As Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) presents 29 graduands on February 25, 2026, at Makerere University’s 76th Graduation Ceremony, for the conferment of the Bachelor of Environmental Health Science (BEHS) degree, the journey of the cohort’s best student provides a compelling window into both individual resilience and institutional impact. Philliph Acaye, graduating with a CGPA of 4.63, represents more than academic distinction. His story reflects the lived realities that shape many public health professionals in Uganda and shows how rigorous training can transform experience into leadership within health systems.
On the left, Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, MakSPH Dean, presents Bachelor of Environmental Health Science graduands, who look on in anticipation during Makerere University’s 75th Graduation Ceremony in January 2025.
Education Shaped by Conflict
Acaye was born on October 2, 1993, in Wangduku Village, Palenga Parish, Pajule Sub-County, Pader District in northern Uganda, a region deeply affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency in the early 2000s, where education and security often existed in constant tension. As a child, schooling unfolded alongside displacement and uncertainty, conditions that shaped an entire generation growing up during the conflict.
“Around 2002, before we had fully moved into the IDP camps, we often ran with our parents whenever there were LRA attacks,” he recalls. “But on several occasions, they caught us unaware. During one of the attacks, they abducted me and moved with me for close to seven kilometres, from Wangduku to Pajule Trading Centre in Pader. At first, they said I was too young to be moved with. I was around nine or ten years old. Later, I understood that someone among them personally knew my father and did not want me taken, so he used my age as the reason, and they left me behind.”
Children and families walk at dusk in northern Uganda during the height of the LRA insurgency in 2004, when many travelled nightly to safer shelters to avoid abduction, a reality that shaped the childhood of a generation, including graduates like Philliph Acaye. Photo Credit: UNICEF/Chulho Hyun.
He narrates that several relatives and neighbours, including some of his childhood friends, were not spared, among them an uncle whose whereabouts remain unknown to this day. “If they had gone with me,” Acaye reflects quietly, “I could be dead, or I might not have studied.” The remark sits deep and places his graduation in context, not simply as personal success, but as the outcome of persistence through years when conflict repeatedly disrupted education across northern Uganda.
Between 2002 and 2006, his schooling continued inside Pajule Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp, where families lived in overcrowded settlements and depended largely on relief food. Learning environments were unstable, teachers travelled under risk, and lessons were frequently interrupted by insecurity. Even within the camps, attacks remained possible. Education progressed slowly, but it continued, sustained by families and teachers who insisted that schooling remained essential despite uncertainty.
When communities gradually returned home, Acaye rebuilt his academic track record step by step. He completed Primary Leaving Examinations in 2007 with an aggregate of 19 and was the best pupil at Wangduku Primary School, at a time when enrolment remained low because many families feared returning to villages. He proceeded to Pajule Senior Secondary School, completing O-Level in 2011 with 31 aggregates, and later obtained 10 points at A-Level in 2013 from Kitgum High School.
However, his progression was shaped by consistent recovery after disruption, supported by relatives, teachers, community mentors, and educational assistance from Invisible Children, a post-LRA conflict recovery NGO led locally by Ms. Laker Jolly Okot, which supported his A-Level education.
Professional direction emerged during his training at the Mbale School of Hygiene, where he pursued a Diploma in Environmental Health Science from 2014 to 2016 and graduated with a strong CGPA of 4.4. The diploma opened immediate employment opportunities in community and humanitarian health settings back home, followed by service in local government. Today, he works as a Health Inspector in Kitgum District Local Government, implementing sanitation monitoring, infection prevention activities, and community health interventions. Practical experience strengthened his understanding of public health challenges but also revealed limits in technical depth that he felt required further training.
Training the Public Health Professional
His admission to MakSPH in 2022 through the government diploma-entry sponsorship scheme represented a deliberate academic decision rather than a career reset. He sought broader analytical skills and a stronger grounding in environmental health systems, particularly in areas of surveillance, planning, and evidence-based decision-making.
