Research
17 Postdoctoral Research Teams Mentored as SECA Project Winds up
SECA is an acronym for the Supporting Early-Career Academics Programme at Makerere University (2019-2022). SECA is the fifth “phase” of the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)’s support to Makerere, and follows in the steps of similar successful initiatives that date back to 1946 when the Corporation’s relations with Uganda started. On Thursday 12th January 2023, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) and SECA Chairman Project Implementation Committee (PIC), Prof. Umar Kakumba was joined by the Director, Directorate of Research and Graduate Training (DRGT), Prof. Edward Bbaale as well as Academic Registrar and SECA Project Coordinator, Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi to preside over the programme’s final dissemination workshop.
Held in the Telepresence Centre, Senate Building, the workshop accorded the opportunity to research teams to present and discuss their findings. SECA supported seventeen (17) Early-Career academics at Makerere University, eight (8) of whom were female and nine (9) male, to undertake postdoctoral research fellowships in their respective fields of specialty. Additionally, SECA supported professional skills enhancement courses, as well as tuition and research costs for seventeen (17) Masters students (7 female, 10 male) attached to the research teams.
Furthermore, SECA provided funds to fellows for writing and publication, supported mentorship and research team building, provided travel grants to international conferences, and supported fellows to disseminate their findings to academia, policy makers and the general public. To facilitate improvements in the university research environment, SECA provided access to a grant worth US$6,000 to each of the fellows’ host departments. Some of the activities undertaken using the grants included; conducting academic writing and dissemination workshops, holding symposia for PhD students and academic staff, development of academic programmes, renovating research infrastructure and acquiring equipment.
Delivering his remarks, Prof. Umar Kakumba congratulated both Prof. Buyinza and Prof. Bbaale upon their new appointments as Academic Registrar and Director DRGT respectively, and thanked them for contributing to SECA’s success. In the same breath, he recognized and introduced members of the PIC namely; Prof. Jesca Nakavuma, Prof. Nicholas Kiggundu, Dr. Pamela Khanakwa, Prof. Julius Kikooma and Dr. Euzobia Baine Mugisha and thanked them for the rigorous work done in reviewing applications by fellows.
“I wish to congratulate you the fellows. As part of the monitoring team for SECA, we visited what you were involved in and I must say that Makerere has great potential. We received close to 102 proposals, and selecting seventeen (17) was a huge task because every proposition was bankable and attuned to the relevance of our country” Prof. Kakumba remarked.
The DVCAA noted that all projects undertaken by fellows had the potential to co-create knowledge with the communities and respective sectors beyond SECA funding. He therefore called upon them to continue providing research leadership in their departments and communities. On this note, he appreciated the fellows for each mentoring a graduate student.
Prof. Kakumba equally acknowledged CCNY for the generous support accorded to Makerere and continually entrusting the University with various opportunities to enhance the research capacities of her staff. In this regard, he thanked the Mentors, Heads of Department and the PIC for ensuring that the fellows continued to perform well and compile their progressive reports on time. This feat, he acknowledged, has led to Makerere University securing a successor grant in line with SECA.
Addressing the fellows and audience, Prof. Bbaale paid tribute to his predecessor, Prof. Buyinza for his visionary leadership of DRGT that gave rise to initiatives such as SECA. “It is gratifying and heartwarming to have events of this nature that are in line with the research-led agenda of the University.
“Postdoctoral research is high quality research, which can go a long way in informing policy for societal transformation. We greatly value each of the projects you have undertaken and we are confident that they have the potential to contribute to the national development agenda. Therefore, we must bring on board targeted dissemination beyond this general dissemination” said Prof. Bbaale.
He explained that targeted dissemination is the gateway to different institutions of Government that are either users or potential users of policy recommendations and different projects that need to be scaled up across the country. Beyond SECA, Prof. Bbaale urged the fellows to form a cluster of researchers as a platform for continued collaboration and a multidisciplinary entity to compete for research grants.
“The world over, postdoctoral research is an engine that must propel the university into a research-led direction… As DRGT, we are soon going to propose a policy on postdoctoral degrees that will pave the way for different units to admit many more postdoctoral fellows” added Prof. Bbaale.
“Makerere’s strategic thinking in terms of research is informed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), National Vision 2040, African Charter 2063 and the Institutional Research Framework, which implies that we are running a coherent research agenda” said Prof. Buyinza as he commenced his remarks.
