Health
Olivia Nakisita and the Quiet Urgency of Adolescent Refugee Health
Kampala wakes early, but for some girls, the day begins already heavy. In Uganda, nearly three-quarters of the population is under 30, growing up happens fast, and often without protection. One in four Ugandan girls aged 15–19 has already begun childbearing, giving Uganda the highest teenage pregnancy rate in East Africa.
Layered onto this is displacement. The country hosts about 1.7 million refugees, many living in cities like Kampala, where survival depends on navigating systems not designed with them in mind. Also, nationally, 1.4 million people live with HIV, and 70 per cent of new infections among young people occur in adolescent girls, a reminder that vulnerability is rarely singular. When COVID-19 shut the country down, the consequences were immediate, with pregnancies among girls aged 15–19 rising by 25.5 per cent, while pregnancies among girls aged 10–14 surged by 366 per cent.
The numbers tell a story of youth, risk, and quiet urgency. But they do not tell it all. For years, Olivia Nakisita, a public health researcher,has followed how adolescent girls, many of them refugees, navigate pregnancy in Kampala: how far they must travel for care, how early they arrive or delay, and how often services that exist fail to meet them where they are. Her work lives at the uneasy intersection of policy and lived reality, where access does not always translate into care.
February 25th 2026, is the day that her work on whether urban health systems are truly ready for the youngest mothers they now serve will bring her to Freedom Square at Makerere University, where she will graduate with a PhD in Public Health.
Her doctoral journey, focused on maternal health services for adolescent refugees in urban Uganda, has unfolded at the intersection of scholarship, community service, and the daily realities of young girls navigating pregnancy far from home.
The Work That Came Before the Question
Long before she began writing a PhD proposal, Olivia Nakisita was already immersed in adolescent health. As a Research Associate in the Department of Community Health and Behavioral Sciences at Makerere University’s School of Public Health, she taught graduate and undergraduate students, supervised Master’s research, and worked closely with communities. Beyond the university, she led New Life Adolescent and Youth Organization (NAYO), a women-led organisation she founded in 2021 to strengthen access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and services for adolescents and young people.
It was through this community work that a troubling pattern began to surface.
“During our community service,” she explains, “we noted increasing teenage pregnancies, and we also noted challenges with access to maternal health services by teenage pregnant girls.”
Among those girls were adolescents living as urban refugees in Kampala, young, displaced, often poor, and navigating pregnancy in a city not designed with them in mind.
For Nakisita, the concern deepened through her academic training in Public Health Disaster Management, one such programme that prepares multidisciplinary professionals with the technical expertise and leadership competencies required to plan for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from complex disasters through a public health lens. This programme sharpened Nakisita’s interest in how displaced populations survive within complex urban systems. Uganda’s integrated health model, where refugees and host communities are expected to use the same facilities, appears equitable on paper. In practice, it can be unforgiving.
“I got interested in understanding how these refugees who get pregnant manage to navigate the complexities of integration in host societies like Kampala,” she says. “This was driven by the desire to address their needs and to inform and evaluate existing refugee health policies.”
That desire became the foundation of her PhD.
Asking Hard Questions in a Crowded City
Her doctoral research, “Maternal Health Services for Adolescent Refugees in Urban Settings in Uganda: Access, Utilisation, and Health Facility Readiness,” was conducted in Kampala between November 2023 and August 2024. It combined quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews, engaging 637 adolescent refugees aged 10–19 years, alongside health workers and facility assessments.
Her findings showed high perceived access to maternal health services. Clinics existed. Services were available. Yet utilisation, particularly of antenatal care (ANC), lagged. “About three-quarters of the girls attended at least one antenatal visit,” she explains, “but only about four in ten attended in the first trimester.”
And that gap matters. Public health research shows that early and regular antenatal care allows health workers to detect high-risk pregnancies, initiate supplements such as iron and folic acid, monitor fetal development, and provide psychosocial support. Without it, risks compound silently.
By contrast, her study found that facility-based deliveries were remarkably high, with nearly all adolescent refugees (98.3%) giving birth in health facilities, suggesting that the system was reachable, but uneven.
Where the System Falls Short
Her research went beyond utilisation to examine whether health facilities were actually ready to serve adolescent refugees.
Findings show that lower-level health centres in Kampala were moderately prepared to offer adolescent-friendly maternal health services. Some staff were trained. Some spaces existed. Despite this, critical gaps remained. For instance, facilities lacked essential equipment and supplies. Non-provider staff were often untrained. Separate, private spaces for adolescents were limited. Language barriers complicated care. Overcrowding strained already stretched health workers.
