Health
Makerere & Johns Hopkins Universities Release Report on Speed and Helmet Use in Kampala
Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) and the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU) have launched the status summary report 2023; Road Risk Factors for Kampala, Uganda, in partnership with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and Vital Strategies.
The report was launched at Hotel Africana in Kampala on January 16, 2024. It delineates key findings, including the average speed of speeding vehicles at a high average of 57km/hr, higher speeds on roads partially accessible to pedestrians compared to roads freely accessible to pedestrians. Also, helmet usage remains low among motorcyclists and is almost non-existent among passengers, contributing to a rise in accidents and fatalities since 2020.
There has been a variable trend in the reported numbers of deaths and serious injuries since 2018. Specifically, in 2022, there was a 1% increase in reported deaths compared to 2021, while serious injuries witnessed a 4% decrease during the same period.
In 2018, a total of 294 death were recorded, 315 recorded in 2019 while 236 were recorded in 2020. In 2021, there were 419 road traffic death and 425 recorded in 2022. Motorcyclists accounted for nearly half (49%) of the reported deaths followed by pedestrians made up 44% of deaths. In a bid to improve road safety by providing quality data, the research the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) made roadside observations on speed and helmet use in Kampala City.
The researchers made six observation rounds citing 500,000 for speed and 600,000 cyclists to determine helmet use. The results, based on data collected between February 2021 and October 2023 indicate that the mean speed among speeding vehicles was high mostly among sport utility vehicles (SUVs) at 10%, sedans/saloons at 9%, minibuses/minivans at 8), and pickup/light trucks at 7%. Five percent of the observed vehicles were exceeding the posted speed limit.
Speeding in Kampala
Presenting findings, Mr. Bonny Balugaba, a Researcher based at the Trauma, Injuries and Trauma Unit of MakSPH noted that the international best practices for speed management recommend a safe speed of 30 km/h on roads where conflicts between cars and unprotected users are possible. Also, 50 km/h speed is recommended at intersections where side-on conflicts between cars may occur. This is particularly applicable in urban areas.
“If in Kampala we are seeing 57km/h speed, it means that we are way above the recommended speed limits and we know that beyond 40km/h, the chances of survival of someone that has been knocked are very minimal,” says Balugaba.
The researchers recommend enforcing a 50 km/h speed limit in metropolitan areas and a 30 km/h limit in places where motorized traffic interacts with bikes and pedestrians. In order to safeguard vulnerable road users, particularly the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Kampala Capital City Authority, it suggests implementing speed-calming techniques including bumps and signage as well as designating low-speed areas.
Investigators further advise the Kampala Metropolitan Traffic Police to increase enforcement, especially on local roads and on vehicles such as SUVs, sedans, pickup trucks, minibuses on routes with limited pedestrian access. It is recommended that public awareness campaigns and enforcement measures regarding the dangers of speeding be regularly monitored and evaluated to ensure continued efficacy.
Balugaba noted; “Mass media is good but if you are telling me the dangers of speed but am not apprehended on speed then it tends to entertainment. You come, entertain me with your campaign and adverts and go away but you are not enforcing.”
Helmet Use in Kampala
Helmet use compliance among motorcyclists was notably low at 39%, and even lower for passengers at 2%. This trend persisted on both local and collector roads (39%) and arterial roads (40%). During weekends, helmet use dropped by 20%. Ride-share motorcycle drivers, particularly Safe Boda, exhibited the highest compliance at 84%, surpassing commercial motorcycle drivers (50%), taxi drivers (55%), and private/government motorcycle users (55%).
From 2020 to 2022, 210 motorcycle occupants and 185 pedestrians lost their lives. Notably, 40% of pedestrian fatalities resulted from collisions with cars, SUVs, or pickups, whereas 36% of motorcycle deaths were attributed to accidents involving other motorcycles.
“We saw that only 2% of the motorcycles are using helmets. This really means that the situation is still bad. We need to put in place measures knowing that helmets save those that are wearing them,” says Balugaba.