“I realised some technical aspects were not fully covered at the diploma level. I wanted to understand public health beyond implementation and learn how decisions are justified scientifically,” Acaye explained.
Philliph Acaye supporting COVID-19 screening at Tikao Prison Farm in Orom Sub-County, Kitgum District, in 2022, part of his frontline public health work as a Health Inspector during the pandemic response.
The sponsorship, he observed, transformed that ambition into possibility and remains central to how he understands his academic journey at Makerere University. “I am grateful to the Makerere University selection committee, the MakSPH selection committee, and the Government of Uganda for this opportunity. Opportunities like this are not guaranteed, and I recognise the trust placed in me to undertake and complete the three-year BEHS programme.”
The transition into university study was not seamless, though. His admission had come earlier than planned, and he began coursework without formal study leave while still tied to workplace obligations in Kitgum. Sustained support from district leadership, particularly Dr. Okello Henry Otto, the District Health Officer, eventually enabled him to secure study leave and concentrate fully on academic work. Now with stability came rapid academic improvement, supported by peer learning, faculty mentorship, and a strong curriculum that emphasised analytical reasoning alongside applied practice.
Acaye attributes his transformation to the programme’s academic culture rather than individual brilliance. “The programme helped me realise that what I was doing before was only a surface understanding,” he argued. “I learned to approach public health more deeply.” Exposure to research methods, he revealed, reshaped how he interpreted field experience and encouraged him to submit an abstract to an international academic conference, marking his transition from practitioner to emerging researcher.
For Mr. Abdallah Ali Halage, the MakSPH Coordinator of the BEHS programme, such outcomes reflect intentional design rather than coincidence. He noted that student success is rooted in a training philosophy that combines technical instruction with professional discipline from the moment students enter the programme. According to him, orientation focuses not only on coursework but also on expectations of conduct, independence, and responsibility. “When students join, we brief them on how seriously they must approach their academic journey,” he said. “That grounding helps shape their performance over time.”
Mr. Abdallah Ali Halage, MakSPH Coordinator of the Bachelor of Environmental Health Science programme, delivers remarks during the Heavy Metal project Dissemination Workshop at MakSPH on June 26, 2025.
Mr. Halage argued that while some high-performing students enter through diploma schemes, achievement ultimately depends on commitment and effort rather than background. He cited Acaye’s consistent curiosity and self-motivation as defining traits, noting that strong academic results tend to follow students who actively engage with the learning process.
“I congratulate Philliph and his colleagues upon attaining first-class honours and performing very well academically. Philliph has been hardworking and self-motivated. He has consistently shown a strong interest in his studies, and that commitment has helped him achieve this result. He has been a very good student,” Mr. Halage attested.
He added that the achievement reflects a broader culture within the programme. “Our students are disciplined and independent. Their commitment, together with support from the School management, the College and University leadership, has contributed greatly to their success.”
MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze and former Deputy Dean Prof. Elizeus Rutebemberwa join faculty and staff in welcoming incoming students during a MakSPH student orientation on 15 August 2025, reflecting the School’s strong culture of mentorship and academic support that shapes student success.
From Individual Achievement to Institutional Impact
The broader significance of Acaye’s achievement becomes clearer when placed within the evolution of the BEHS programme itself. Established in 2000 within MakSPH’s Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health (DCEH), the programme remains the School’s sole undergraduate degree and was among the earliest environmental health bachelor’s programmes in East Africa. In more than two decades, it has produced over 1,000 graduates, expanding professional capacity beyond diploma-level training and strengthening Uganda and the region’s environmental health workforce across government, non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, and points of entry such as airports and border services.
