Health
Mak Researchers Partner with Safe Bangle Technologies to Roll out a Real-Time Domestic Violence Reporting Bracelet
Published
11 months agoon
By
Mak Editor
By Joseph Odoi
A Consortium of Researchers from Makerere University School of Public Health/Resilient Africa Network (MakSPH/RAN), Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), Somero Uganda together with Safe Bangle Technologies have rolled out a real time domestic violence reporting bracelet.
This roll out was made possible with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the PARTNERSHIPS FOR ENHANCED ENGAGEMENT IN RESEARCH (PEER) program and the National Academies of Sciences.
Dr. Juliet Kiguli, the Principal Investigator from Makerere University, along with Dr. Roy Mayega, Deputy Chief of Party at RAN, and Dr. Agnes Nyabigambo, the study coordinator, initiated the PEER program to identify entry points for testing SafeBangle Technologies (a social enterprise based at Resilient Africa Network (RAN) with a mission to create a safer and more secure environment for women and children through innovative, affordable, and creative technology solutions to curb GBV in Africa.) wearable safety bracelet in the informal settlements. This decision stemmed from findings of increased intimate partner violence (IPV) and gender-based violence (GBV) in three informal settlements in Kampala, Uganda, following a longitudinal study, geospatial mapping, and interviews. The project, titled ‘The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Gender-Based Violence among Women and Girls in Informal Settlements in Kampala,’ highlighted the urgent need for affordable and immediate reporting mechanisms for violence.”
‘’While carrying out a study after the Covid-19 Pandemic, we identified gaps when it comes to reporting and response to Gender Based Violence (GBV) among women in informal settlements. Therefore, we used incorporated the SafeBangle intervention to solve the problem of lack of affordable and immediate reporting mechanisms for violence using a bracelet that reports violence in real time’’ explained Dr. Kiguli.
Innovation details
According to Saul Kabali and Messach Luminsa, the innovators behind SafeBangle from SafeBangle Technologies, hosted at the Resilient African Network Lab. ‘’The inspiration behind SafeBangle came from a deeply personal place. ‘’We heard countless stories of women who couldn’t call for help during moments of danger. We were deeply affected by the story of Aisha, a young woman in a rural village who was attacked while walking home alone at night. With no way to call for help, she felt helpless and vulnerable. This incident made us realize the critical need for immediate reporting alert tools, accessible to women like Aisha. We knew technology could play a crucial role and this incident awakened a strong desire in us to create a solution’’

“While developing SafeBangle, we tested with the users in both rural and urban contexts. We piloted the innovation around Kampala with support from Digital Human Righs Lab and Naguru Youth Health Network as well as it in five districts of Karamoja region with support from Save the Children and Response Innovation Lab. Right now it has become handy in Kamapala‘s informal settlements. We envision a future where SafeBangle becomes a standard tool in the fight against GBV, ensuring every woman feels safe and secure as it has the potential to transform how we respond to GBV in Africa” added Kabali.
HOW THE SAFEBANGLE TECHNOLOGY WORKS
The SafeBangle is wearable technology similar to a smartwatch that sends an alarm by SMS to people chosen by a woman herself if she feels threatened.

In terms of the acceptability of the SafeBangle innovation as a solution to GBV among at-risk women in informal settlements Of the 72 adolescent girls and women who received the SafeBangle, 22 activated the reporting button, resulting in 19 receiving immediate and appropriate support, including counseling, police intervention, and health services.
All adolescent girls and women who experienced GBV received a phone call from Somero Uganda to discuss the most appropriate intervention, including counseling, police cases being handled by the probation office, referral for health services, and post-exposure prophylaxis. All the GBV survivors received support and are still receiving continuous follow-up.
Researchers conducted a survey among 644 girls and women in Kinawataka (Nakawa Division) and Bwaise (Kawempe Division) to gain insights into awareness and understanding of sexual and gender-based violence among adolescent girls and women in informal settlements. The survey measured socioeconomic factors, mental health symptoms, and exposure to GBV. Focus group interviews were conducted with a separate sample of women over 18 in the settlements to explore responses to GBV.