Adding that while four of every 10 riders are wearing a helmet but less than one in every 10 passengers has a helmet. “is it that passengers have harder heads than riders? That in case they are involved in a crash, they don’t get affected? These are issues we need to work on.”
While sharing the data outcomes, Dr Raphael Awuah, the African Regional Advisor on Data and Surveillance for Vital Strategies notes that while many of the cities in Africa, pedestrians constitute the majority fatalities, this is different for Kampala. “For most parts of Africa, we see that pedestrians account for most fatalities. However, in Kampala, this is not the case. We see that majority of the deaths are among the motorcyclists and this trend has been observed since 2018. So clearly this emphasizes the need to prioritize the vulnerable road users in Kampala particularly motorcyclists and pedestrians.”
The top five locations for pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries from 2019 to 2022 are high-capacity roads: Kampala Road, Jinja Road, Bombo Road, Entebbe Road, and Masaka Road.
The distribution of motorcycle fatal crash locations does not exhibit any clear pattern, but there is a noticeable concentration on high-capacity highways. Kampala Road, Masaka Road, Bombo Road, Kisaasi Road, and the Northern Bypass are the top five places.
“While it is true that these are high capacity roads, speeding is probably one of the causes of fatalities. I hope we will use this data to inform the discussions, actions, plans, strategies to reduce the outcomes that I have just shared,” observed Dr Raphael Awuah.
The Kampala Metropolitan Traffic Police has been urged to increase the enforcement of proper helmet use, with a focus on passengers, taxis, and commercial motorbikes on arterial, local, and collector roads all week round. Also, KCCA and the Ministry of Works and Transport may want to start public awareness programs promoting the appropriate use of helmets and advocate for sanctions and fines for improper helmet wear in conjunction with coordinated increased enforcement.
“This is about behavioral change. It is extremely difficult. We are all humans. All of us know that speeding is bad for us but when we get behind the wheel, we will still try to speed. All of us know that wearing a helmet will protect our heads, but only 2% of us wear helmets when we are riding on a motorcycle. So what else is needed? Yes, knowledge is important, it is important to tell people why they should be putting on these helmets and the consequences they will face if they don’t wear them but it is also important to have reinforcing mechanism. Yes, mass media campaigns are important but equally important is visible and widespread enforcement,” explained Dr. Abdulgafoor Bachani, Director of JH-IIRU.
On his part, Dr. Fredrick Oporia said “Road safety is an issue of concern to everyone. To improve this safety, we must have high-quality data on the risk factors and share it with our stakeholders. Most importantly, we need local stakeholders who are charged with making laws and policies for the country because this is a systems issue that calls for systems thinking. We must involve the local to get the attention of the international.”
SP. Michael Kananura, spokesperson, Traffic and Road Safety Directorate, Uganda Police Force says there is a regulation on helmet use targeting not only riders but also passengers, although he acknowledges challenges with enforcement. He calls on the public support these public health and road safety measures.
“We really appreciate our colleagues from MakSPH and the rest for this work and the academia generally for the work you are doing in as far as research is concerned and also being able to share with us this data. We also use this data to improve in our enforcements. It guides us on areas of improvement and prioritization. The data really is so helpful to us and we also continue to work to see how we can improve in that area. We have a unit in traffic directorate that is for enforcement basically,” SP Kananura.
Comments from KCCA leadership
Hon. Kizza Hakim Sawula, the lord councilor from Lubaga and Executive Secretary and a Minister for Works and Physical Planning –KCCA noted that one of the causes of this these accidents in the capital city is the poor-quality roads that wear out easily with numerous potholes and the meagre maintenance budget appropriated by parliament to the city authority.
“Can you imagine that each kilometer of the road within Kampala is constructed at an average cost of 14 billion shillings. For the last three budgets, we were getting 78bn but but in the current budget, we received only 43 billion shillings for the entire capital, for the entire financial year for roads, drainages and traffic lights. How many kilometers are we looking at? 3 kilometers for a financial year, 43 billion shillings?