Mr. Halage explained that the programme helped redefine career pathways within the government of Uganda’s public service structures by introducing degree-level expertise into environmental health roles. Graduates now serve as Environmental Health Officers, Senior Environmental Health Officers, and technical specialists contributing to policy implementation and service delivery across multiple sectors. The academic pathway has also expanded vertically, with postgraduate training opportunities at MakSPH currently enabling graduates to progress into research, teaching, and doctoral-level specialisation, ensuring continuity within the discipline.
Philliph Acaye conducts stream water pollution testing during field training in Kasangati in 2023, applying environmental health surveillance skills central to the Bachelor of Environmental Health Science programme at MakSPH.
A Programme Shaping Regional Practice
The reputation of Makerere University’s Bachelor of Environmental Health Science programme is also increasingly influencing regional institutions. During a strategic benchmarking visit to MakSPH on July 30, 2025, Dr. Ratib Dricile, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Muni University, described the School of Public Health as a reference point for universities seeking to strengthen environmental health training in the region.
The main reason the delegation visited Makerere University School of Public Health was that Muni University remains a young and growing institution located in north-western Uganda along the borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, where porous borders contribute to frequent cross-border diseases, many of which are preventable through strong environmental health approaches, Dr. Dricile explained.
Dr. Ratib Dricile (third right), Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Muni University, together with the Muni University delegation, during a benchmarking visit to MakSPH on July 30, 2025, to learn from the School’s Environmental Health training model.
“Makerere University, with over 100 years of institutional experience and 25 years running the Environmental Health programme, was the right place for us to benchmark, particularly in curriculum design, course content, programme structure, and implementation,” he said. “We were impressed by the work being implemented and gained more than we initially expected. By integrating these experiences, we believe the Muni University curriculum can become even stronger. The collaboration will allow us to adopt innovations built on Makerere’s long experience, and we believe that working together with Makerere University will strengthen Muni University institutionally and contribute positively to our university’s growth and ranking.”
It is within this institutional tradition, built over decades of training environmental health professionals across Uganda and the region, that Philliph Acaye’s achievement takes meaning. For him, graduating top of the class remains grounded in practical purpose rather than prestige. He views a first-class degree as an opportunity rather than an endpoint. Recalling guidance from his lecturers, he said strong academic results can open doors but must be followed by demonstrated competence. “A first class helps you get shortlisted,” he said. “After that, you must prove yourself.”
Philliph Acaye (back row) with classmates from the Bachelor of Environmental Health Science programme at MakSPH during their undergraduate training as part of the 2022 intake cohort.
His immediate plans reflect that perspective. He is currently pursuing additional training in Health Services Management at Gulu College of Health Sciences while preparing for postgraduate study in either public health or environmental and occupational health. At the same time, he continues supporting pupils in his community and plans to mobilise resources to provide sanitary pads for girls at his former primary school, an initiative he believes will help reduce school dropout rates in rural areas.
Acaye’s journey, from disrupted schooling in an IDP camp to graduating top of MakSPH’s BEHS programme for the 2022 cohort, reflects the deeper purpose of public health education. As MakSPH presents its newest cohort for graduation this week, his story demonstrates how the programme turns lived experience into professional capacity, strengthening communities and health systems across Uganda and the region, one graduate at a time.
Makerere University School of Public Health, in collaboration with Jhpiego, invites applications for 49 short-term positions under the Scaling the Optimal Use of Multiple ACTs to Prevent Antimalarial Drug Resistance (STOP-AMDR) Project.
The short-term assignments will support data collection in Buikwe and Busia districts, with some national-level activities. Applicants are encouraged to review the requirements for their preferred position before applying.
Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), through the Africa-Europe Cluster of Research Excellence (CoRE) for Preparedness and Response to Pandemics and Shocks, has shared findings from its study of Uganda’s Mpox response with stakeholders in Kasese, Amuru, Nakasongola and Mayuge districts to strengthen district preparedness for future outbreaks.
The Africa-Europe CoRE is a partnership co-led by MakSPH and the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters at UCLouvain, Belgium. It brings together universities in Africa and Europe to strengthen research, training and preparedness for pandemics and other public health shocks.
