Research
Makerere Hosts CARTA’s 11th Cohort of Doctoral Fellows
Published
7 months agoon

On Monday, March 3, 2025, Makerere University hosted the launch of the 11th cohort of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) doctoral fellowship. The new cohort comprises 11 females and nine males, drawn from eight partner universities across nine African countries. For the next four years, the group will undergo advanced training through the consortium’s collaborative efforts to strengthen research capacity across the continent.
CARTA, formed in 2008, is a network of eight African partner universities, four research institutes, and eight international collaborators, dedicated to strengthening doctoral training and institutional research capacity in Africa. The consortium is co-led by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), based in Nairobi, Kenya, and the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. Makerere University is a key partner, leading the consortium’s The Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (TERID) East Africa Research Hub.
Among its key interventions, the consortium facilitates targeted and structured training and mentorship aimed at strengthening university-wide research systems. One such initiative is the doctoral fellowship programme’s Joint Advanced Seminars (JAS) started in 2011. JAS is a sequence of four annual seminars designed to support doctoral students registered in different CARTA partner institutions to progress seamlessly through their PhD journeys.

Now, since its inception over a decade ago, the consortium has supported many early career researchers across its partner institutions in Africa, admitting at least 265 doctoral Fellows and graduating over 183 of them. In turn, the Fellows have gone on to contribute to over 4,000 peer-reviewed research publications and secured more than $43 million in research grant awards, applying the skills gained through the intensive CARTA four-year programme.
Of the 183 CARTA graduates, Makerere University has had its fair share, with 25 PhD graduates supported through the consortium. One of them, Dr. Kato Charles Drago of the 3rd CARTA doctoral fellowship cohort who completed his PhD in clinical immunology and molecular genetics at Makerere University in 2016, is currently a Lecturer and Head, Department of Biotechnical and Diagnostic Sciences, and the Principal Investigator for the TERID Research Hub at Makerere University, where he is leading the efforts to improve disease diagnosis, treatment, and research capacity development within the region.
The ongoing Joint Advanced Seminar One (JAS 1) for the 11th cohort of the CARTA doctoral fellowship, launched last week at Makerere University School of Public Health’s (MakSPH) Resilient Africa Network in Kololo, Kampala, Uganda, runs for three weeks until March 21. Dr. John Bosco Isunju, CARTA Board member and institutional focal person at Makerere University noted that JAS 1 is designed to build critical thinking, technical skills, and core research competencies, critical for exposing the Fellows to key theories, seminal readings, and interdisciplinary research methods to interrogate public and population health.
“For our Fellows, you are joining the best consortium on the continent, to give you the best skills and make you change agents in your institutions. That is really CARTA’s vision. To create a critical mass that will go back and transform the situation in your institutions. What you are going to get here is the skills to write grants and attract resources, and skills to network and make partnerships. The first partners are the colleagues you have around you,” Dr Isunju said.

He revealed that the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the 10th cohort, whose JAS 1 training was prematurely concluded in 2020. Since then, no new cohort of CARTA doctoral fellows had been admitted until now. “It has been a long struggle, but thanks to our dedicated partners worldwide who recognize the need and the gap, we are finally here,” Isunju shared.
The current 11th cohort was possible with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Oak Foundation (OAK), selected from a competitive pool of more than 150 eligible applicants from CARTA partner institutions.
Notably, for the first time, the consortium is having two PhD Fellows coming from Somali National University (SNU), that is: Ms. Amina Hassan Husien and Mr. Gallad Dahir Hassan. The two students will be hosted at Makerere University for their doctoral studies, to aid with capacity development and mentorship. Their research focus will be around maternal and reproductive health, and vaccine-preventable disease surveillance, respectively.

Expressing optimism, Gallad said the fellowship will equip them with the requisite skills to conduct policy-relevant research, ultimately enabling them (the Fellows) make meaningful impact in their home institutions and contribute to Africa’s research and development agenda.
“My research is in disease surveillance system especially vaccines preventable diseases. I want to fill the gap in reporting from the community level. I appreciate CARTA for providing us with this invaluable opportunity and Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze for her efforts to secure the two positions for Somalia National University to be mentored at Makerere University.” He said.
For her part, officiating the launch of the 11th cohort of the CARTA doctoral fellowship, Makerere University School of Public Health Dean, Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, expressed gratitude for the support to help the Fellows through their PhD journeys. However, she challenged the Fellows to look beyond simply earning their PhD qualifications and instead focus on making meaningful contributions that improve lives and impact communities.
