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In Memory and Honor of Professor John Tuhe Kakitahi’s illustrious legacy | 16-02-1940 to 15-05-2024

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Professor John Tuhe Kakitahi, a luminary in the field of public health nutrition has left an indelible mark on the landscape of healthcare in Uganda and beyond. At the age of 84, Professor Kakitahi was called to heaven this morning at Mulago Hospital. 

Today, we celebrate a man who from his early career years, demonstrated exceptional intellect, clinical acumen, passion and complete dedication to combating hunger, malnutrition and human suffering. Throughout his tenure at Institute of Public Health (IPH), Dr. Kakitahi’s contributions were manifold. He in addition to teaching and mentorship conducted field investigations and community outreaches to improve human nutrition and maternal-child health. Kakitahi’s contribution and influence in nutrition transcended borders, as he represented Uganda with distinction at various international forums. 

As a lecturer and public health nutritionist, Prof. Kakitahi established and headed Mwana mugimu nutrition center in Mulago hospital in the 1990s. Mwanamujimu became pivotal in treating kwashiorkor aided by support from Rotary International. He later established additional nutritional units and sites throughout Uganda.

In 2008, he served as Deputy Principal of the Makerere University College of Health Sciences.

Celebrating the life of Professor John Tuhe Kakitahi 16th February 1940 - 15th May 2024. Director, Institute of Public Health, Makerere University (1988-1991). Kampala Uganda, East Africa.
Celebrating the life of Professor John Tuhe Kakitahi 16th February 1940 – 15th May 2024. Director, Institute of Public Health, Makerere University (1988-1991).


But Who was Kakitahi? 

Prof. John Tuhe Kakitahi was born on February 16, 1940. His university appointment came in March 1973. Now, picture Dr. Kakitahi as a hardworking, intellectual house surgeon with clinical acumen who was a good clinician, pediatrician, researcher, and nutritionist. In the early years of his career at the Department of Preventive Medicine, he collaborated with individuals such as the late Prof. Suleiman Jabir Farsey and Professor Joseph Sekyala Winter Lutwama (RIP), who was the first African to hold the title of Head of the Department of Preventive Medicine. The individuals he collaborated with provided an accurate portrayal of his character.

From 1948 until 1958, Dr. Kakitahi studied primary education at Kigezi High School. He studied Secondary O’Level at Busoga College Mwiri from 1957 to 1961 and ‘A’ level at Kings College Budo from 1962 to 1963. In 1964, he attended Makerere University and earned an MBChB in 1970.

Kakitahi was Senior Casualty Officer in New Mulago Hospital’s Casualty Department for 1.5 years before enrolling in IPH’s Diploma Course in Public Health. He managed department operations and provided emergency patient treatment. The Senior House Officer position at Mulago Hospital was Dr. Kakitahi’s first job after his internship. For 1.5 years, he oversaw casualty department patient care and administration. He also managed the Nurses Health Unit for a similar time, exhibiting his healthcare administration versatility and dedication.

Kakitahi also ran a Nutritional Rehabilitation Clinic at Kasangati Health Centre, providing critical services to the community. He also helped the Pediatrics Department in managing the Old Mulago Hospital’s Nutrition Ward. He intensively treated acutely malnourished children, contributing significantly to their care and recovery.

In 1968-1969, he worked in the Lymphoma treatment center and Solid Tumor Centre during school breaks. He took part in research on chemotherapy treatment for cancer patients as well.

Using his medical background, he joined the Institute of Public Health (IPH) in 1972 and earned a Diploma in Public Health in 1973. 

In 1973, he joined Makerere University Service as an IPH Lecturer. He passionately taught human nutrition to undergraduate and postgraduate students, particularly Diploma in Public Health students, as part of the Maternal Child Health and Nutrition teaching programme. His focus was on MCH field investigations, particularly the Ankole PPP.