The Academic Registrar added that the realization of these aspirations is dependent on grooming a crop of critical thinkers who can contribute to the knowledge economy. He therefore expressed his gratitude at being able to participate in a number of phases of CCCNY’s support to Makerere, aimed at achieving this objective.
“I have been privileged to participate in the Next Generation of African Academics I, Next Generation of African Academics II, Nurturing Emerging Research Leaders through Post-Doctoral Training (NERLP) and Supporting Early-Career Academics (SECA), which we are closing today, and the successor consolidating the Supporting Early-Career Academics (SECA) programme” he explained.
Turning to SECA, Prof. Buyinza noted that the project was designed to expand Makerere’s community of research leaders and doctoral supervisors through four (4) specific objectives. These included;
- To consolidate the capacity of fellows to conduct quality research with appropriate mentorship at Makerere,
- To strengthen the enabling environment to encourage the retention of fellows at Makerere,
- To strengthen research management and research leadership capacity at Makerere, and
- To increase the capacity for scientific communication of research outputs into publicly accessible writing.
“We believe that we have built an integrated, institutionalized, research mentorship culture at this University because of our model of delivery of this project. It is a three-tier model consisting of the Senior who is the Mentor, the PI (Principal Investigator) who is the Early-Career fellow and the Masters student” said Prof. Buyinza.
He added that this architecture enabled the SECA team to build synergies between the different levels of research development and in so doing, ensure sustainability by institutionalizing mentorship. Prof. Buyinza therefore encouraged the fellows to continue posting their successes on the SECA portal and holding the lunchtime seminars in their departments.
“I want to believe that your skills have been enhanced, your vision to research has been touched beyond publishing an article to looking at the wider spectra of events that form you as a regional research leader. We want you to form a regional network so that together you can write research grants, supervise graduate students and influence the research agenda in the different countries” concluded Prof. Buyinza.
Details of the fellows and their research projects may be viewed in the table below.
| No. | Name | Unit | Project Title |
| 1. | Dr. Dhabangi Aggrey | Child Health and Development Centre (CHDC), CHS. | Hemolytic Disease of the New-born in Uganda: Burden and Clinical Characteristics |
| 2. | Dr. Edopu Nabuyungo Ritah | Department of Fine Art, MTSIFA, CEDAT. | Community Product Design Education for Improved Market Access. |
| 3. | Dr. Kabagenyi Allen | Department of Population Studies, CoBAMS. | Adolescent Motherhood, pre and postnatal New-born care practices, perceptions and barriers in Eastern Uganda (AMNEP). |
| 4. | Dr. Kambugu Robert | Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, CAES | Modeling of long-term development scenarios for plantation forestry and forest industries in Uganda. |
| 5. | Dr. Kavuma Namirembe Susan | Department of Policy and Development Economics, CoBAMS | Empirical Evaluation of Spatial Connectivity, Urban structure, Density and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Kampala. |
| 6. | Dr. Kindi Immanuel Fredrick | School of Women and Gender Studies, CHUSS. | Gender, Oil and Migration in the Albertine Graben Region, Uganda. |
| 7. | Dr. Mayanja Nanziri Maureen | Department of Bio-security, Ecosystem and Veterinary Public Health, CoVAB. | Ethnoveterinary Medicinal Plant Technology Information Pathways and Prospective for Sustained Usage among Transhumant Pastrolists in Karamoja. |
| 8. | Dr. Muhanguzi Denis | Department of Bio-molecular and Bio-Laboratory Sciences, CoVAB | Targeting hotspot villages to accelerate the eradication of Acute Sleeping Sickness (ASS) from Uganda. |
| 9. | Dr. Mwesigye Rutabatiina Abraham | Department of Forestry, Biodiversity and Tourism, CAES. | Epidemiological survey of populations exposed to heavy metals and trace elements from Mining activites in Uganda. A case study of Kilembe copper mine catchment. |
| 10. | Dr. Mwikirize Cosmas | Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering, CEDAT. | Efficacy of Deep Learning-aided Platform for Diagnosis of Breast Cancer using Ultrasound Images in the Ugandan Population. |
| 11. | Dr. Najjemba Harriet P. | Institute of Open Distance and E-learning, CEES. | Using Emerging Technologies to Capture and Disseminate Indigenous Agricultural Practices for Improved Food Production in Uganda: A case of Luweero District (INDIGRIC). |
| 12. | Dr. Nambi Rebecca | Department of Humanities and Language Education, CEES. | Supporting refugee access and participation in higher education: A case of Makerere University. |
| 13. | Dr. Nasirumbi B. Losira | School of Agricultural Sciences, CAES. | Intra-household gender dynamics and uptake of agricultural technologies for sustainable livelihoods in Uganda. |