The district-level dissemination meetings, held from 10 to 14 August 2026, brought together more than 100 local government, health and security officials, Village Health Teams, implementing partners and community representatives. The meetings enabled stakeholders to validate the district-level findings, identify practical actions and provide feedback for the study’s final analysis and national dissemination.
Mr. Philliam Jabim shares the Mpox response study findings with participants during the dissemination meeting in Nakasongola District on 12 August 2026.
Uganda confirmed its first two Mpox cases on 24 July 2024 at Bwera Hospital in Kasese District. The Ministry of Health declared an outbreak on 2 August 2024. As documented in the study, the response involved health workers, communities, local governments, security agencies, political leaders, and implementing partners.
In response to the outbreak, a MakSPH research team led by Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, Dr. Rawlance Ndejjo, Dr. Steven Kabwama and Mr. Douglas Bulafu conducted a study in May 2025 to assess Uganda’s Mpox response, including its policies, interventions, strategies and challenges, and generate lessons to inform recovery and strengthen preparedness for future public health emergencies.
Using purposive sampling, the research team conducted 20 key informant interviews and five focus group discussions in each of the four districts, drawing perspectives from western Uganda in Kasese, northern Uganda in Amuru, central Uganda in Nakasongola and eastern Uganda in Mayuge.
Participants and the MakSPH research team at the Mpox response study dissemination meeting in Nakasongola District on 12 August 2026.
The study, titled Assessment of the Mpox Response in Uganda: Documenting Challenges, Lessons and Innovations to Strengthen Emergency Preparedness and Response Capacities, was funded by the Government of Uganda through the Makerere UniversityResearch and Innovation Fund (Mak-RIF).
“This study is helping us move beyond recounting the Mpox response to identifying the actions that districts and national partners can take before the next outbreak. By validating the findings with stakeholders who led and experienced the response, we are ensuring that the evidence reflects local realities and can inform stronger surveillance, risk communication, coordination and community engagement,” said Mr. Bulafu, who led the MakSPH team during the dissemination meeting in Amuru.
Mr. Douglas Bulafu engages participants during the Mpox response study dissemination meeting in Amuru District on 10 August 2026.
In Amuru, the 10 August meeting brought together over 25 stakeholders from the district health team, political leadership, security agencies, Village Health Teams, implementing partners and the community. On the same day, a second MakSPH team, led by Mr. Keneth Sebukeera and Mr. Filimin Niyongabo, convened stakeholders in Kasese for a parallel validation meeting. The consultations then continued in Nakasongola on 12 August and concluded in Mayuge on 14 August, extending the study’s engagement across all four districts.
Across the districts, stakeholders said the results reflected their experience during the outbreak. They pointed to strengths in leadership, coordination, community engagement and partner support, while also describing gaps in documentation, logistics, diagnostic access, staffing, risk communication, public trust and continuity of essential health services.
They also noted inconsistent implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) 7-1-7 target, which calls for detecting a suspected outbreak within seven days, notifying public health authorities within one day and completing early response actions within seven days.
The MakSPH research team, led by Mr. Keneth Sebukeera and Mr. Filimin Niyongabo, with participants during the Mpox response study dissemination meeting in Kasese District on 10 August 2026.
In Kasese, stakeholders highlighted gaps in documentation, financial and logistical resources, and human resources. They identified Village Health Teams and grassroots, religious and cultural leaders as important resources for community surveillance and risk communication. They called for stronger collaboration between technical and non-technical leaders, engagement with traditional healers, greater use of local radio for public sensitisation, and better facilitation of district epidemic response teams to reach distant communities.
Amuru participants called for proactive preparedness in the border district, citing misinformation and rumours as barriers to risk communication. They urged timely, accurate information from health workers and other authorities; training in disease surveillance and grant writing to strengthen capacity and resource mobilisation; and compassionate care, psychosocial support and community awareness to reduce stigma and support survivor reintegration.