“I know each of you has likely defined what success looks like at the end of this programme or even 10 years from now. But I urge you to go beyond personal achievement and add to that impacting others, shaping the world around you, starting with Africa, and speaking for something you are really passionate about,” Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze emphasized.

She also noted that the 11th cohort is unique, because they are starting their PhD journey amid major global changes. While these shifts may pose a challenge, she said they also present an opportunity to rethink how health systems are structured, financed, and coordinated, to enhance the promotion of global health equity and access to critical services.
The CARTA doctoral fellowship supports PhD students at partner institutions through the Joint Advanced Seminars (JAS), in addition to offering stipend, research funding, essential equipment and software, and coverage for tuition, medical insurance, and travel. Fellows also receive mentorship, supervisory support, networking opportunities, and training in grant writing and research dissemination, including support for presentations at international conferences. The fellowship is open to staff from CARTA partner institutions.

Dr. Florah Karimi, the CARTA Program Manager for Institutionalization and Scientific Quality and the Head of Research and Capacity Strengthening at APHRC, Kenya, stated that CARTA’s structured doctoral model has transformed PhD education in African universities, integrating mentorship and interdisciplinary approach to training to produce scholars who are well equipped for global academic and policy engagement.
“CARTA has grown, and we now consider ourselves a proven concept. We deeply appreciate the support from our partner institutions, which have been instrumental in shaping what CARTA is all about. As more institutions come on board, we have reached a point where this is no longer just about us. We are influencing our universities, shaping individual careers, and now, we must extend that impact to other institutions,” Dr. Karimi noted passionately.

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Health
What works, what doesn’t work? Researchers uncover the effect of supporting districts to operationalise digital payments for vaccination campaign workers
Published
2 weeks agoon
September 22, 2025By
Mak Editor
By Joseph Odoi
A motivated and satisfied health workforce is critical for the success of mass vaccination campaigns against diseases like polio. High-quality vaccination campaigns can interrupt disease transmission, especially during and after periods of disrupted health services, such as those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In sub-Saharan Africa, most vaccination campaign healthcare workers (VCHWs) have historically been paid in cash. Cash payments are often plagued by delays in funds disbursement, leakages, theft risks, and limited financial transparency. These challenges can negatively affect vaccination coverage and worker satisfaction.
To address these challenges, many countries are transitioning to digital payment systems, which are perceived as faster, more convenient, traceable, reliable, and easy to implement. Digital financial systems are already being rolled out in countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Uganda, with a projected population of nearly 41.6 million, had over 30 million registered mobile money customers using e-cash in 2019.
While early rollouts of digital payments have been largely successful, their full impact on vaccination campaign workers had not been systematically evaluated.
From 2021 to 2024, Makerere University (Uganda) and the University of Dakar (Senegal), with support from the Gates Foundation and technical partners including the Solina Group, WHO AFRO, and the Ministries of Health and Finance in both embarked on an important journey of research under the Digital Health Payment Initiatives and Research (DHPI-R) Project in 28 countries in Sub Saharan Africa
To explore the experiences and lessons of polio vaccination campaign healthcare workers (VCHWs), both male and female, during the 2022 oral poliovirus vaccination campaign in Uganda, researchers led by Prof. Peter Waiswa (principal investigator), together with Margaret McConnell, Juliet Aweko, Daniel Donald Mukuye, Charles Opio, Maggie Ssekitto Ashaba, Andrew Bakainaga, and Elizabeth Ekirapa-Kiracho, with support from the Gates Foundation, conducted a study titled “The Effect of Supporting Districts to Operationalise Digital Payments for Vaccination Campaign Workers: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial During the 2022 Polio Vaccination Campaign in Uganda.”
This study examined whether supporting districts to implement electronic cash (e-cash) payments, instead of cash, increased e-cash usage and improved vaccine campaign healthcare workers’ (VCHWs) motivation and satisfaction during an oral poliovirus vaccination campaign in 2022 in Uganda.
The mixed method study now published in BMJ Global Health, September 2025 was conducted in 54 districts in Uganda that had set up the government e-cash payment platform by May 2022. It involved healthcare workers supporting the polio vaccination campaign, regardless of direct vaccine contact. This included nurses, clinicians (vaccinators), mobilisers, community health workers (village health team members), recorders, local council representatives, and supervisors. The unit of randomisation was the district, while the unit of enrolment and data collection was the individual worker.