On July 1, 1977, Dr. Kakitahi became a senior lecturer. Later, for 45 days, Dr. Kakitahi replaced Dr. Kakande as IPH director on June 22, 1987. He was sitting in for the then director, Professor Namboze, who was on a special assignment for the Health Policy Review Commission. On August 1, 1984, he was appointed as an Associate Professor at the Institute of Public Health. On September 18, 1989, Dr. Kakitahi assumed the position of Head of the Institute of Public Health for a two-year term.

Dr. Kakitahi’s remarkable journey is interwoven with stories of dedication, expertise, and significant impact. As a young medical practitioner, he worked as a Medical Officer at Makerere Students Health Centre for several months in 1973, shortly after being hired as a Lecturer at IPH, where he laid the groundwork for the transformation of the then-Sickbay into the current University Hospital. Dr. Kakitahi pursued excellence by finishing his MSc in Nutrition at Cambridge on a WHO scholarship from 1974 to 1976. His abilities and commitment made him a well-known member of the Uganda Medical Association and the British Nutrition Society, both of which promote health locally and globally.

In 1977, he successfully represented Uganda at the 27th WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo. This was the first of several significant appointments, including leading the Mwanamugimu Nutrition Unit in 1980 and representing Uganda at international gatherings such as the Inter-Country Nutrition Workshop in Gaborone, Botswana, and the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Accra, Ghana, and Libreville, Gabon.

In May 1985, he accompanied the Minister of Health to the 38th World Health Assembly, where Uganda demonstrated its commitment to global health and nutrition programmes. In 1991, he organised Kampala’s first public discussion on Urban Health, Environment, and Health, solidifying his reputation as a community and occupational health visionary.

Throughout his career, Dr. Kakitahi provided expert consultancy services to the Food and Agriculture Organization and participated in numerous nutrition review missions aimed at combating hunger and malnutrition. These missions, organized by WHO, UNICEF, and other organizations, took place in countries such as Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Seychelles, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Lesotho as part of the Nutrition and Human Resources for Health Mission.

Dr. Kakitahi and his Role in Establishing the Mwana mugimu nutrition center

Mwana mugimu nutrition center was set up with support from Rotary International. Rotary International recognized it as the best nutritional unit in the East African region, and was related to the Save the Children Fund, which provided administrative and financial support. This support in the 1990s led to the establishment of similar nutritional units and sites throughout the country. Later, Princess Royal Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise visited the programme and recognised it as a successful Save the Children programme.

Mwanamugimu has its roots in a Luganda proverb (Mwanamugimu ava ku ngozi) that means “A healthy child comes from a healthy mother.”

In Uganda in the 1970s and 1980s, Dr. John Kakitahi led nutritional work. After treating children for severe acute malnutrition without success, Dr. Kakitahi, like many Ugandan doctors, became passionate about prevention. Kakitahi, like Prof. Namboze, left pediatrics early to study public health at the Makerere University Institute of Public Health, now known as the School of Public Health. When Amin’s repression and violence against Ugandans escalated in 1973, they recruited Kakitahi as a lecturer, and he took over the MRC Unit after Roger Whitehead and Paget Stanfield left.

Whitehead, the MRC’s senior scientist under Dean Stanfield, was instrumental in Mwanamugimu and its extension to the Luteete Health Center. Whitehead and other MRC Unit researchers were first skeptical of the Mwanamugimu program, but its public health ethic shaped their thinking and approach.

Whitehead and Stanfield, codirectors of the unit, initiated a research program to reframe nutrition as a science and practice of health promotion, influenced by Mwanamugimu’s hybrid public health model.

They renamed the MRC facility the Child Nutrition Unit, omitting “infantile” and “malnutrition,” and announced a longitudinal nutritional health study for rural village children during the unit’s extension opening on July 17, 1969, by the then-Deputy Minister of Health, Mr. S. W. Uringi.