We used to get Shs26 billion from the national road fund, for road maintenance every financial year. You can confirm from the mayors and load counselors here. This time around, we received only 11 billion for all the maintenance. Now, what do we expect out of that money? So, the task is upon the members of the Parliament to improve on the budget. We have 2,110 kilometers of roads within Kampala. Only 654 kilometers are paved, when shall we complete the entire balance? So, we need a budget, enough budget from the members of parliament. When we talk to MPs they only talk about loans we get from development partners which is usually for new roads,” explained Hon. Sawula.
Concerned, Nakawa Division Mayor, Paul Mugambe said it was disheartening that many people continue to lose their lives prematurely. He cited that not every death is predetermined by the Lord. “Driving at excessively high speeds, and resulting in a crash is not the Lord’s decision. Many individuals lose their lives prematurely due to reckless behavior, and it’s truly regrettable.”
Mr. Mugambe urged Police to use the evidence provided to improve on the enforcement of road traffic laws and regulations.
Prof. Elizeus Rutebemberwa, the Deputy Dean, MakSPH thanked the Bloomberg Philanthilopies “for supporting us to help ourselves” and the JH-IIRU for the technical support to the TRIAD unit, the university and many partners. He also noted that the urban population in Uganda is steadily increasing and called for proactive and inclusive urban planning.
“From 2012, the urban population was 20%. In 2022, which is one year and a half ago, it was 26%. So, one in four people in Uganda were in urban areas. Now in 2040 it is estimated that 33 million would be living in urban areas and that would be 46%. So, it’s not getting better, it’s getting worse. So, we need to manage our urban areas so that people don’t shift from the rural areas to come to die in urban areas,” said Prof. Rutebemberwa.
He called on government and the city authority to fast-track mass transport systems to reduce congestion on the roads. “Look at the traffic that come to Kampala. They are in private cars and each one is carrying one person. In very few cases, two people. Now, if you have all those cars for one kilometre stretch, you could actually park all those people in one bus. And you have all space and you reduce the pollution, why should this be difficult for people to know that. For you to have an organized urban area, you need mass transport. You don’t need to research to know that. So why don’t we have them? Some of these things, some of them we talked about in the national drive, dedicated walk lanes.
According to Becky Bavinger, from the public health area of Bloomberg Philanthropies, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for people aged 5 to 29. She mentioned that the fatalities from road traffic are at a crisis level in Uganda.
“I want to say this again. This is the leading cause of death. It’s not HIV. It’s not tuberculosis. It’s real traffic injuries for people aged 5 to 29. Those are the young people. We had the mayor talking about the economic impact as well. These are young people going to school, getting trained, coming back into your workforce, starting out in the workforce, and you’re losing their lives. There’s a forthcoming research from the Road Safety Coalition Uganda looking at the loss of GDP from road traffic injuries. In 2017, your government reported 3,500 deaths. The WHO estimated it was double that at about 6,000. It has gone up. In 2021, your government reported 4,159 deaths. Again, the WHO estimated it was about double that at 7,300. This is not good. This is a crisis and we need everyone working together on it,” Ms. Bavinger said.
She noted that Bloomberg Philanthropies will be working over these next two years with KCCA and with the government of Uganda to institutionalize data collection and the surveillance of road traffic injuries and deaths to improve its accuracy.
“These data are critical to forming your decision making. I just want to conclude by saying congratulations to Makerere University, to Johns Hopkins University, but ultimately to KCCA for launching this report, for conducting this research and this is not easy research to conduct. To the stakeholders, use these data. Please, please do not go home and put this report on your shelf. Look through it. Talk to the journalist. Get the media to write stories about this, let everyone know what is happening,” said Bavinger.
Kampala, 11 November 2025 —Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Joint Medical Stores (JMS) have launched a project to boost Uganda’s health supply chain. Backed by the Gates Foundation, it aims to improve emergency deliveries and use data to ensure lasting resilience.
The intervention began on Thursday, 6 November, with the flag-off of emergency distribution of medicines and health supplies at JMS in Nsambya. Under a sub-award from MakSPH, JMS is leading warehousing, distribution, redistribution of essential commodities, reverse logistics, and technical support to health facilities, including digital training for over 1,100 facilities in the Integrated Online Ordering System. The operation aims to deliver USAID-supplied medicines that had remained in storage since donor support was suspended earlier this year, preventing expiry and restoring last-mile delivery across the country.