Method and Setting
As part of this study , In November 2022, a total of 54 districts and 2,665 vaccination campaign healthcare workers (VCHWs) were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned to two groups. Intervention districts received training on using the government e-cash platform, including managing user roles, uploading beneficiary data, and generating payment reports.
The control districts received the standard support given to districts during mass vaccination campaigns from the MoH, MoFPED, WHO and other development partners. This support included group training on implementation of payments, provision of vaccination materials and financial aid.
The study collected data on how VCHWs were paid, their motivation, and their satisfaction with the payment method. Overall, 765 VCHWs in intervention districts and 589 in control districts received e-cash payments.
Findings
Mode of payment for the vaccination campaign healthcare workers
Overall, approximately half of the campaign workers, 50.8% (1354/2665) were paid digitally (e- cash), either using mobile money or via the bank (online supple mental table 2). Payment by e- cash was higher among females, 53.9% (656/1215) compared with males, 48.1% (698/1450) and was lowest among campaign workers aged 30–39 years, 48.7% (368/765). E- cash payment was higher in the intervention arm at 57.5% (765/1,330) in comparison to the control arm at 44.1% (589/1,335).
Satisfaction with payment received during the campaign
Only 36.5% (705/1930) of the VCHWs were satisfied with the payment received during the campaign, with satisfaction being slightly higher in the intervention arm, 37.9% (353/931) compared with the control arm 35.2% (352/999) and among females 37.9% (351/925) compared with males 35.2% (354/1005). Satisfaction was lowest among the married workers, 35.7% (575/1611) compared with the other categories.
Timing and completeness of payments
Nearly, all VCHWs were paid after the campaign, 97.6% (1884/1930), with no significant difference between the intervention (98.1%, 913/931) and the control (97.2%, 971/999) arms
Delayed/non- payment was highest among those with no formal education, 34% (17/50) and among community mobilisers, 30.7% (392/1071). The majority (70.6%, 1362/1930) of the VCHWs stated that the payment received met or even exceeded their payment expectation.
Participants also stated that e-cash was convenient, transparent, time-saving, and cost-saving, as it reduced travel and waiting times and minimized informal deductions.
Despite these benefits and support to districts to operationalize digital payments , there was no significant difference in workers’ motivation or satisfaction between the intervention and control groups. The researchers attributed this partly due to challenges associated with both cash and digital payment modes.
Challenges experienced in effecting payments at the district level
Also a number of challenges were uncovered in this study . Challenges with e-cash payments included unanticipated withdrawal charges, unreliable internet networks, and lengthy processes for validating mobile telephone numbers. For example, payments were delayed or not processed when VCHWs’ names did not match the registration details held by telecommunication companies, or when workers did not have phones registered in their names.
One key informant had this to say on challenges around e-cash payments
‘’ There was a general complaint of charges. Remember when they are dispersing funds, they stick to the budget exactly. They are not looking at the charges. And when you are also paying you have to allocate minus the charges. You get the point. So the people would be expecting let’s take an example of 150 000/= and then they get 149 something. So, they would ask, ‘Why are we getting less money?’ So we labored to explain to them that the bank is charging a certain fee to facilitate the e- cash. (KII_West_EPI FP) There were also challenges associated with an unreliable internet network that was necessary to facilitate log ins for approval of payments
On Challenges experienced in effecting payments at the district level ,Key informant interviews with district leaders involved in the payment process identified several bottlenecks during the payment process of the campaign healthcare workers. One of the major e- cash payment challenges was a lengthy process of validating mobile telephone numbers. ensuring that the VCHW’s names matched the registered mobile account names attached to the telephone number provided by the VCHW for receipt of funds.
‘’Unsuccessful validation occurred when the VCHW’s names did not match the registration details held by the telecommunication companies. Payments for such individuals were delayed or not effected at all. Because some of them do not even have the phones, but they are very good at doing the work…Or if they have, then the phone is not registered in their names. We were supposed to bring that database of the community as well and feed them into the system. That became a problem’’. (KII_North_ADHO)
Suggestions to improve use of e-cash payment system
To increase the use of e- cash, the majority of key informants identified continued training of key staff as a critical intervention with subsequent follow- up to ensure payments are well implemented.