A tabular representation of the key findings and lessons learned from your study on gender-based violence (GBV)
Key Findings | Lessons learned |
Prevalence of GBV. – Overall prevalence: 34.1% of women and girls reported experiencing GBV. – Among adolescents (15-19 years): Over 50% reported experiencing GBV. | – The pandemic highlighted the need for accessible and comprehensive support services for GBV survivors. – Schools emerged as crucial safe spaces for girls, emphasizing their well-being during crises. – Economic independence proved crucial, enabling women to leave abusive environments. – Involving men and boys as allies in GBV prevention efforts is essential. |
Age-related trends | – GBV prevalence tends to decrease with increasing age. |
Physical and health consequences. | – Women and girls suffered physical violence, injuries, and deaths, primarily from domestic violence and unsafe abortions due to limited healthcare access. – GBV resulted in unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) like HIV/AIDS. |
Social and economic impact. . | – GBV contributed to family breakups, strained marriages due to financial stress. – Economic hardships forced some women and girls into transactional sex, exposing them to further health risks and exploitation. – Pandemic-related job losses and economic constraints increased financial dependence on abusers, trapping women in violent situations. – School closures and increased household responsibilities limited women’s job opportunities and subjected them to sexual harassment. |
Psychological effects | – Survivors experienced guilt, shame, anxiety, fear, and suicidal thoughts due to ongoing abuse. |
Long-term effects | – Post-COVID-19, survivors faced disrupted education, early marriages, pregnancies, social stigma, and persistent mental health issues. |
Reproductive Health Consequences: GBV resulted in unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) like HIV/AIDS.
Family Breakdown: The rise in GBV led to family breakups as women fled abusive relationships. Marriages were strained due to increased financial stress.
Transactional Sex for Survival: Desperate for basic needs due to job losses and economic hardship, some women and girls resorted to transactional sex, exposing them to further health risks and exploitation.
One study participant stated, “The time of COVID-19 was so terrible for some of us. We in fact got a lot of diseases from it because you would want to get food and didn’t have money. That way you would be forced to get a man who would use you and pay.” – (FGD_Girls_19–24years_Kinawataka).
Economic Effects: COVID-19 restrictions caused job losses and limited economic opportunities, particularly for women in the informal sector. This increased financial dependence on abusers and trapped women in violent situations.
Limited Access to Employment: School closures and increased household chores limited women’s ability to seek employment, perpetuating gender inequality in the workforce. Some faced sexual harassment from potential employers.
Psychological Effects: Survivors of GBV experienced guilt, shame, anxiety, fear, and even suicidal thoughts due to the constant threat and unpredictability of abuse.
Post-COVID Effects: GBV survivors faced long-term consequences, including disrupted education, early marriage, early pregnancy, social stigma, and persistent mental health issues.
Lessons learned
The pandemic highlighted the need for accessible and comprehensive support services for survivors of GBV, the significance of schools as safe spaces for girls, and the need to prioritize their well-being during crises. Economic empowerment emerged as a significant protective factor for women and girls. Those with greater economic independence were better equipped to leave abusive environments and secure their safety and well-being, while dependent ones suffered abuses. Engaging men and boys as allies in the fight against GBV and involving them in prevention efforts can help promote positive behavior change and foster more equitable relationships.
Recommendations
To address GBV against women and girls, the researchers recommend the following moving forward;
- There is need to integrate technology-driven solutions like SafeBangle into national GBV prevention and response strategies. SafeBangle can be a valuable tool for policymakers as cases of violence that would have gone unreported will be brought to light and the would-be victims will be able to get immediate help from trusted relatives and friends.