Kakitahi struggled to run the unit without knowing the study program or how to get basic biochemical test reagents. Few medical supplies and the difficulties of fixing equipment and getting replacement parts prevented the MRC from continuing to operate as a research institution. Whitehead and the Dunn Nutrition Unit at Cambridge (which Whitehead then directed) helped Kakitahi travel abroad for nutrition training, escape the rising violence temporarily. After finishing his training in 1976, Kakitahi “plucked some courage and came back” to Uganda and took over the Mwanamugimu Unit.

Kakitahi kept the unit running with his personal vehicle and what he could spare from his increasingly meager salary, and he and Latimer Musoke, who had taken over as Chair of Pediatrics after Stanfield’s departure, launched a program to train public health workers and extend the Mwanamugimu program’s preventive promise to rural areas.

Kakitahi’s return from Cambridge coincided with the huge increase in violence when Israel attacked Uganda’s main airport at Entebbe. A Tel Aviv-Paris flight was hijacked in June 1976 and diverted to Entebbe with Amin’s consent. In a predawn raid a week later, Israeli forces rescued the hostages and killed the hijackers and twenty of Amin’s men.

Mwanamugimu promoted health and welfare in Amin’s Uganda during a medical shortage. The amazing endurance of the Mwanamugimu initiative illustrates what is often lost in simplistic stereotypes depicting Africa as a continent in crisis. Mwanamugimu’s growth throughout Uganda’s darkest hour demonstrates the need of long-term public health programming and biomedical knowledge. Musoke and Kakitahi were graduates of East Africa’s top medical and educational schools and were able to use their skills to do well in their periods of uncertainty. Kakitahi was one of a generation of medical students trained to increase Ugandan physician population. Mwanamugimu’s modest infrastructure, technology, and a flexible framework made it a local program that could survive resource constraints.

Kakitahi and his colleagues, in collaboration with village health workers, also known as “Ssalango,” conducted door-to-door visits in a specific area to provide community members with information, support, and essential medical care. Ssalango, who commenced working at the Luteete Health Centre in 1978, stated that one of their primary responsibilities was to identify children exhibiting stunted growth. Ssalango and other community health experts educated mothers and guardians on malnutrition and how to assess nutritional status using arm circumference. Similar to the significant women who received training at Mwanamugimu, they instructed individuals on how to prepare kitobero in their own homes using ingredients that were readily available and commonly used in their daily meals. In addition to this early intervention, community health workers were in a favourable position to do follow-up visits to prevent slightly malnourished children from progressing towards “kwashiorkor.”

Kakitahi and Latimer Musoke showed what long-term infrastructure and knowledge can do by expanding on prior public health programming and medical services. Kakitahi revitalized Mwanamugimu and expanded the nutrition scout program after Amin. Funding was needed to rebuild facilities, restore the Nutrition Rehabilitation Program, and boost outreach. In 1983, Rotary International awarded Kakitahi a $245,000 “Health, Hunger and Humanity” grant to reinstate all parts of the central Mwanamugimu Unit in Mulago, including medical training, and begin the “second phase.” The second phase revived nutritional initiatives at Kayunga, Luteete, and Kasangati satellites. It was projected they served 650,000 people by 1984.

Kakitahi then established outreach initiatives at health centers in Mbale, Jinja, Bugembe, Kitovu, Ibanda, Kabale, Kisoro, and Gulu, which required an intermediate owing to Northern insecurity. Mwanamugimu Nutrition Services, a national program founded by Kakitahi, was based on these eleven satellites.

Kakitahi envisioned a public health programme to boost the health of a new national population. A Rotary International delegation visited Uganda in 1985 and was so impressed with the program and its local reception that the organization made a rare exception to their one-time financing policy. Kakitahi assumed this was Rotary International’s last grant and stretched this second disbursement over three years. After Rotary International returned in 1987, another exception and grant were provided, bringing the total support to $980,000 from 1983 to 1992.50 Despite political turmoil, Kakitahi restored and expanded Mwanamugimu Nutrition Services.

