Health
Makerere University to showcase Evidence-based Research in Parenting
By Agnes Namaganda
On Thursday 22nd February 2024, Makerere University will hold a symposium to showcase the evidence-based research that has been undertaken in the field of parenting for over 10 years. This symposium will run under the theme, Promoting Child Health by Addressing Parenting and Family Disparities. This will take place from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Yusuf Lule Central Teaching Facility; Makerere University main campus.
Speaking about the symposium, Dr. Godfrey Siu, the Principal Investigator of the program that will host this symposium remarked that, “We are very happy and excited to hold the symposium because we have an opportunity to showcase our work and to share the policy implications with our stakeholders. There are so many stakeholders who know our work and appreciate it for example the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, as well as other NGOs. The University community, in particular, has not had a great interaction with our work and so we would like to bring the symposium to the university so we can inform them about what is happening in the area of parenting research.”
Dr. Siu is a Senior Lecturer at the Child Health and Development Centre (CHDC) which is in the School of Medicine within the College of Health Sciences. He heads the Families, Parenting and Children’s Health Program at CHDC. In collaboration with her partners, CHDC has been working on the development, evaluation and scaling up of parenting programmes through five main projects;
- Parenting for Respectability (PfR) Project (2013 – 2022): The main goal of this project was the prevention of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and child maltreatment.
- Parenting Agenda Initiative (2019 -2022): The main goal here was to provide a national platform for stakeholders to shape the country’s parenting policy priorities.
- Global Parenting Initiative-Digitalization of the PfR programme: This program is providing free, evidence-based parenting support to every parent, everywhere.
- Going to Scale Project (2023-2026): investing in institutional capacity and systems to support the ongoing standardization of the Ugandan parenting landscape.
- PfR scaling up in Kenya and Tanzania (2017-2025): The goal here is to build capacity of over 50 parenting partners working in clusters in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
Dr. Siu called upon the wider university community to attend the symposium for an experience about what CHDC is doing. He said; “This is a great opportunity and we will be happy to see people from the university community including top leaders, researchers and students. We want to showcase this work and we want to give an opportunity to those who share similar research interests within the College of Health Sciences and other colleges to look at what we can do together.” He also appreciated the collaborators including funders operating in the country and outside the country, that have supported this research.
CHDC will hold three other subsequent symposia after this for three consecutive months. The Centre has another program, Technology and Child Health Program, that will also showcase its work in the month of March under the Program Lead, Dr. Herbert Muyinda. The Health Systems Strengthening Programme whose Principal Investigator is Dr. Arthur Mpimbaza will hold the third symposium in the month of April. The last symposium will be hosted by Dr. Anthony Batte and Dr. Aggrey Dhabangi who head the Non-Communicable Diseases among Children Programme at CHDC.
Funding for this activity has been enabled by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. This funding was directed through the Directorate of Research and Graduate Training under the “Consolidating Early-career Academics Programme (CECAP, 2022-2024) at MaK and partner public universities. Dr. Mpimbaza who is a Senior Lecturer at CHDC is a Post Doc Fellow on this grant, through which this CHDC departmental strengthening sub-grant was awarded
About Child Health and Development Centre
To ensure efficiency, the research activities are organized under six research programmes as outlined below;
- Health Systems Strengthening
- Families, Parenting & Child Health
- Non-Communicable Diseases among Children
- Technology and Child Health
- Capacity Building & Training
- Early Childhood Development & Health Outcomes
The Centre currently has a number of research grants in different domains of health research and training. The main areas of focus include disease surveillance – HIV and AIDS, malaria, parenting and child protection, health technology, and knowledge transfer.
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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