- Provide economic opportunities and vocational training for women and girls to enhance their financial independence and reduce vulnerability to violence. There is therefore a need to introduce education and training programs that empower women and girls, by providing them with skills, resources, and opportunities to start their own ventures and to participate fully in community affairs.
- Strengthen and enforce existing laws and policies related to GBV, including laws against domestic violence, child marriage, and sexual assault without discrimination be it for law enforcers, leaders, and employers where such cases were suffocated. Ensure that perpetrators are held accountable through swift and fair legal processes that have no room for corruption.
- Establish and promote effective, accessible, and confidential reporting mechanisms for GBV incidents that provide confidence and can be trusted by survivors to enhance reporting of such incidences of GBV. Community Engagement and Involvement: Involve community leaders, religious leaders, and elders in discussions about GBV to promote gender equality, change social norms, and reinforce the message that violence against women and girls is unacceptable.
- Launch extensive public awareness campaigns to challenge harmful gender norms, report cases of GBV, raise awareness about the consequences of GBV, and promote positive behaviors and attitudes towards women and girls.
- Implement comprehensive sexuality education in schools and communities, educating young people about healthy relationships, consent, and reproductive rights to be able to make informed decisions about their own lives and well-being.
- Engage men and boys as allies in the fight against GBV, encouraging them to challenge harmful masculinity norms and behaviors. This will help minimize GBV because mostly they are the perpetrators. Strengthening Support for Survivors: Provide ongoing support and follow-up services for survivors of GBV mostly counselling services to aid their recovery and facilitate their reintegration into society.
- Provide ongoing support and follow-up services for survivors of GBV, mostly counseling services to aid their recovery and facilitate their reintegration into society.
- Provide avenues to seek free or subsidized services by survivors of GBV medical services and legal processes by survivors of GBV to enhance reporting of GBV cases, access to medical care, counseling, legal support, and other essential services.
- Encourage and support more research and innovations like SafeBangle to curb incidents of GBV.
- A comprehensive and inclusive approach is required. The efforts should involve government institutions, civil society organizations, community leaders, and individuals working together to address the root causes and provide support to survivors.
- Involve media in GBV prevention activities and for enhancing campaigns against GBV mostly on radio and TV.
MORE ABOUT THE STUDY
The core project team, included researchers at Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) led by Prof. Julia Dickson-Gomez, SafeBangle Technologies, and Somero Uganda, a community-focused NGO, began the project by designing their research protocol and taking a CITI Program course on human subjects social/behavioral research. Team members also met with the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development (MGLSG) in support of the gender-based violence policy process, Ministry of Health and local government. They also established relationships with the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and Nakawa and Kawempe probation offices to support legal processes for the GBV survivors. SafeBangle Team also received an award from Defenders Protection Initiative.
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At a ceremony held on 30th May 2025, themed ‘They taught us without saying a word’, the Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) commemorated the silent teacher which are the cadavers (bodies) used in anatomy classes for medical students. In addition to a commemoration service, the event was used to create awareness and sensitise the public about the the importance of whole body donation.
The chief guest at the commemoration was Professor Mukadasi Buyinza, Deputy Vice Chancellor – Academic Affairs representing the Vice Chancellor, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe. The event attended by MakCHS students, staff and alumni was organised by students under Anatomy Society of MakCHS supported by Department of Anatomy and MakCHS leadership.