Kakitahi, who had been trying to expand Mwanamugimu nutrition programs to remote regions, became “frustrated” when he could no longer secure funds in the early 1990s due to the IMF and World Bank’s Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs). After realizing he “didn’t have any money to continue,” WHO colleagues urged Kakitahi to create a health worker training program for newly independent Namibia. Uganda’s nutritional programming changed when Kakitahi left in dissatisfaction over structural adjustment’s lack of resources.

According to several observers, Ugandans regarded their national health system as “the demoralization of health workers” since many left when structural transformation proved difficult. Through Amin and the Bush War, Kakitahi stayed in Uganda.

Jennifer Tappan, a historian of Global Health in Africa and author of The Riddle of Malnutrition: The Long Arc of Biomedical and Public Health, calls John Kakitahi and his colleagues, Latimer Musoke, Ssalango, and Gladys Stokes, “awe-inspiring.”

Because of biomedical knowledge, competence, and infrastructure—the underpinnings of a national health system—Mwanamugimu survived. Thus, Mwanamugimu could become a fully local project, which, along with its clear worth, explains its amazing resilience.

Professor Tappan notes that “Kakitahi, his colleagues, and the influencers who kept Mwanamugimu alive illustrate the return on long-term investments in national systems of medical provision, which can then serve as the foundation for flexible and resilient public health programming, programming that can promote health and wellbeing in ways that increase rather than undermine sovereignty and the right to health that all people deserve.”

​Compiled by Communications Office -MakSPH

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Directorate of Graduate Training Completes Training of First Cohort Training of Supervisors

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By Moses Lutaaya

The Directorate of Graduate Training (DGT) has in collaboration with Centre for Teaching and Learning completed the training of the first cohort of Graduate Supervisors.

Participants were academic staff from two colleges namely, College of Engineering, Art and Design (CEDAT) and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES).

The three-day training that took place at the Telepresence Centre, Senate Building ended on Friday 20thJune 2025.

In his closing remarks to the participants, the Director of Graduate Training Prof. Julius Kikooma said, “This is the first cohort we are working together with the Center for Teaching and Learning to put together continuous professional development Program so that we are able to enforce the new teaching and learning policy.”

He said that before lecturers are allocated students for supervision, they must first go through this form of formal teaching and learning training to equip them thoroughly with certification required of supervision of graduate students.

“We are coming up with process to ensure that the certificates earned by participants allow you to supervise graduate students. This is the direction of the university and we must ensure that such trainings are concluded and completed successfully by all participants”, Prof. Kikooma.

Prof. Julius Kikooma – Director of Graduate Training

“We can only have you certified upon completing all the exercises in the training process. This is when you will be eligible to receive the work load for supervision”, He added.

“This training of Supervisors is going to be continuous so that all academic staff in colleges and schools are equipped. This first cohort is going to be our building block to the future trainings in the colleges.”

With such capacity building trainings, Prof. Kikooma said that the university is on the right path to achieving its targets in the new strategic plan of increasing the number of graduate students while progressively reducing the under graduate students.

He further hinted that, “We are in the process of writing a curriculum on this, which will be presented for approval before it is rolled out.”

He echoed all participants to share the knowledge they have acquired adding, “Share all you have learnt, do not keep it. Be open minded, have proper communication channels and the sky will be the limit for you.” 

Dr. Robinah N. Kulabako, The Head of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at CEDAT welcomed the training adding, “This training is very pertinent. I have had the opportunity to supervise Masters and PhD students for over 15 years and I must say that the need to be subjected to this training cannot be over emphasized because there is need to learn, unlearn and relearn many aspects involved in the supervision process.”

She added, “We are moving towards knowledge-based supervision rather than experience-based supervision. This means we must be informed and equipped to be able to advise, guide and mentor to be able to lead a successful supervision journey for both supervisor and supervisee.”