Building on this, MakSPH convened a stakeholder consultative workshop on Monday, 10 November, at Kabira Country Club to guide the research component of the initiative. Officials from the Ministry of Health, development partners, and health logistics experts reviewed the scope of a new study on strategic analytics to strengthen a sustainable and resilient health supply chain. The consultation focused on refining research questions to ensure alignment with national priorities and stakeholder needs.
Dr. Suzanne Kiwanuka, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Health Policy, Planning, and Management (HPPM), stressed the need for practical, evidence-based collaboration.
“Our commitment is to make sure that whatever evidence we generate is useful. We want perspectives on governance, implementation, and the frontline, because when the supply chain isn’t functioning, a lot goes wrong,” said Prof. Kiwanuka.
The Ministry of Health has welcomed ongoing support from partners to stabilise the supply chain.
“I want to draw attention back to our 10-year health supply chain roadmap. Despite disruptions, we made important milestones in the first five years, and with support from Makerere University School of Public Health and the Gates Foundation, we are now focused on understanding challenges and building a resilient, sustainable supply chain,” said Dr. Ajulong Martha Grace, Assistant Commissioner, Pharmaceutical Supply Chain and Logistics.
Over the past decade, Uganda’s health supply chain has made steady progress under the 10-Year Roadmap for Health Supply Chain Self-Reliance (2021/22–2031/32), which sets out a vision for a self-reliant, efficient, and transparent system that ensures uninterrupted access to essential medicines. Efforts have focused on increasing financing, digitising logistics, strengthening local manufacturing, and expanding infrastructure.
Despite these gains, the system remains vulnerable. Limited financing, capacity gaps at subnational levels, and poor commodity reporting have contributed to stockouts and wastage. Heavy reliance on donor support, compounded with back-to-back shocks, has left Uganda’s health system exposed to shocks, such as the recent suspension of USAID support, which disrupted last-mile delivery to over 530 private not-for-profit health facilities.
Commodities worth more than UGX 79 billion have remained in storage, risking expiry and could potentially reverse service delivery gains. The Gates Foundation’s support comes at a critical moment to stabilise last-mile distribution while generating analytics to address deeper structural challenges.
“Before these financial disruptions, our public sector supply chain was already under intense pressure to meet rising last-mile demands. The current challenges are a critical opportunity to address long-standing bottlenecks, improve delivery of essential medicines, strengthen real-time monitoring, and build a more sustainable health system in Uganda,” said Timothy Musila, a Health Policy, Planning and Financing Specialist.
MakSPH, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, will carry out Strategic Systems Analytics to strengthen Uganda’s supply chain. The research will examine financing gaps, fiscal space, operational inefficiencies, and performance at the subnational and last-mile levels. This co-created evidence generation will also identify opportunities for sustainable financing and efficiency gains to reduce reliance on external aid and to guide reforms that ensure that essential medicines and products remain accessible to all Ugandans.
This work is spearheaded by Professor Rhoda Wanyenze, as the Principal Investigator, and Associate Professor Suzanne Kiwanuka, the Co-Principal Investigator/Research Technical Lead on the Makerere University side. Dr. Charles Olaro, Director General of Health Services at the Ministry of Health, is the focal person on a five-member steering committee overseeing the implementation. The team includes Pamela Achii, Procurement and Supply Chain Management Specialist at the Ministry, and Mr. Timothy Musila.
Health
JASH2025 wraps with the 23rd Matthew Lukwiya Memorial Lecture and Kampala Declaration Statement
The 19th Joint Annual Scientific Health Conference (JASH) and Inaugural National Annual Communicable and Non-Communicable Conference (NACNDC) held at Speke Resort Munyonyo ended on Friday 7th November, 2025 with the 23rd Matthew Lukwiya Memorial Lecture and a Kampala Declaration Statement.