Welcoming guests to the event, Waziwu Mordecai–final year student of medicine and surgery who serves as President of the Anatomy Society, MakCHS explained that the reason for the gathering is three-pronged: to commemorate the silent teachers who make a profound contribution to medical education; to instill knowledge, compassion, and professionalism in future healthcare providers; and call on the community to support this noble act through awareness, advocacy, or future donation. ‘May the memory of our silent teachers live on in every life we will one day save’, he said.
The Anatomy society was founded in 2013 with aim of students providing peer mentorship to fellow students in lower years, such mentorship sessions help students appreciate better the anatomy of the human body. The society has supported:enhanced learning and mentorship; promoted academic participation including internal and external quizzes; and fostered connections including strengthen relationships between students across classes and with alumni.

Professor Elisa Mwaka, Head – Department of Human Anatomy welcomed all present for attending the ceremony. He thanked the College management led by the Principal, Professor Bruce Kirenga for the support provided in organizing the ceremony. He also expressed utmost appreciation to the Vice Chancellor for attending despite the competing priorities requiring his attention.
Professor Mwaka highlighted that we are here today, to pay our respect to the individuals whose bodies have been used for medical examination and research at MakCHS through offering prayers as well as sensitize people about willful/consented whole body donation.

Professor Mwaka explained that globally, sources of whole bodies for medical education and research are got through willed whole-body donation, unclaimed bodies in hospitals, imported bodies, executed persons among other means. In Uganda, unclaimed bodies in hospitals are used for medical as determined by the Uganda National Rules in the Penal Code Act of 1957.
In 2012 International Federation of Anatomy Associations (IFAA) recommended voluntary donation as the desirable and the only acceptable source for acquiring bodies. Almost all Africa countries and some European countries lack national body donation programs.

Speaking at the event, Professor Bruce Kirenga, Principal – MakCHS thanked Professor Mwaka for the insightful presentation. He welcomed Professor Buyinza to MakCHS and for accepting to attend despite the late invitation. He recognized the presence of the staff present and support towards the college activities.
Professor Kirenga underlined the importance of biomedical science under which human anatomy falls in medical education. ‘Biomedical sciences play a key role, once someone in grounded in the area, then he will be a good doctor’, he said.

The Principal also stressed that during his term of office operation efficiency will remain key ingredient for service delivery as well as rebuilding and rehabilitation of teaching and learning facilities. ‘Works to make the Biochemistry laboratory a model lab has commenced with a contract awarded to service provider; the refurbishment will be in phases’.
Professor Buyinza Mukadasi thanked the College, Human Anatomy department and the students for organizing the commemoration. ‘The amount of joy I have this morning, we should have done this a long time ago’, he said.

He expressed happiness at this commemoration for the silent teachers who unknowingly give so much to medical education and therefore mankind. He advised that community engagement to create awareness about the need for whole-body donation, regulatory compliance, and alignment to best practices.
He noted that disciplines like medicine is more like charity because medical practitioners give so much of themselves. ‘The number of people attending this ceremony is show of love for the discipline and commitment to the calling’ he said.

Professor Buyinza reiterated the commitment of Makerere University management to support MakCHS endeavours including this culture of commemorating the silent teacher. ‘Well-trained and season doctors are a result of the process explained here and the absence of bodies affects the quality of education provided and therefore the doctors produced’, he added.
Candles for the cadavers were lit and services representative of Anglican, Catholics and Muslims were conducted to remember the souls of the departed and wish them a peaceful rest. Ordinand Cosmas Ddembe for Anglican, Father Valentine Amuneke for Catholic and Dr. Haruna Kiryowa for Muslim preached the importance of respect for the dead and sacrifices of the dead for advancement of research and education in the medical field and health services.



Giving closing remarks, Professor Mwaka noted that setting up whole-body donation programs in Africa requires a holistic approach involving education, cultural sensitivity, legal structures, and partnerships with medical institutions.
Reasons why Africa has failed to establish body donation programs:
- Low awareness and willingness to donate bodies.
- Cultural and traditional beliefs
- Religious beliefs
- Fear of mishanding bodies
- Lack of legislation/ ambiguous regulations
- Lack of institutional policies and standard operating procedures
- Institutions should be encouraged to hold Services of thanksgiving or commemoration for those who have donated their bodies for medical education and research.

The following is required to change the current status:
- Cultural sensitivity and awareness
- Community engagement and awareness creation
- Educational campaigns
- Developing legal and ethical frameworks
- Building partnerships between hospitals and medical institutions
- Establishing local body donation systems i.e.,
- donation registration process,
- consent documentation,
- Logistical infrastructure necessary for the
- donation process.
- Effective communication, public trust,transparency.
- Training and professional development of healthcare providers.
- Global collaboration and funding: to share knowledge, best practices, and resources.
- Government support
- Funding and incentives
- Inclusion of body donation in national health strategies.