Dr. Andrew Gilbert Were – a lecturer at CEDAT and a participant said, “It is important that all supervisors of graduate students receive this certification from Makerere University through a systematic training process that enables them to attain diverse skills to facilitate learning of graduate students from diverse cultures and with unique set of circumstances.”

“This training is long overdue. In fact, it was an oversight that we could be allowed to supervise students without undergoing supervisors’ training.”

Dr. Dorothy Ssebowa, The Director Centre for Teaching and Learning support- CEES said, “The training this time round has had a mix of early career professionals including Lecturers, Supervisors and Professors share experiences. We have learnt a lot more from experienced supervisors who have shared practices on how they have done supervision over the years.”

“The knowledge and experience-based approaches have made this collaboration very active, interactive and learner centered which has resulted into a collaborative learning from the interdisciplinarity of staff from CEDAT and CAES. The issue now is to continue with professional development across all levels.” She added.

The Makerere University Directorate of Graduate Training (DGT) in collaboration with the Centre for Teaching and Learning completed the training of the first cohort of Graduate Supervisors. This activity was supported by the iCARTA – Institutionalization of Advanced Research Training in Africa, a NORHED II Project at Makerere University.

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CEDAT’s Department of Architecture to Undergo Major Studio Refurbishment with Industry Support

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R-L: Arch. Kenneth Ssemwogerere (Head of Department, Architecture), Dr. Kizito Maria Kasule (Deputy Principal, CEDAT), and Mr. Kayongo Daniel (Plascon Uganda National Sales Manager) during the official handover of a donation at the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), Makerere University, on Tuesday, 25th June 2025.

The Department of Architecture at Makerere University’s College of Engineering, Design, Art, and Technology (CEDAT) is set to begin a significant refurbishment of its design studios starting 1st July 2025. This initiative marks a pivotal step in enhancing the learning environment for architecture students and fostering innovation in design education.

The refurbishment project has received a significant boost from Kansai Placon Uganda Limited, which donated UGX 15 million worth of paint to support the transformation. This contribution highlights the growing partnership between academia and industry in shaping the future of architectural education in Uganda.

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Alex Isemaghendera

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Freshers’ Joining Instructions 2025/2026

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Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi makes his remarks. Inaugural comprehensive training program aimed at enhancing the pedagogical and professional competencies of its academic staff, 11th-14th December 2024, Fairway Hotel, organized by the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), facilitated by the Centre for Teaching and Learning Support (CTLS), College of Education and External Studies (CEES), Makerere University, Kampala Uganda, East Africa.

To All First Year Students;

It brings me great joy to welcome you to Makerere University.

First Year students (Freshers) are by tradition given an “acclimatization” period of one week which is referred to as the “Orientation Week”. The Freshers report on Campus one week earlier than the Continuing students and during this week they are introduced to the key facilities as well as other important aspects of life at the University.

Schedule of Semesters for 2025/2026 Academic Year

Saturday 2nd August, 2025 to Friday 8th August 2025 (7 Days) – Orientation Week

Semester One
Saturday 9th August, 2025 to Saturday 6th December, 2025 (17 Weeks)

Semester Two
Saturday 17th January, 2026 to Friday 16th May, 2026 (17 Weeks)

Orientation Week

Saturday 2nd August, 2025 – Friday 8th August, 2025

During the Orientation week, arrangements are made to enable the Freshers meet and be addressed by Key Officers, Wardens and Student Leaders who welcome the students.

Arrangements are also made to enable the Freshers acquaint themselves with such key facilities at the University like the Library, University Hospital, Games and Recreation Facilities etc.

Freshers are expected to take advantage of the week to survey and acquaint themselves with the general Campus lay out. Another major activity during the Orientation Week is Registration.

All Freshers must ensure that they are registered with their respective Colleges/Schools/Departments/Halls/University Hospital.

Saturday 2nd August, 2025
Resident Freshers report to their respective halls of residence or private hostels by 5.00 p.m. It’s the responsibility of each student to make his/her own travel arrangements to the University or private hostel.