In her qualitative interviews, health workers expressed empathy and willingness to help. Many relied on peer educators and community health workers to reach adolescent refugees. But good intentions were not enough.
“They recommended training of healthcare workers, translators for refugees, and improvement in the availability of essential drugs, supplies, and equipment,” Nakisita notes.
She notes that readiness is not just about infrastructure but about the people, preparation, and priorities.
Research with an Emotional Cost
For Nakisita, working with adolescent refugees required care, not only methodologically, but emotionally.
Finding participants in Kampala was itself a challenge. Unlike settlement settings, urban refugees are dispersed, often invisible. Ethical considerations were constant. Adolescents who had given birth were legally considered emancipated minors, but their vulnerability remained.
Though the thesis focused on systems rather than personal narratives, Nakisita’s earlier work with adolescents informed every decision she made. It shaped how she framed questions, interpreted data, and weighed policy implications. This was not detached research, but careful, deliberate, and grounded.
The Scholar Formed by Continuity
Nakisita’s PhD sits atop more than 18 years of experience in training, research, and community service. She is an alumna of Makerere College School (UCE), 1996 and Greenhill Academy Secondary School (UACE), 1998, a long journey through Uganda’s education system before her Diploma in Project Planning and Management at Makerere University completed in early 2000s.
She would later return eight years later to Makerere University for her Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences and a Master’s in Public Health Disaster Management, and now a PhD in Public Health.
Her academic rigor is reflected in extensive training across SRHR, impact evaluation, research methods, ethics, disaster resilience, and humanitarian health. She has presented at regional and international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals on adolescent health, refugee maternal care, gender-based violence, and health systems readiness.
As a PhD student, she supervised three Master’s students to completion, with another currently progressing, quietly extending her influence through mentorship.
When Evidence Demands Action
If policymakers were to act on one lesson from her research, Nakisita says; “Emphasis should be given to maternal health services for adolescents.” “They are high-risk mothers,” she adds.
Her findings call for targeted community-based interventions, outreaches, home visits, and financial support for adolescents who cannot afford prescribed drugs, delivery requirements, or critical tests like ultrasound scans.
They also call for health systems to move beyond one-size-fits-all models, recognising that age, displacement, and poverty intersect to shape how care is accessed and experienced.
Now that her PhD is complete, Nakisita plans to translate research into action. Several papers from her study have already been published. A policy brief is planned to influence decision-making in urban and humanitarian health settings.
When asked what she would say directly to adolescent refugee girls navigating pregnancy in unfamiliar cities, her response is simple and direct.
“If it happens,” she says, “as soon as you find out, go to the nearest health facility and seek care. Always return for the visits as asked by the health worker. Ensure that you deliver in a health facility with a skilled health worker.”
Arrival, Without Illusion
When Dr. Olivia Nakisita steps onto the graduation stage at Freedom Square, applause will follow. But the true significance of that moment lies in health facilities still struggling to adapt; in adolescent refugees whose pregnancies unfold quietly in rented rooms and crowded neighborhoods; in policies waiting to be sharpened by evidence.
Her scholarship does not promise quick fixes but offers clarity.
Among the PhDs conferred at Makerere University’s 76th graduation, her work reminds us that some research does not begin in libraries and does not end with theses. It lives on in the slow, necessary work of making health systems see those they have long overlooked.
— Makerere University School of Public Health Communications Office, Graduation Profiles Series, 76th Graduation Ceremony
The 92nd Guild Ministry of Health is set to host the Annual Makerere Guild Medical Camp, a three-day outreach that will bring free and essential medical services to students, staff, and the surrounding community. The camp will run from 17th to 19th September 2026, from 8:00am to 5:00pm each day, at the Freedom Square.
Themed around promoting student wellness for academic excellence, the medical camp is organised under the leadership of Hon. Wamezaya Ebenezer, the Minister of Health in the 92nd Guild Government, in alliance with several partner organisations supporting the university’s health and wellness agenda. The initiative reflects a growing recognition within student leadership circles that academic performance is closely tied to the physical and mental wellbeing of the university community.
Comprehensive Range of Services
The medical camp will offer a wide range of services designed to address both routine and specialised health needs. On the general health side, attendees will have access to general and specialist medical consultations, allowing students, staff, and community members to seek professional advice on a variety of health concerns without the usual costs associated with private or even public healthcare.
Screening services will also be a central feature of the camp. Organisers have confirmed that sickle cell testing, malaria rapid diagnostic testing, and HIV screening will be available on site, giving participants the opportunity to know their status and receive guidance on appropriate next steps. Eye care services and laboratory diagnostics will round up this category, addressing common but often neglected areas of student health.