‘’We are not yet ready; our capacity hasn’t been built. We have a big knowledge gap regarding the e- cash system here in this district. (KII East CFO) We request for more training to be conversant [with the system], and to discuss the challenges together during that training, as we share the experiences. Where we have challenges, we sit together and see how they can be addressed’’. (KII_Central_CFO)
The participants also expressed the need for feedback mechanisms to allow them to dialogue with the payers in case there was a delay in payment. Additionally, the participants also acknowledged that there was a need to gradually expand adoption of digital payments considering contextual barriers. A hybrid approach would be an alternative, especially in the remote and hard-to-reach districts.
Other suggested solutions include early preparation of campaign health worker databases to allow for the lengthy telephone validation processes, improvement of the internet infrastructure, consistent use of e- cash payments across programmes and inclusion of withdrawal charges when making payments.
Moving forward policy, the researchers recommend the need to support e- payment systems, in order to minimize challenges in the pay ment processes.
‘’Suggestions to improve the e- cash experience include training of personnel in charge of e- cash payments, timely creation of VCHWs databases, expanding e- cash payments across programmes for efficiency and inclusion of withdrawal charges for the digital payments. To ensure the institutionalisation of digital payment interventions across Uganda, several key enablers are essential. These include formal policy integration by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance into operational guide lines and budget frameworks, as well as ongoing capacity strengthening at the district level to enhance digital planning, payroll management and troubleshooting. Reliable infrastructure such as mobile connectivity and access to digital financial services like mobile money must also be prioritised, especially in rural areas. Implementing routine monitoring and feedback systems will be vital for tracking payment timeliness, worker satisfaction and system performance, allowing for continuous improvement. Furthermore, fostering public–private partner ships with telecom providers and payment platforms is critical for cost- effective scaling. With strong political commitment, aligned funding and active community engagement, this model holds the potential for broader national and regional adoption, leading to more efficient and equitable health service delivery’’. The paper concludes on the way forward
To read the paper; click; https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/Suppl_4/e016666
About The DHPI-R project
The DHPI-R project was commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to generate evidence on digital payments in Africa. Although inception, conceptualization of the proposal, and grant award were conducted earlier in 2021, the DHPIR project officially started implementing activities in November 2021, up to March 2025. DHPIR is hosted at the School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences at Makerere University and is implemented in Anglophone and Francophone hubs (countries) in Africa. The Anglophone hub is hosted at MAKSPH, while the Francophone Hub is hosted by the University of Dakar (UCAD) in Senegal.
DHP-IR was rooted in the End Polio Game Campaign, championed by WHO-Afro and partners in 28 countries in Sub Saharan Africa, where digital payments was a key strategy for timely and complete payments to campaign workers.
Health
Digital Payments Boost Vaccination Campaign Efficiency in Uganda
Published
3 weeks agoon
September 19, 2025
KAMPALA, Uganda —Supporting districts to adopt digital payments can significantly improve the efficiency of mass vaccination campaigns in Uganda, even if the gains do not directly translate into higher worker motivation, a new study by Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) researchers has found.
Published on September 10, 2025, in BMJ Global Health, the study examined how helping districts in Uganda transition from cash-based to electronic payments affected vaccination campaign workers. Conducted in early 2023, some four months after the nationwide oral poliovirus vaccination campaign of November 2022, the research assessed the impact of digitised payments on efficiency, timeliness, and worker satisfaction.
With generous support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the study was led by MakSPH researchers Peter Waiswa, Juliet Aweko, Maggie Ssekitto Ashaba, Elizabeth Ekirapa-Kiracho, and Charles Opio, in collaboration with Margaret McConnell of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Daniel Donald Mukuye from Uganda’s Ministry of Health, and Andrew Bakainaga from the World Health Organisation (WHO)–Uganda Country Office.
The study’s Principal Investigator and lead author, Assoc. Prof. Peter Waiswa, a health systems researcher at Makerere University School of Public Health, said while the research was conducted in Uganda, its implications are global. He pointed out that some African countries, such as Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Tanzania, and Kenya, are already ahead in adopting digital payment systems, while others still lag behind. The study’s findings, he said, are relevant across these contexts and have already informed the work of global actors such as Gavi, WHO, and the Global Fund, who are now integrating digital payments into their own processes.
“This paper is part of several studies we are conducting, but perhaps the most significant,” said Dr. Waiswa, clearly enthusiastic about the findings. “Another outlines the research agenda for digital payments, emphasising the need for more evidence on whether they improve the quality of immunisation campaigns, ensure timeliness and efficiency, and identify which groups face barriers to their use.”