Health
MakSPH Supports Uganda’s Final Push to End HIV with Locally Led Surveillance
Published
7 days agoon
May 30, 2025
In a decisive step toward ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030, Uganda on Thursday, May 29, 2025, officially launched the third Uganda Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (UPHIA 2025) survey, a nationally representative household study expected to provide updated measurements on the status of the HIV epidemic by the end of the year.
The effort is led by Uganda’s Ministry of Health (MoH), with technical assistance from Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC), funded by the U.S. government through PEPFAR.
The Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA) surveys were first launched in 2014 as a global initiative at the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP), based at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Supported by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the U.S. CDC, the surveys have been conducted in at least 15 high-burden countries globally, including Uganda.
Led by national Ministries of Health, the PHIA surveys provide robust, population-level data on HIV prevalence, incidence, and viral suppression, offering a clear picture of epidemic trends and the effectiveness of national responses. They are designed to track progress, identify persistent gaps, and inform strategies to reach epidemic control, in line with global targets, including the fast-approaching goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

In Uganda, this survey was first rolled out between August 2016 and March 2017. The second followed in February 2020 but was disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak, continuing through to March 2021. Both rounds were supported by ICAP at Columbia University, which provided technical assistance to strengthen data collection systems, improve laboratory infrastructure, and build national capacity to design, implement, and analyse the two national HIV surveys.
What sets UPHIA 2025 apart is the shift in technical leadership to Ugandan institutions for this third survey, reflecting local capacity to lead rigorous, high-quality public health research. For UPHIA 2025, Makerere University School of Public Health, in partnership with the Uganda Bureau of Statistics and the Uganda Virus Research Institute, is providing technical leadership to the Ministry of Health, alongside U.S. CDC. Implementation began with initial recruitment and training of over 300 field teams that begun on May 19, 2025, ahead of their nationwide deployment for data collection starting this June.
The first survey (UPHIA 2016) was an important milestone in informing Uganda’s national HIV response. This survey, concluded in 2017, measured, among things, the viral load suppression at the population level and provided household-based HIV testing and counselling, with results returned to participants and those who tested positive referred to care. The survey also assessed HIV incidence, HIV and syphilis prevalence, as well as hepatitis B infection rates. These findings would offer nationally representative data to track Uganda’s progress in controlling the HIV epidemic at both national and regional levels.
The next survey, UPHIA 2020, building on past success, was again executed with technical leadership from Columbia University’s ICAP, working with Uganda’s Ministry of Health alongside UVRI, UBOS, regional referral hospitals, local governments, and the U.S. CDC. It offered useful insights that showed encouraging progress, indicating that up to 88% of people living with HIV in Uganda at the time knew their status, 98% of them were on treatment, and 90% had achieved viral suppression. These results reflected momentum toward the UNAIDS global 95-95-95 targets, ensuring that most people living with HIV are diagnosed, treated, and have the virus under control, and advancing the broader goal of ending the epidemic by 2030.
Since the release of these findings nearly five years ago, which helped shape national HIV programming in Uganda, the country has made notable progress, but challenges remain. The UPHIA 2020 findings reported major gaps in testing coverage, particularly among young people and men. The results were also instrumental in identifying service delivery shortfalls and guiding decisions on resource allocation, program design, and policy. Yet today, Uganda remains one of the most heavily burdened countries in the world, with over 1.5 million people living with HIV and over 50,000 preventable new infections recorded per year.