Beyond diagnostics and consultations, the camp will provide free essential medicines to those who need them, easing the financial burden that often accompanies treatment even after a diagnosis has been made. Reproductive health counseling will also be offered, giving students a confidential space to discuss matters that are frequently overlooked in general campus health conversations. Mental health counseling completes the list of available services, an inclusion that speaks to the increasing attention being paid to psychological wellbeing within the university community.
A Camp Open to the Wider Community
While the camp is organised by the Guild Ministry of Health and centred on student welfare, its reach extends beyond the student body. Organisers have made it clear that the free medical services will be available to students, staff, and members of the whole Makerere community, positioning the event as a broader public health contribution rather than a strictly internal university affair. This inclusive approach mirrors similar outreach efforts previously undertaken by student leadership and university departments, which have sought to position Makerere University not just as a centre of learning but as an active contributor to community welfare in the areas surrounding its campuses.
Freedom Square, long regarded as the symbolic heart of student activity and expression at Makerere University, was selected as the venue for the three day event. Its central location and historic significance make it an accessible and fitting site for an initiative of this scale, expected to draw considerable numbers of participants over the course of the camp.
Health as a Pillar of Academic Success
The organisers have anchored the medical camp around the message of promoting student wellness for academic excellence, a theme that underscores the connection between health and academic performance. University life often places significant demands on students, both physically and mentally, and untreated health concerns can quietly undermine academic progress long before they become visible crises. By bringing screening, treatment, and counseling services directly to students at no cost, the Guild Ministry of Health is addressing barriers that might otherwise prevent students from seeking care, whether due to cost, distance, or stigma, particularly around mental health and reproductive health matters.
The inclusion of mental health counseling alongside more traditional physical health services is particularly notable. It signals an evolving understanding among student leaders that wellness cannot be addressed through physical checkups alone, and that psychological support deserves equal standing within campus health initiatives. Similarly, the presence of reproductive health counseling reflects an effort to normalise conversations that many young people find difficult to initiate on their own.
What to Expect
Over the three days, participants can expect a structured environment at Freedom Square, with separate service points catering to the different categories of care on offer. Medical professionals will be on hand to conduct consultations and screenings, while counselors will provide guidance on reproductive and mental health matters in a setting designed to protect privacy and encourage openness.
Given the scale of services on offer and the open invitation extended to staff and community members in addition to students, organisers anticipate strong turnout throughout the three day period. Those interested in attending are encouraged to plan their visits within the stated hours of 8:00am to 5:00pm to take full advantage of the services available.
For any inquiries regarding the medical camp, members of the university community and the public have been directed to reach out to Hon. Wamezaya Ebenezer, the Minister of Health, through the contact provided by the Guild Ministry of Health.
Building on a Guild Tradition
The Annual Makerere Guild Medical Camp is not a new concept within student governance at the university. Successive Guild Ministries of Health have used the medical camp as a recurring platform through which they translate campaign promises around student welfare into visible action. Each edition tends to build on the lessons of the one before it, with organisers typically expanding the range of services offered as new partnerships are secured and as feedback from previous camps is incorporated into planning.
This year’s edition, organised under the 92nd Guild Ministry of Health, appears to place particular emphasis on breadth of service, combining preventive screening, curative consultation, and psychosocial support within a single three-day window. The decision to bundle sickle cell testing, malaria and HIV screening alongside eye care and laboratory diagnostics suggests an intention to make the camp a one stop point for health assessment, reducing the need for participants to seek out multiple providers across the city for basic checks they might otherwise postpone indefinitely.
Why Timing Matters
The scheduling of the camp in September places it at a point in the academic calendar when many students are settling back into campus life after recess, a period during which health concerns accumulated over the break, whether physical ailments left unattended or emerging mental health pressures tied to academic anxiety, tend to surface. Offering free consultations and counseling at this juncture allow students to address these concerns early, before they compound into more serious complications that could interfere with coursework, examinations, or general campus participation.
For staff members and residents of the areas surrounding the university, the timing also offers a convenient opportunity to access services that might otherwise require travel to distant health facilities or extended waiting periods within an already strained public health system. In this sense, the camp functions as a modest but meaningful supplement to existing healthcare provision in the vicinity of the university.
As the 17th of September approaches, the Annual Makerere Guild Medical Camp stands as another example of the Guild Ministry of Health stepping beyond the boundaries of policy and advocacy into direct, hands-on service delivery, a model that continues to shape the character of guild ministries at Makerere University. Students, staff, and members of the surrounding community are encouraged to take advantage of the free services on offer and to look out for further communication from the Guild Ministry of Health as the event draws closer.
For more info, reach Hon. Wamezaya on +256784541248
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