The study was coordinated by MakSPH in collaboration with a network of partners. In Uganda, these included the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation, several implementing organisations, district authorities, as well as telecommunication companies. Importantly, the involvement of Airtel as a non-traditional actor in the study demonstrated the critical role of private sector engagement, often absent in such collaborations, in generating evidence and advancing digital health solutions, particularly in addressing challenges such as timely payments for health campaign workers.
The November 2022 polio campaign, led by the government of Uganda with support from the U.S. CDC and WHO, targeted 8.7 million children under five with the novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV2). Nearly 72,000 teams, including health workers, Village Health Teams, and Local Council representatives, were mobilised nationwide, administering about 10 million doses despite the temporary exclusion of five districts due to the Ebola outbreak at the time.
Building on the campaign, the researchers conducted an exploratory cluster-randomised trial using a mixed-methods approach across 54 districts in Uganda, where they enrolled 2,665 healthcare workers. Intervention districts were trained to use Uganda’s e-cash platform, a government innovation managed by the Ministry of Finance. Introduced in 2017 and formalised in 2019, the cashless system was designed to digitise urgent government payments, enhance efficiency, and improve transparency. It now complements the Integrated Financial Management System, which, though effective for routine payments, was seen as too slow for time-sensitive transactions, including paying campaign health workers, where timely remuneration is critical for maintaining workforce readiness, sustaining campaign momentum, and promptly addressing public health challenges in the communities served.
Intervention studies usually introduce a treatment or program to a group to observe its effects, and the results are compared with a group that does not receive it. The training during the study addressed the delays, leakages, and administrative bottlenecks common in cash-based systems. Intervention districts received instruction on navigating the government e-cash platform, managing user roles, uploading beneficiary data, and generating payment reports, while control districts maintained standard cash payment procedures, serving as a baseline.
Dr. Juliet Aweko, co-author and Research Associate at MakSPH, said the study was timely, observing that health workers are central to successful vaccination campaigns and delayed payments can demotivate them and compromise campaign effectiveness.
“To make digital payments truly work, campaigns must be planned with the workforce in mind. Government and partners need to ensure funds are disbursed on time, streamline and automate registration and verification, and keep accurate records of health workers and their performance. Making mobile money systems compatible and giving workers real-time updates on their payments would not only build trust but also keep them motivated, ultimately improving turnout and ensuring smoother service delivery,” Dr. Aweko stated.

The study found that electronic cash adoption was significantly higher in intervention districts, where 57.5% of workers were paid digitally compared to 44.1% in control districts. What’s more, digital payments did not delay disbursement, as 97.6% of all workers received payment after campaign completion, regardless of method. Still, workers paid via e-cash consistently described the cashless system as convenient, transparent, and cost-effective, citing reduced travel time, lower personal costs, and fewer security risks.
Today, Uganda’s rapidly expanding digital ecosystem provides ground for scaling up cashless payment systems. The Uganda Communications Commission reports that the country has over 43 million active mobile subscriptions, nearly 88% of the estimated 49 million population. Its latest market report shows 26.1 million active internet users, while mobile money continues to dominate financial transactions with more than 33 million accounts and transaction values growing by over 25% annually, according to reports by the Bank of Uganda as of March 2025. This trend reflects a population increasingly reliant on digital platforms, creating a strong opportunity to embed e-payment systems in health service delivery.

For MakSPH researchers Dr. Waiswa and Dr. Aweko, the study evidence confirms that digital payments are both feasible and practical for strengthening the delivery of mass campaigns in low- and middle-income countries like Uganda. With relatively modest support, districts can adopt e-cash systems, providing a scalable model for the health sector. This approach, they suggest, would streamline compensation, reduce administrative delays, and provide a stronger basis for integrating digital payments into future immunisation drives and other public health interventions in the country, thereby strengthening our health systems.
The researchers further emphasised that digitising campaign payments reduces transaction costs and minimises leakages, enabling more funds to reach frontline workers quickly. E-cash also simplifies logistics, strengthens accountability, and enhances financial tracking in health campaigns. These advantages, they found, directly align with the global effort to advance digital transformation in health systems and ensure reliable, transparent worker compensation. The implications also extend beyond just polio, as Uganda continues to rely on mass campaigns for routine immunisation and other outbreak responses, such as measles and yellow fever, where digital payments could improve the efficiency of scarce health resources.