It is this trend that Uganda’s Ministry of Health is working urgently to reverse. Launching UPHIA 2025 at the Ministry’s headquarters in Kampala on May 29, 2025, amidst great hope and expectation among the participants, Uganda’s Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, noted that the long-anticipated and previously delayed survey had arrived at such a critical moment. She welcomed UPHIA 2025 as both a measure of the country’s resilience and a guide for the final stretch toward ending AIDS by 2030, now just a few years away.
“The UPHIA 2025 survey comes at a strategic time to help us recalibrate and refocus our efforts,” the Health Minister said, underscoring the importance of its outcomes. “This will be Uganda’s final population-based HIV survey before 2030, the target year for ending AIDS as a public health threat. The findings will serve as a baseline for tracking our progress toward this national and global goal. They will also guide the next phase of strategic planning, ensuring that the final push toward 2030 is grounded in robust and reliable data.”
This third round of the survey will be carried out in 6,685 randomly selected households across the country. The exercise will involve interviews with approximately 15,000 individuals aged at least 15 and selected through a national household listing by UBOS. Of those, around 14,980 are expected to provide blood samples for HIV testing and analysis of viral suppression and other health indicators. The survey will also include interviews with 1,300 children and adolescents aged 10 to 14, though no blood draws will be taken from this group. Participation is voluntary, free of charge, and requires consent from the head of each household.

Dr. Aceng explained that beyond providing updated estimates of HIV prevalence, incidence, and viral load suppression, and examining regional and demographic disparities, the survey, which will cover the rest of the year, will include a qualitative post-survey assessment component to gather insights from people living with HIV, particularly those not virally suppressed, to understand their challenges and strengthen support services. Also, for the first time, this survey will assess the burden of non-communicable diseases among people living with HIV and include focused interviews with adolescents aged 10 to 14 in Mid-North and Mid-Eastern Uganda, where viral suppression was reported to be lowest in UPHIA 2020.
These activities are made possible thanks to the development support from the U.S. government, which invested $10 million (about UGX 37 billion) for this survey. Speaking at the UPHIA 2025 launch, U.S. Ambassador to Uganda William W. Popp noted that the United States has partnered with Uganda for over three decades to help people live longer, healthier lives;
“The bulk of our annual support, approximately $500 million this year, is dedicated to health programs, making the U.S. government the largest single provider of health assistance to Uganda,” the Ambassador said. He added, “Through PEPFAR, the United States has played a major role in Uganda’s progress toward ending HIV as a public health threat. Since 2003, when Uganda became one of the first countries to implement the program, we have invested nearly three billion dollars—almost 11 trillion Uganda shillings—in HIV prevention, care, and treatment services, saving millions of lives and making both our countries safer from HIV.”

With the benefit of hindsight, Uganda’s early encounter with HIV in the 1980s marked the beginning of one of the region’s most severe epidemics. But over the decades, a determined national response, driven by political leadership, community mobilisation, collaboration and global support, has delivered measurable progress. In the recent past, adult HIV prevalence fell from 7.2% in 2010 to 5.1% in 2023. Among women, it declined from 8.5% to 6.6%, and among men from 5.8% to 3.6%. AIDS-related deaths dropped from 53,000 to 20,000 over the same period, with female mortality declining by 66% and child deaths by 77%.
All these gains, amidst the challenge, go to show what is possible with sustained commitment. What is more, throughout this long journey of Uganda’s battle with eradicating HIV, Makerere University School of Public Health has played a pivotal role. From the early work of Prof. David Serwadda, whose ground-breaking research during the initial detection of HIV helped shape Uganda’s early response, to last year’s 2024 landmark Purpose 1 study on the twice-yearly injectable Lenacapavir that proved 100% efficacy in preventing HIV infection, MakSPH has remained at the forefront of innovation, evidence generation, and policy influence.
That legacy continues today, with the School providing technical leadership to the Ministry of Health in the implementation of UPHIA 2025. At the launch, MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze expressed pride in the School’s role as a trusted partner in Uganda’s fight against HIV and other public health challenges. She noted that for over 70 years, during which the School has existed, MakSPH has helped shape the country’s public health landscape through rigorous research, training, and policy support, anchored by a strong, long-standing partnership with the Ministry of Health and partners.

