assess its performance under routine conditions in 12.
Watch how VectorCam uses a smartphone and artificial intelligence to identify mosquitoes and strengthen malaria surveillance:
The School’s national survey work also demonstrates local capacity to generate evidence for policy. Uganda launched the 2024–2025 Uganda Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (UPHIA) in May 2025 with support from the U.S. Government and technical leadership from MakSPH. The Ministry of Health expects to release the findings on 1 October 2026, providing updated evidence on HIV prevalence, new infections, viral suppression, service coverage and associated risk behaviours to guide the country’s future HIV response.
The School also led Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA) Uganda, a nationally representative platform that generated recurring evidence on contraceptive use, access and service quality. Working with the Ministry of Health and other partners, it enabled Uganda to track change, identify persistent gaps and guide family-planning policy and investment.
This combination of evidence generation and local capacity gives practical expression to Makerere University’s Strategic Plan 2025–2030, launched in July 2026, which seeks to build a sustainable, research-led and responsive university. During a visit to MakSPH on 18 June 2026, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe described the School as a model of that institutional direction.
“I think the School of Public Health is the perfect example of what a research-led unit should be,” Prof. Nawangwe said. “You are really showing the way for the rest of the University and what we should be as a research-led university.”
The work supports priorities under Uganda’s Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), including stronger health research, innovation and uptake of locally generated solutions. Speaking at a public dialogue on health financing jointly organised by MakSPH and partners in April 2026, Prof. Nawangwe said Makerere attracts more than UGX 1 trillion into Uganda annually through research and urged the Government to increase support for the University’s national role.
Today, the Government allocates about UGX 25 billion annually through theMakerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF) to support research and innovation across Makerere. Beyond Mak-RIF, it recently contributed UGX 14 billion to the construction of the new MakSPH building. Work began in 2020 and remains on course for completion in December 2026.
The facility will expand space for teaching, research, laboratories and collaboration. The School’s next infrastructure priority is a specialised environmental health laboratory to investigate health risks associated with air, water, food and other environmental exposures.
Through STI-OP, the Government also supports the NUTRIMEAL Project. Dr Barbara Eva Kirunda leads the project, which brings together MakSPH and Makerere University’s School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bioengineering to develop a non-dairy probiotic beverage from locally available finger millet and beetroot for people living with HIV. The team will test its safety and effects on immune and nutritional outcomes among 432 participants.
Hon. Eng. Asiimwe placed that support within a longer pathway from research to use. He said developing and testing an innovation represent only part of the journey and called for stronger systems to move viable innovations into policy, public services, products and enterprises.
“Every innovation should be able to name its user, define the problem it solves and show the value it creates,” he said. “We should move beyond saying, ‘We developed a prototype,’ to showing who uses it, who manufactures it, how it reaches the market and how it will grow.”
Reaching that point requires the capacity to generate and test evidence, alongside collaboration among universities, government and industry in validation, standards, intellectual property, financing, manufacturing, procurement and public trust.
Public health research creates value not only through commercial products but also evidence that changes policy, strengthens surveillance, improves clinical practice and guides national programmes. The challenge now is to move the strongest research into use and turn it into better services, greater productivity and healthier lives, all essential to Uganda’s tenfold growth ambition.
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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