The joint conference that began on 3rd November, 2025 themed, ‘Unified Action Against Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases’ was organised by Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS), Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) and Ministry of Health (MoH). The meeting brought together representatives from Central Government, Ministry of Health, academia, civil society, local governments, private sector, development partners, professional associations, local governments and communities.
Kampala Declaration Statement
Dr. David Musoke, Assoc. Professor at MakSPH who was Co-Chair of the Organising Committee delivered the Kampala Declaration which defined the priorities/commitments of the delegates from the dialogue at the conference.
The declaration highlighted the background of setting the priorities as thus: 1. Uganda’s dual disease burden from communicable diseases (CDs) alongside the growing rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). 2. The biological, social and clinical intersections between CDs and NCDs, which compete for limited resources. 3. Threats posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR), climate-sensitive diseases, zoonotic spillovers, and emergency outbreaks such as Ebola, COVID-19, and Marburg. 4. Uganda’s commitment to Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the Africa CDC’s New Public Health Order, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the International Health Regulations (IHR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). 5. The integration of health services at facility level continues to face challenges due to high patient-to-health worker ratios and inadequate infrastructure, which impede the delivery of comprehensive, timely, and quality healthcare services;
Emphasizing the need to involve all stakeholders—including from education, agriculture, environment, engineering, urban planning, gender, as well as community and religious leaders, and others—in the fight against communicable and non-communicable diseases; 6. The persistent challenges in access to healthcare across the country due to delays in diagnosis and treatment-seeking, and emphasizing the urgent need to strengthen early detection, ensure timely access to quality healthcare, and enhance community awareness about prompt medical attention; 7. Protection and promotion of human rights are fundamental to ensuring health, dignity, and well-being for all citizens, as these rights form the foundation of equitable access to quality healthcare services; 8. The global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), now causing an estimated 700,000 deaths annually, and recognizing its strong link to self-medication, poor diagnostic capacity, and weak public health interventions; 9. Health policies and investments have focused more on curative than preventive care, underscoring the need to reinstate a strong prevention-oriented approach; 10. Many Ugandans remain inadequately informed about health issues affecting them and their role in promoting health within their communities; 11. Rapid industrialization, urbanization, and lifestyle changes are significantly contributing to the rising burden of NCDs;
The Kampala Declaration was presented as a shared call to action, a platform for sustained collaboration, and a blueprint for strengthening integrated and equitable health systems. The declaration is premised on the following priorities:
- Multisectoral Collaboration and One Health Approach: Affirmation of the requirement for involvement of the whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach to accelerate disease prevention, health promotion, and self-care through evidence-based awareness.
- Integrated, People-Centered Disease Prevention and Care: The urgent need to focus on people, not diseases, using a life-course approach and strengthening integrated service delivery across CDs and NCDs at all levels.
- Strengthened Data, Research, and Policy Translation: Recognition of the importance of timely, interoperable, and disaggregated data to inform policy, financing, and implementation decisions. In addition, commit to collaboration between academic institutions, policymakers, CSOs, and community influencers to bridge the gap between research and practice.
- Financing: Commit to advocate for increased domestic financing to progressively reduce dependence on external aid, ensuring predictable and sustainable resources for integrated disease prevention and care. Promote efficiency and accountability in health spending by strengthening budget tracking, performance-based financing, and public financial management systems. Support innovative financing mechanisms, including public-private partnerships, social health insurance, and community-based financing schemes to expand coverage and affordability.
Specific calls were directed to the various stakeholders respective to their mandates and roles.
Government of Uganda and the Ministry of Health: To accelerate implementation of integrated strategic plans for CDs, NCDs, and epidemic preparedness under a unified health systems approach; Institutionalize NACNDC–JASH as the official Annual Integrated National Health platform for disease dialogue and innovation, co-led by the Ministry of Health and academia; Mobilize domestic and international financing to strengthen primary healthcare, laboratory networks, and community systems; Enforce laws and policies aimed at preventing and controlling substance abuse nationwide.