She also noted that the collaboration between Makerere University and the U.S. CDC has helped build national capacity in surveillance and epidemiology, while also strengthening Uganda’s ability to lead high-quality, large-scale national surveys, asserting that:
“The partnership between Makerere University and CDC has not only helped build national capacity in surveillance and epidemiology, but has also strengthened our ability to lead high-quality, large-scale national surveys. After two decades of joint work, we are proud that UPHIA 2024–2025 is now a fully Ugandan-led effort. This is critical to the sustainability of the skills and knowledge generation to inform our local response.”
The survey builds on MakSPH’s experience conducting similar national studies, including those on tuberculosis, prison health, family planning, schistosomiasis, and non-communicable diseases such as the STEPS survey. It will leverage the School’s strong capacity in research and impact evaluation, both in Uganda and across the African region, with a firm commitment to delivering high-quality data guided by the same rigour and integrity that have defined our work over the years, Prof. Wanyenze affirmed.

It is with great pride and gratitude that I present the 2024 Annual Report of the Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH). The past twelve months have been a time of remarkable achievements, significant progress, and renewed commitment to shaping the future of public health.
This report captures some of the highlights that reflect the resilience, innovation, and impact that define our community. 2024 was both an extraordinary and transformative year. We successfully concluded our strategic plan and launched a bold new five-year roadmap (2025–2030), positioning us to respond swiftly to the evolving public health landscape.
The year was especially productive—marked by impactful research, evidence generation, and strengthened partnerships across Uganda, the African region, and globally. Our work continued to demonstrate that we do not simply publish findings—we produce evidence that shapes national policy, informs practice, and addresses real-world public health challenges.
I am deeply privileged to lead this vibrant community of educators, researchers, students, and partners. I extend my sincere appreciation to my colleagues for their exceptional commitment—whether delivering outstanding education, driving research and innovation, or creating an inclusive and welcoming environment. I also thank Makerere University Council, the University Management, , our students, alumni, and partners for their unwavering support; each plays a vital role in advancing our mission.
Despite a challenging global context, we look ahead with great optimism. We have equipped our staff and students with the skills and resilience to thrive amidst uncertainty. In 2024, we celebrated 70 years of impact—seven decades of transformative contributions to public health in Uganda, the region, and beyond. Our legacy in HIV/AIDS research, family planning, maternal and child health, infectious disease control (including COVID-19, TB, and malaria), and health systems strengthening is profound.
MakSPH remains a powerhouse of research at Makerere University, consistently attracting nearly half of the University’s research grants. In the past five years, we have worked in collaboration with universities and research institutions across 25 countries in Arfrica and established strong global partnerships, reinforcing our role as a leader in public health innovation and capacity building.
A landmark achievement was our transition into a standalone School in January 2025, following approval by the Makerere University Council. This new status heralds a transformative phase—enabling us to expand our reach, deepen our impact, and respond with agility to contemporary public health challenges.
In line with this growth, we launched our taught PhD program—designed for early-career and mid-career professionals, as well as strategic level leaders, seeking to strengthen their skills in public health research and leadership.
The School is undertaking a major infrastructure project, the construction of our new home at Makerere Main Campus—which is steadily taking shape into a premier centre for public health training, research, and community engagement. This investment will strengthen our capacity to deliver impact in Uganda, and beyond. We hope that the building will ease the critical space needs for our staff, students, and partners. We are grateful to all individuals, agencies, government bodies, and partners who have supported this transformative endeavor. We warmly welcome further support to help us complete this important project and advance public health for generations to come.
As we move forward, our resolve remains steadfast: to shape health outcomes, empower future generations, and strengthen the resilience of communities across Africa and beyond. We thank you for your continued support to Makerere University and the School of Public Health in particular. Together, we are shaping health, empowering the future, and building a brighter tomorrow.
Dr. Rhoda Wanyenze
Professor and Dean, School of Public Health, Makerere University
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