During the meeting in Nakasongola, stakeholders identified Community Health Workers and Community Health Extension Workers as potential resources for strengthening community surveillance and addressing workforce shortages. Given the district’s position around Lake Kyoga and along the Kampala-South Sudan transit corridor, they also called for stronger documentation, note-taking and reporting, accurate real-time information, closer communication with the Ministry of Health, and collaboration among technical, political, religious and community leaders.
Ms. Eunice Vivian Asingo, Senior Nursing Officer at Nakasongola Health Centre IV, contributes to the discussion during the Mpox response study dissemination meeting in Nakasongola District on 12 August 2026.
Ms. Eunice Vivian Asingo, Senior Nursing Officer at Nakasongola Health Centre IV, called for a permanent, adequately resourced outbreak-management centre to help protect routine services during future epidemics. “We appeal for better facilities to manage epidemics and outbreaks. At Nakasongola Health Centre IV, spaces previously used for outbreak management have been repurposed for other services, and we have limited staff. During the Mpox response, colleagues assigned to manage patients later returned to the general team, creating fear among staff already under pressure,” she said.
In Mayuge, Dr. Basembeza highlighted leadership, coordination and surveillance structures operating from district to community level as important factors in the response. He said the structures enabled the district to receive and respond quickly to community alerts. “Whenever there is a rumour or an alert, we are able to respond. Within 20 minutes, we had a response because of the structure we have,” Dr. Basembeza said.
Based on the findings, the research team recommends increased preparedness financing, stronger community engagement, decentralised diagnostic services through stronger district laboratory capacity, and improved health information and research systems.
Across the four districts, stakeholders reaffirmed that trusted community structures and coordinated action across sectors are essential to strengthening outbreak preparedness.
Every academic year, a new group of students enters Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) with different professional backgrounds, questions and ambitions. For the School, each cohort adds to a growing community of professionals and researchers shaping public health practice, policy and research in Uganda and beyond.
On Friday, 7 August 2026, MakSPH held its orientation for newly admitted students for the 2026/2027 academic year at the MakSPH Auditorium. The orientation introduced students to the School’s academic programmes, leadership, departments, academic administration, student support services and expectations for university life.
For this academic year, ending July 2027, Makerere University admitted more than 370 students to academic programmes hosted at MakSPH. The intake comprised 75 students in the Bachelor of Environmental Health Science, the School’s only bachelor’s programme, 277 across the nine master’s programmes, and 21 across the two doctoral programmes, PhD by Research and PhD by Coursework and Research.
Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze (centre) with MakSPH staff, student leaders and new students during orientation for the 2026/2027 academic year.
The master’s intake includes 103 students in the Master of Public Health by Distance Education, the highest enrolment for the year, followed by 59 in the Master of Public Health Full-Time. The remaining students joined programmes in Biostatistics, Environmental and Occupational Health, Health Informatics, Health Services Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, Nutrition, and Public Health Disaster Management. Together, the programmes reflect the breadth of knowledge and skills needed to address public health challenges and bring together students pursuing further training from diverse professional backgrounds.
Welcoming the new cohort, MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze urged students to approach their studies with purpose, discipline, and resilience, and focus on what they would be able to do with the knowledge and skills they acquire.
“Please find time to enjoy your journey. I know you’re looking ahead to exams and so many other pressures, but let this journey also be one that you enjoy in terms of what you learn and how you grow, so that you leave here better, not because of the paper that you took but because of the capability that you pick up during your time with us.”
MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze addresses new students at orientation for the 2026/2027 academic year, 7 August 2026, MakSPH Auditorium, urging them to value capability over paper.