Academia: Generate policy-relevant evidence and drive innovation in diagnostics, surveillance, and culturally appropriate care; Establish multidisciplinary working groups to connect research, clinical practice, and policy; Train health professionals in integrated, competency-based, and future-ready approaches; Create innovation hubs and partnerships linking academia, communities, and industry to co-develop scalable, people-centred solutions; Leverage technology and innovation to effectively address CDs and NCDs; and Prioritize locally led research focused on Uganda’s health realities, including NCDs, CDs, mental health, and climate-linked risks.
Development Partners and Donors: Align technical and financial support with Uganda’s integrated disease control priorities; Support the development of a national research agenda driven by local health needs; Strengthen health system resilience, digital transformation, and community-led interventions; and promote regional knowledge sharing, South-South collaboration, and local manufacturing of diagnostics and medicines.
Private Sector and Civil Society: Engage in public-private partnerships to expand access to diagnostics, care, and innovation; Champion community-responsive models for disease prevention; rehabilitation, and continuity of care; Strengthen advocacy, accountability, and public education through multimedia and grassroots platforms; Raise public awareness on mental health, sickle cell disease, asthma, and diabetes, integrating these services into primary care and reducing stigma and discrimination.
In view of the background, priorities and expected action from the stakeholders as highlighted above, the declaration also endorsed the development and dissemination of: a National Integrated Disease Control Strategy, informed by best practices and policy dialogues from this conference; a Multisectoral Action Framework guiding collaboration among health, education, agriculture, environment, and finance sectors; A Monitoring Mechanism to track implementation and institutionalize annual
reporting on disease integration; and the continuation of joint annual NACNDC and JASH conferences to sustain momentum.
Setting the Pace
Through the conference, keynote speakers delivered addresses which set pace for the dialogue by participants at the conference.
Dr. Queen Dube, Lead – Newborn Programme Implementation, Policies and Standards at the World Health Organisation (WHO), Geneva and Co-Chair of Every Woman, Every Newborn (EWENE) Country Implementation Group highlighted the reasons for rising disease burden of NCDs across sub-Saharan Africa including industrialization and urbanization; shifting dietary patterns; improved means of transport and communication which converts to less movement.
Dr. Dube noted that, the poorer one is, the higher the risk of one dying due to an illness either through communicable or non-communicable diseases. She stressed the importance for a unified action against diseases as opposed to fragmentations or silos by different working groups of various diseases. Duplication of efforts spreads thin the available resources, yet more efficiency and effectiveness could be enjoyed, she added.
Her call for action was, ‘health is interconnected, our response must be to; collaboration saves lives; and together, we can build a healthier, more resilent world’.
Delivering his keynote speech on the final day of the conference, Prof. Francis Omaswa, Founder and Director – African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST) reminded the delegates that, ‘it is up-to us to achieve our goals provided we commit to do what is expected of us in the best possible way’.
He questioned why Africa continues to lag behind in the global health indices considering the professionals present on the continent. ‘Inclusiveness, equity and working together is the way forward’, he advised.
Prof. Omaswa reminded the delegates that Uganda in particular achieved in areas like HIV/AIDS control, therefore the means we used then must be employed in fighting communicable and non-communicable diseases. He heighted that, some of the means included leadership at all levels, working together, for monitoring and reporting, engagement of youth through the means they respond to among others.
‘Let no one go to sleep, each one of us is a leader at our levels of responsibility and we must make sure that there is coordination and supportive supervision within the health system’, Prof. Omaswa reiterated.
In his keynote speech, Dr. David Serwadda, a Professor in the Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health at MakSPH reminded researchers and academia the importance of their work to disease prevention and control. He stressed that the link between research and implementation is critical for a unified action, and there bridging the gap must be intentional.
23rd Dr. Matthew Lukwiya Memorial Lecture
Dr. Matthew Lukwiya is remembered for his leadership and selflessness as a Ugandan physician at the forefront during the Ebola virus disease outbreak in Uganda in 2000 until de succumbed to the disease. He was the supervisor at St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor, outside Gulu City, Uganda; Gulu district was an epicentre of the disease at the time.