| 14. | Dr. Semujju Brian | Department of Journalism and Communication, CHUSS. | Evaluating Digital Literacy to Create a Policy for Digital Media use at Makerere University. |
| 15. | Dr. Ssekuubwa Enock | Department of Forestry, Biodiversity and Tourism, CAES. | Enhancing the use of Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration for mitigating climate change, conserving biodiversity and improving livelihoods in Uganda’s Cattle Corridor (FMNR). |
| 16. | Dr. Tamale Andrew | Department of Wildlife and Aquatic Animal Resources, CoVAB. | Operationalization of Phages for Management of Bacterial Diseases in Fish Hatcheries |
| 17. | Dr. Zawedde Aminah | Ministry of ICT and National Guidance. Formerly CoCIS. | QATE: A Public Participatory Approach for Quality Assessment of e-Government Services to Enable Sustainable Development. |
Natural Sciences
From World’s Worst Water Weed to Worth: Makerere Researchers Turn Water Hyacinth into Valuable Products
For communities living along Uganda’s lakes and rivers, water hyacinth is more than an invasive weed. Its rapid spread can choke waterways, disrupt fishing and transportation, restrict access to water and interfere with livelihoods and essential community services.
But what has for years been viewed primarily as an environmental menace could also become a source of economic opportunity.
Turning an environmental challenge into an opportunity
Researchers at Makerere University, with support from the Government of Uganda through the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (MakRIF), have demonstrated how water hyacinth can be harvested and transformed into useful, value-added products through a small-scale community bio-refining approach.
Their project, titled “From World’s Worst Water Weed to Worth: Small-scale Community Bio-refining of Water Hyacinth to Produce Value-added Commercially Valuable Products,” sought to shift the focus from simply removing and disposing of the invasive plant to exploring opportunities for value addition, innovation and enterprise.
Led by Dr. Alice Nabatanzi from the Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology at the College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS), Makerere University, the research was inspired by the experiences of communities affected by water hyacinth, including residents of Katosi Ward in Mukono District, where the weed has had significant socio-ecological impacts.
According to a community assessment conducted as part of the research, 68.7% of the respondents reported extreme impacts on fishing, while 65.0% reported extreme impacts on water transport.
During community engagements, residents described how the proliferation of water hyacinth had blocked waterways, disrupted fishing and transportation, affected access to water and created significant challenges for household livelihoods. In some instances, obstructed waterways affected children’s access to essential services.
These experiences provided an important starting point for the research team.
Through different processing methods, the team successfully developed three products from the harvested biomass: a bio-fertilizer, briquettes, and biodegradable sanitary pads.
Water hyacinth transformed into bio-fertilizer
One of the products developed by the researchers was a bio-fertilizer made from water hyacinth biomass.
The process began with harvesting the weed from affected water bodies and shredding the biomass to facilitate processing. The researchers explored biological processing approaches, including composting, vermicomposting and anaerobic digestion, to break down the plant material and release its organic matter and nutrients.
Following processing and curing, the resulting material was developed into an organic soil amendment, providing a productive use for harvested water hyacinth while returning organic matter and nutrients to the soil.
Briquettes offer an alternative solid fuel
The project team also developed briquettes from water hyacinth biomass, demonstrating its potential as an alternative solid fuel.
The innovation could, with further research, development and appropriate commercialization pathways, contribute to community-based enterprises.
From water hyacinth fibre to biodegradable sanitary pads
Another distinctive innovation emerging from the research is a biodegradable sanitary pad.
To produce the absorbent material, researchers extracted cellulose-rich fibre from the petioles of water hyacinth and combined it with other locally available plant fibres, including banana fibre and papyrus.
The resulting plant-based material was incorporated into sanitary pads that were subsequently developed and tested to assess their performance as a menstrual hygiene product.
According to the research findings, the water-hyacinth-based pads demonstrated higher liquid absorption capacity and potential health and safety advantages compared with conventional pads. Their use of locally available plant fibres also offers potential to reduce production costs and improve accessibility.
Research generating scientific knowledge
In addition to developing value-added products, the project has generated scientific knowledge on the socio-ecological effects of water hyacinth on affected communities.