The Dean’s message speaks to the different reasons students are beginning their journeys at MakSPH. For some, the opportunity is to build on professional experience and strengthen their capacity in roles they already hold. Among them is Dr. Judith Nalukwago, a dental surgeon, former 85th Vice Guild President of Makerere University, and Makindye Division III Lord Councillor, who serves as Executive Secretary for Education, Gender and Public Health at City Hall and the Office of the Lord Mayor.
“I am back here to study a Master’s in Public Health. I am very excited. I have a clinical background and have been practising as a clinician, and it has been a joyful experience. But when I joined the journey of leadership, there were challenges because, as Executive Secretary for Public Health in Kampala, we deal with everyday people’s health challenges,” said Dr. Nalukwago, adding:
“Now I am in management and leadership, and that posed a challenge to me as an individual. I asked myself, what course can I do to add to my skills? Where can I gain skills that can help me overcome this challenge while I am dealing with people? And I remembered that we have the School of Public Health at Makerere University.”
Watch: Dr. Judith Nalukwago on why she returned to MakSPH for a Master’s in Public Health:
Her experience during the Ebola response, when she served on the task force, further highlighted the need for broader public health knowledge. She said the training would strengthen her ability to contribute to policy and public health management, particularly in her role at City Hall, where councillors develop policies, bylaws, and ordinances.
For Mr. John Othieno, the motivation is similarly grounded in applying his training to practical problems. A Software Engineering graduate who previously completed a Master’s in Health Informatics at MakSPH, he has returned to pursue a PhD under the Department of Health Policy, Planning and Management. His research focuses on using technology and health informatics to address health-system challenges, including the adoption of picture archiving and communication systems for managing healthcare imaging and data. He said he wants his research to produce solutions that can be applied beyond academia.
“I purposed that, in my academic journey, I would not do research for the sake of having it gather dust on the shelves, but that it would actually be actionable research that can be translated into action, into solutions for our population,” he said.
Watch: Mr. John Othieno on why he returned to MakSPH to pursue a PhD in Public Health:
Nalukwago and Othieno reflect the diverse professional backgrounds that come together at MakSPH, where training, research, and community engagement have been central to the School’s work for over seven decades. Their journeys point to a sustained impact on public health education, seen not only in enrolment and graduate numbers but in the skills and expertise those graduates carry into policy, research, and health systems across Uganda and the region. At the close of the 2024/2025 academic year, MakSPH enrolled 1,140 students across 12 degree programmes, more than 90 percent of them in postgraduate training.
At Makerere University’s 76th Graduation Ceremony on 25 February 2026, MakSPH presented 231 graduates, comprising seven doctoral, 195 master’s and 29 bachelor’s graduates, adding to the health workforce within the region. Among the graduates was Dr. Harriet Aber, who completed her PhD on child substance use in Uganda’s health system and shared her experience with the new cohort during the orientation. She spoke candidly about the demands of postgraduate study and the need to remain positive through its challenges.
Dr. Harriet Aber, a MakSPH PhD graduate, shares her postgraduate journey with new students at orientation, 7 August 2026, MakSPH Auditorium, urging them to maintain a positive attitude through the challenges ahead.
“It’s not a rosy journey. You’re going to have so many moments where you celebrate, where you’re happy about something, but there are also several moments when maybe you’re stuck with the paper, you have to respond to comments, the proposal is not moving, the concept is not clear. Throughout all those processes, one of the things that you just have to maintain is having a positive attitude,” Aber affirmed.
Her experience offered the new cohort a glimpse of the journey ahead, while Prof. Wanyenze’s message focused on how they could make the most of it. The Dean urged students to plan ahead, pursue research opportunities, think independently, and use artificial intelligence responsibly, while seeking mentorship and making full use of the support and opportunities available at the School.
“Our students are our colleagues, and they are our future workmates. Many of them have ended up staying with us. And I know many of you are going to stay with us in the School,” the Dean said, urging students to take seriously the relationships they build with their classmates and faculty, because “we are a network that’s bound together in the same profession.”
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