As has been the case at the previous JASH conferences, the 23rd edition of the Matthew Lukwiya Memorial Lecture was held on the final day of the conference, themed, “Identified Critical Gaps in the Response to Outbreaks”.
The session convened leading scientists, policymakers, community and health professionals to reflect on lessons learnt from past epidemics and chart strategies for stronger preparedness, response and resilience across the health system.
The Way forward
At the end of the meeting, delegates were advised that information from the meeting will be shared through a link on the MakSPH website and abstracts will be published as well.
Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, Dean-MakSPH who also represented Prof. Bruce Kirenga, Principal-MakCHS thanked all participants for attending the dual conference and willingness to share information in support of integrating to improve Uganda’ Health System. She also thanked the organising committee and partners for the support leading to a successful conference.
‘What is it that touched you at this conference, what are the takeaways and I implore you to reflect on the discussions and create a change. This is not business as usual and let us make change.’, the Dean said.
Prof. Wanyenze handed the baton to the School of Medicine who will work with the MoH in organising the conference in 2026.
Closing by the Permanent Secretary
The conference was officially closed by Dr. Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary-MoH. She highlighted five points for all of us to remember as takeaway from the dialogue.
- All of us should innovate solutions for the challenges before us including innovative leadership. Uganda’s population growth remains high and the resources are not growing at same rate therefore challenges will continue to arise therefore innovation is necessary.
- Inculcate a culture and mindset change and remember health change begins with each of us.
- Integrate not verticalization because it is the right thing to do, leads to efficiency and gives results.
- As government continues to explore means of resource mobilisation, smart investments in high impact activities and priorities are critical.
- Call upon all of us, to implement the resolutions reached.
She thanked all stakeholders for the contributions made towards success of the conference.
The two-day 2nd Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Health Africa Conference that kicked off today in the Main Hall, Makerere University has been described as not being about technology but about people – the vulnerable communities bearing the burden of infectious diseases and other health challenges – and the promise AI holds as a panacea. Officially opened by Hon. Dr. Monica Musenero, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation the conference will be held under the theme “Setting AI for Sustainable and Inclusive Health Systems in Africa”.
Africa Must Enter the ‘Evil Forest’
In her now characteristic style of speaking from the heart, Hon. Dr. Musenero observed that Africa has from the first industrial revolution to the current fourth and impending fifth industrial revolutions experienced emotions ranging from non-recognition, rejection and skepticism to the current consumption with awe. This current emotion, though receptive unlike previous ones, continues to position Africa at a disadvantage economically, she noted.
“We are positioning ourselves to disadvantage in skill; we have positioned ourselves at the consumption end and we’ve stood in awe of this technology,” she observed, using the example of the amount of admiration a user who whips out the latest iPhone 17 attracts from those around them. “We respect you for your iPhone 17, but I would be happier if you were able to design and manufacture iPhone 5” intimated Hon. Dr. Musenero.
The Minister urged fellow scientists to wake up to the realization that the future of Africa lies in their hands. “We can no longer be passive participants, we can no longer reside on the shallow end of science; we must be willing, as I said when I was here last week, to enter the ‘evil forest’”.
The ‘evil forest’ is Hon. Dr. Musenero’s analogy of Africa’s perception of current technology ecosystem drawing parallels with scenes often dramatized by Nigerian Movies. She notes that though depicted in these movies as scary and potentially dangerous, the ‘evil forest’ is loaded with hidden treasures, necessitating resilience and wisdom for one to navigate the pitfalls until they discover the treasure trove. Upon discovery, the value of this treasure has the potential to turn around the fortunes of the family, community or entire kingdom. Entering the ‘evil forest’ therefore, is her way of encouraging scientists to go beyond adapting imported technology for local use to understanding how it works enough to develop homegrown solutions.
Building AI Capacity through Synergy
Representing the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Academic Registrar, Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi concurred with Hon. Dr. Musenero that Uganda needs to accelerate investment capacity in AI, if it is to be used as tool to manage health challenges. He nevertheless underlined the steps Makerere has undertaken to close the gaps by hosting units such as the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI), AI and Health Lab, Innovation Pod, while working with various partners.