Still, the study acknowledged barriers that could hinder full adoption of a cashless system. Some districts lacked the technical capacity to operate the government’s e-cash platform, upload beneficiary data, and manage user roles. Connectivity issues, limited digital literacy among staff, and occasional system downtimes further disrupted implementation. Additionally, many campaign workers lacked national identity cards or mobile money accounts, making them ineligible for digital payments. To address these challenges, the researchers, among others, recommend targeted capacity building for district finance and health teams, expanded identity and mobile registration for campaign workers, improved internet connectivity, and integration of e-payment systems into routine health planning.
Health
VectorCam Project; Makerere, Johns Hopkins, and MoH to Scale Up AI-Powered Malaria Surveillance across Uganda
Published
4 weeks agoon
September 9, 2025By
Mak Editor
By Joseph Odoi
In a significant step toward revolutionizing mosquito surveillance in Uganda, Dr. Peter Waiswa, Associate Professor of Health Policy Planning and Management at the School of Public Health, Makerere University has revealed that a new AI-driven mosquito surveillance project is set to be rolled out to strengthen vector monitoring efforts across 22 districts in Uganda.
He disclosed this while briefing a multidisciplinary team during a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Health on 7th August 2025 to engage with officials on the VectorCam Project.
The VectorCam Project is a partnership between the Makerere University School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, and the Ministry of Health, with funding from the Gates Foundation. The project seeks to revolutionize mosquito surveillance by shifting from manual, human-led identification to a digital, AI-driven mobile application using computer vision
What is VectorCam?
VectorCam is an innovative project focused on transforming how Uganda monitors malaria-carrying mosquitoes. At its core is a smartphone-based, AI-powered application that uses computer vision to quickly identify mosquitoes by species, sex, and feeding status whether a mosquito has fed recently or not. Traditionally, such analysis requires the expertise of entomologists and takes considerable time.
According to Prof Waiswa, VectorCam will advance ento. surveillance.
‘’We have worked with Johns Hopkins University and the Minister of Health to develop an AI-powered mobile application which can be used to identify mosquitoes. This apps tells you the type of mosquito, the sex of the mosquito, and whether the mosquito has a full abdomen or half abdomen or is empty. That is, if it fed last night or not.
This one is a way to just shift mosquito surveillance from people to an app. The app does it in 20 seconds using computer vision. It does it faster and better than any entomologist. Every district just has one Entomologist. So the entomologist can go and focus on other things as part of his work because nowadays an app can do it.
The good thing with the app is we’ve already done a big trial funded by the Gates Foundation and we have evidence that it works. The app also posts data and makes it accessible through the DHIS to the districts but also at the national level’’ Prof. Waiswa explained.
‘’With support and funding from the Gates Foundation, we are going to be scaling up the Vector Cam Project to 22 districts. In 12 of these, we will conduct research to evaluate how the app actually performs at scale in routine life settings ‘’ Prof Waiswa stated about the next project step.
As part of the project engagement, Prof. Waiswa met with Dr. Daniel Kyabayinze, Director of Public Health at the National Malaria Control Division, Ministry of Health, Uganda, who also serves as the Acting Program Manager for Malaria at the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) to brief him on the project genesis and its next objectives which will lead to data-driven decision making to tailor vector control interventions.
Also in attendance were also; Professor Soumyadipta Acharya a respected researcher in the field of ento. surveillance from Johns Hopkins University, United States, along with representatives from the Ministry of Health and Makerere University.
More About VectorCam Project
VectorCAM is an innovative project focused on transforming how Uganda monitors malaria-carrying mosquitoes. At its core is a smartphone-based, AI-powered application that uses computer vision to quickly identify mosquitoes by species, sex, and feeding status.
Between November 2022 and April 2024, Makerere University, in partnership with Johns Hopkins University and Uganda’s National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), successfully implemented the first phase of the VectorCam Project. Through this, the project piloted the VectorCAM an AI-driven mobile application that uses computer vision to identify mosquitoes by species, sex, and abdominal status providing rapid, cost-effective entomological surveillance in malaria-endemic regions.
Following the successful trial and validation of the technology, the project is now entering a new phase focused on scaling up.
VectorCam will be rolled out across 22 districts in Uganda, with operational research embedded in 12 of those districts to assess its performance.
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