The research findings have been published in Scientific Reports, Springer Nature Journal, in a peer-reviewed paper by Nabatanzi, A., Nambejja, C. and Byarugaba, I. (2026) titled “Socio-ecological impacts of water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes (Mart) Solm) on livelihoods in Katosi Ward, Uganda.”
The study provides evidence of the impacts of water hyacinth on livelihoods, while the wider project demonstrates how the same invasive resource can be investigated as a potential source of useful products.
Other research outputs: Production of personal care and wellness products from different plant materials
Beyond their work on value-added products from water hyacinth, Dr. Alice Nabatanzi and her research team are also translating scientific research into a growing range of locally developed skincare, personal care and wellness products under AURENE AURA, a Ugandan innovation emerging from the Makerere University Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology (PMB) Product Development Hub.
Built around the integration of research, nature and innovation, AURENE AURA brings together botanical ingredients and formulation science to develop products designed for diverse skincare and personal wellness needs. The growing collection includes medicated acne-control bars, radiant and brightening soaps and lotions, hypoallergenic goat-milk cleansing bars, moisturizing shower gels, baby-care jelly, lip balms and lip gloss, liquid soaps and other personal-care formulations.
The portfolio also extends to fragrances and botanical perfume mists, herbal respiratory wellness products, and botanical teas and wellness blends, demonstrating the team’s efforts to explore the potential of locally sourced natural ingredients beyond conventional applications.
According to the team, the products are developed through a research-to-product process that involves identifying specific user needs, selecting appropriate botanical and active ingredients, formulation, testing, refinement and packaging. This approach seeks to combine the benefits of botanical ingredients with formulation science, product stability and user safety.
Research dissemination workshop
Dr. Nabatanzi and her research team presented the findings and innovations to the Makerere University community and key stakeholders during a research dissemination workshop held on 22nd September 2026 at the Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology.
The seminar provided a platform for the team to share the research outcomes, demonstrate the innovations and discuss pathways for translating the findings into practical solutions with environmental, social and economic value.
Remarks from the Chair, MakRIF
Representing the Chairperson of the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (MakRIF), Dr. Michael Owor commended the research team for moving beyond documenting the water hyacinth challenge to developing practical innovations with potential community and commercial applications.
He noted that the project exemplifies MakRIF’s mandate, established by the Government of Uganda to support research and innovation that responds to national development challenges.
“This project exemplifies that mandate by moving beyond describing the problem of water hyacinth to developing practical solutions that communities, enterprises and public institutions can potentially adopt,” he said.
He, however, noted that research findings and prototypes do not automatically translate into sustainable impact, stressing the need for stronger collaboration amongst stakeholders to advance product validation, safety, quality, affordability, regulatory compliance, intellectual property protection and market access.
He urged stakeholders to use the workshop to agree on concrete pathways for advancing the innovations, including further testing, standards development, community-based production, manufacturing and distribution partnerships, and resource mobilisation for scale-up.
Regarding the biodegradable sanitary pads, Dr. Owor stressed the need for sustained engagement with women and girls, schools, health professionals and relevant regulatory institutions to ensure that the product is safe, acceptable, affordable and responsive to the users’ needs.
He further challenged the research team to develop a clear post-project action plan.
“Dissemination should not mark the end of the project; it should serve as a transition from research findings to adoption, enterprise development and demonstrable community impact,” he said.
On behalf of the MakRIF Grants Management Committee, Dr. Owor appreciated the Government of Uganda for its continued investment in research and innovation through the MakRIF, and acknowledged the University Management for providing an enabling environment for the research.
He also recognized the contribution of the participating communities and stakeholders whose knowledge and experiences informed the project.
CoNAS: Turning knowledge into solutions for society – Remarks by the College leaders
On behalf of the Principal of the College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS), the Deputy Principal, Prof. Godwin Kakuba, congratulated Dr. Nabatanzi and her team on undertaking impactful, transformative and accessible research that demonstrates how a persistent environmental challenge can be turned into an opportunity for innovation, livelihoods and sustainable development.
Referring to the priorities of Uganda’s National Development Plan IV (NDP IV), Prof. Kakuba emphasized the importance of harnessing the country’s innovation capacity to drive socio-economic transformation. “Such research demonstrates how university-generated knowledge can contribute to addressing real-world environmental and socio-economic challenges.”