“We want to renew our commitment that we shall continue to translate our research findings into service delivery and products that improve the livelihoods of our people,” pledged Prof. Buyinza, who also noted that this will be undertaken within institutional ethical guidelines and policies, bolstered by good practices and recommendations arising from the conference.
Taking cognizance of contributions of various partners to strides made so far, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Dr. Aminah Zawedde who was represented by Mr. Ambrose Ruyooka, the Ministry’s Head of Department of Research and Development, thanked the Makerere University AI Health Lab, IDI, Health AI for All Network, the Research and Innovation Fund, the African Population and Health Research Centre, and the Mastercard Foundation for convening the second edition of the conference.
“This year’s theme aligns perfectly with Uganda’s digital transformation vision. It reminds us that while innovation is powerful, true progress lies in ensuring it is equitable, ethical, locally relevant, and accessible to all” read Dr. Zawedde’s remarks.
She noted that when used responsibly, AI empowers healthcare workers to do more with greater precision and efficiency while extending services to under-served communities, essentially amplifying their impact whilst preserving the essential human touch that defines care. Dr. Zawedde reiterated the Government of Uganda’s commitment to positioning AI as a catalyst for national development and improved service delivery through the national AI governance framework. “By the end of 2025, we expect to reach a decision on whether to adopt a comprehensive AI policy or a flexible, sector-led regulatory approach.”
Referring to projects already underway at the College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS), the Principal, Prof. Tonny Oyana underscored the great promise AI holds for not only improving affordability but also diagnosis of disease. He nevertheless called for targeted investment in data centres so as to build the required capacity to process the large amount of data that AI thrives on.
The Executive Director IDI and conference Co-Chair, Dr. Andrew Kambugu described the conference timing as “impeccable”. Citing a recently convened conference on Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases that discussed Universal Health Coverage, he shared “there are people in this country who are one step away from disaster because of health.”
He therefore paid tribute to his conference Co-Chair, Dr. Rose Nakasi, whose AI-automation work with the light microscope, one of game-changing inventions in human medicine to-date, has improved precision, accuracy and efficiency in diagnosis of malaria, tuberculosis and cancer in healthcare facilities. Dr. Kambugu therefore urged his audience to always be eager to learn about the capabilities game changing tools such as AlphaFold.
“Our African Centre of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Data Intensive Science (ACE) in collaboration with CoCIS has been one of the first trainers of AlphaFold in Africa” remarked Dr. Kambugu. He added that the to ensure inclusive training ACE has attracted funding to support the She Data Science (SHEDS) project, an initiative that offers MSc and PhD fellowships to Ugandan women in the fields of data science and bioinformatics, with a strong emphasis on health data.
How Ocular is shaping healthcare
Conference Co-Chair and Principal Investigator of Ocular, Dr. Rose Nakasi noted that their project that aims at empowering healthcare professionals with AI-powered microscopy was motivated by the fact that wrong diagnoses have a cascading effect on prescription, treatment, recommendation and surveillance services. “Where health practitioners have been taking 30 minutes or more to diagnose malaria, and days to diagnose cancers, we are slashing down that time to literally 5 seconds to diagnose and make a recommendation.” She added.
Dr. Nakasi added that beyond diagnosis, the Ocular project is supporting the Ministry of Health with more precise surveillance and monitoring of diseases by quicker augmentation of information for faster roll-out of interventions as opposed to current weekly or monthly reporting period required by the Digital Health Information System (DHIS 2).
“The beauty about AI is that it has the capability not to just learn with one dataset but also provide insights on different pieces of data – for diseases such as malaria where climate has an effect, we want to integrate climate datasets and seasonality aspects so that interventions by Government are timely and targeted to specific locations.”
Beyond the plenary sessions, the 2nd AI in Health Africa Conference will feature abstract presentations, a Makerere AI Health Lab Showcase, Breakout Sessions, Workshops, Masterclasses and a hackathon for prototypes developed during the conference. Please see downloads for a detailed concept and programme.
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