Monday 4th August, 2025
All freshers shall report to the Freedom Square for a meeting (Central orientation program) with the University officials at 9:00am.

College Orientation
Tuesday 5th – Friday 8th August, 2025 College orientation programs will follow during the orientation week. College Principals and Registrars will issue the orientation programs for their colleges.

Lectures will begin on Monday 11th August, 2025.

Registration

For a candidate to be considered a bonafide student of the University, he/she must be registered. Registration is a mandatory requirement of the University which must be done within the first two (2) weeks from the beginning of the semester by every student. Privately sponsored students will pick their original admission letters after payment of 60% tuition and all functional fees from their respective colleges.

Registration will commence on Monday 11th August, 2025 starting at 9.00 a.m. each day at the respective Schools.

Ensure that you complete all the required registration formalities within the prescribed time in order to avoid disappointments later. College/School Registrars will provide registration programs.

Registration Requirements

Admission to Makerere University is a provisional offer made on the basis of the statement of your qualifications as presented on your application form. The offer is subject to verification of your academic documents and payment of university fees.

For registration purposes, all first-year students MUST produce their original documents for verification.

Government sponsored students shall pay shs.163,154/= functional fees to Makerere University.

Privately sponsored students shall pay 839,954/= and 1,495,253/= for Ugandans and International candidates respectively for semester one and 132,250/= for semester two of year 1.

Full admission letters for government sponsored students should be picked from the respective Colleges/Schools beginning Monday 7th July 2025.

The fees structure for privately sponsored students is attached to their provisional admission letters that should be down loaded from their ACMIS portal.

Students in the affiliated Institutions should pay fees indicated by their respective Institutions.

Fresher’s joining instructions concerning reporting, fees payment, academic policies and any important information from the different university units can be viewed from the Academic Registrar’s Department notice boards and University websites www.ar.mak.ac.ug and www.mak.ac.ug respectively.

All freshers MUST have laptop computers as one of the essential tools for study purposes for their programmes.

Other Fees
a) National Council for Higher Education fee (Per Year)-Shs.20,000/= (Payable to the National Council for Higher Education Account in Stanbic Bank).
b) UNSA Subscription fee (per year)-Shs.2,000/= (payable to Stanbic Bank, City Branch, A/C 0140007248501).

Change of Programmes/ Subjects

(a) Change of Programmes
Since selection for specific programmes was made according to each candidate’s performance and order of programme choices, taking into account the available subject combinations and time-table limitations, there is normally little need to change the programme or subjects. However, some places become vacant when some of the students admitted do not take up the offers. Such places are filled through the change of programmes/subjects.

Students who wish to change programmes first of all register according to the registration time-table for the programmes and subjects (where applicable) to which originally have been admitted. Each student who may wish to change his/her programme/subject combination is required to pay an application fee of Shs.6,000/= plus the bank charges to banks used by Uganda Revenue Authority.

(b) Change of Subjects
Students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Natural Sciences or the College of Education and External Studies may wish to change their subjects.

Students should be aware that changing one subject may result in a change of College. Before students apply to change their programmes, Colleges and Subjects, they are encouraged to seek advice on the cut-off point(s) for programmes, requirements for specific subjects and possible subject combinations.

Change of programme/Subjects will be done online on payment of an application fee of Shs. Six thousand (6000/=) plus the bank charges to banks used by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).

Students are notified and warned that change of programme or transferring to another subject combination or College without proper authority will be liable to discontinuation from the University.

A student who has been permitted to change his/her programme or subject(s) will be issued with a letter stating so, and on receipt of such a letter that student should complete the ACCEPTANCE part and return a copy of each to the Undergraduate Admissions and Records Office, the former College/School and the new College/School.

The change of programme/subjects will be done online from Monday 4th August, 2025 to Tuesday 12th August, 2025.

N.B: It is advisable that only those students who meet the cut-off points for the desired programmes /subjects may apply.

Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi
ACADEMIC REGISTRAR

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