He commended Dr. Nabatanzi for involving communities and students in the research process, noting that such engagements strengthen the relevance of university research while providing students with practical opportunities to apply scientific knowledge to challenges affecting society. He further underscored the need to strengthen industry-academia partnerships to facilitate the translation of research findings into products and technologies that can be adopted.
Prof. Kakuba also linked the initiative to the principles of competency-based learning, noting that practical, problem-solving research equips students with skills beyond the classroom and prepares them to contribute meaningfully to national development.
He urged Dr. Nabatanzi and the research team to widely disseminate their findings to increase awareness, uptake and potential commercialisation of the innovations. He also called for increased support to enable the project to progress beyond research and product development towards further validation, refinement, scaling and potential adoption by communities and industry.
The Head of the Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology at CoNAS, Dr. Jamilu Ssenku, equally commended Dr. Nabatanzi and her team for undertaking impactful research that demonstrates the potential of science to address pressing environmental and socio-economic challenges. He noted that the project contributes to the department’s growing body of impactful research, which continues to generate practical solutions and innovations with relevance to communities, industry and national development.
MUTIC support
The Acting Manager of the Makerere University Technology and Innovation Centre (MUTIC), Prof. Michael Lubwama, commended the research team for its innovative approach to research and effective dissemination of the findings, noting that the project provides a valuable model that could be benchmarked by other research projects. He appreciated the contributions of the stakeholders, particularly the local communities whose participation was central to the success of the project. Prof. Lubwama further pledged MUTIC’s support in advancing the innovations towards product development, commercialization and wider community impact.
Innovation, commercialization and intellectual property
Ms. Esther Kabinga from the Makerere University Intellectual Property Management Office congratulated Dr. Nabatanzi and her team on the achievement and urged them to prioritise intellectual property protection as they advance the innovations towards wider use and commercialisation. She highlighted the need to formally register the innovations to safeguard them against unauthorised use, imitation and misappropriation, and pledged support in securing the necessary intellectual property rights.
Inspiring young women and advancing menstrual dignity
The Guild President of Makerere University, H.E. Gracious Kadondi, represented by the Guild Minister for Academic Affairs, Ms. Kalazani Neena Elsie, equally applauded Dr. Alice Nabatanzi and her research team for the achievements.
She particularly commended the development of biodegradable sanitary pads, noting that the innovation could help promote menstrual dignity among women and girls, especially those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Ms. Kalazani also described Dr. Nabatanzi’s achievement as an important source of inspiration for young women and students pursuing science and research. She called for greater involvement of students and young people in research and innovation, noting that such opportunities can nurture the next generation of scientists and innovators capable of developing solutions to challenges affecting their communities.
Communities at the centre of research impact
On behalf of the Najjembe community in Buikwe District, Ms. Nabukeera Sylvia expressed gratitude to Dr. Alice Nabatanzi, MakRIF, and the wider University community for the continued support extended to local communities through the Alice Mabira Foundation (AMAF) and other research initiatives undertaken in the area.
Ms. Nabukeera said the community had greatly benefited from Dr. Nabatanzi’s work and the support provided through the Alice Mabira Foundation, which she established to empower households to develop home-based enterprises and cottage industries. Through the Foundation, community members have gained practical skills in baking, processing food and medicinal products, and preserving and sustainably utilising important tree species.
She noted that these initiatives have enabled community members to turn knowledge and locally available resources into livelihood opportunities and solutions to everyday challenges, demonstrating the value of research that responds directly to community needs. She expressed gratitude to the researchers and partners for their continued engagement with the Najjembe Community and called for sustained collaboration to ensure that the innovations generated through university research continue to reach communities and create tangible social and economic benefits.
Future prospects
The research has laid the groundwork for transforming water hyacinth from an environmental challenge into a potential source of community enterprise and sustainable livelihoods through bio-refineries and circular bio-economies.
Moving the innovations from research to wider application will require collaboration among researchers, communities, government, industry and other stakeholders to refine the technologies, assess production and market opportunities, strengthen quality standards and establish pathways for scale-up and commercialisation.
Beyond the three products already developed, the research also opens opportunities for exploring additional value chains, including animal feed, crafts and other potentially marketable products, subject to further research to establish their safety, technical feasibility and economic viability.
If successfully scaled, the innovations could create new opportunities for employment, income generation and community enterprise, while contributing to the sustainable management of water hyacinth and the restoration of affected waterways.
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.
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