Uganda’s health system is entering a new phase—one where the biggest challenge is no longer building it, but sustaining it. External funding is tightening. Domestic resources are under pressure. Demand for care is rising faster than both.
In this new reality, health is no longer just a social priority but a financing problem and a test of economic strategy.
For years, the system expanded on government investment, backed by strong external support. Infrastructure grew. Services followed. But that model is now under strain. Expectations are rising. Citizens want better care, closer to where they live, and without the financial shock that so often comes with illness.
Uganda is already investing in health. The real question is whether that investment is sustainable and whether it is delivering value.
It was against this backdrop that policymakers, academics, and practitioners gathered at Makerere University on April 9 for a public lecture and high-level dialogue on health financing. At the centre of the discussion was a keynote by Dr. Ramathan Ggoobi, the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury under the theme “Investing in Health for Uganda’s Future: Delivering Vision 2040 through Smart and Sustainable Health Financing.”
The event was organised by Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development.
Dr. Ggoobi does not think about health the way most people in government do. He is not persuaded by the language of welfare. When he speaks about health, he reaches for the language of growth, productivity, and national wealth. In his view, the sector is not a cost centre. It is an economic engine.
Dr. Ramathan Ggoobi, Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, delivers his keynote address on health financing at Makerere University on Thursday.
“Health is not merely a social sector issue. It is an economic transformation issue, a productivity issue, and a national competitiveness issue,” he said, arguing that no country has achieved sustained growth without investing in human capital. Globally, human capital accounts for nearly 70% of national wealth. The World Health Organization (2021) estimates that every dollar invested in health can return four to nine dollars in productivity gains.
“Investment in health is not charity. It is growth finance. So, my first message is to treat health spending as an investment, not as consumption. Every shilling must buy measurable economic and social returns,” he emphases.
His views reveal a shift in how Uganda’s Treasury thinks about health financing. Spending must justify itself. Investments must deliver returns. And inefficiency is no longer just a technical issue but a fiscal problem.
Ggoobi’s worldview is shaped by the idea that Uganda’s long-term growth ambitions under Vision 2040, which is 13 years away, to achieve what he describes as a tenfold expansion to a $500 billion economy, will be decided not just by infrastructure or industry but by the quality of its human capital.
Globally, he notes, human capital accounts for the bulk of national wealth. Health, therefore, is not peripheral to development. It is central to it.
If health is an investment, then it must generate returns. If it does not, then something in the system is not working. “Every shilling must buy measurable economic and social returns,” he said.
Dr. Ramathan Ggoobi, PSST (C), was received by MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze and Prof. Emeritus David Serwadda ahead of his keynote address and visit to the new School of Public Health facilities.
This is where the optimism gives way to unease. Countries that have achieved and sustained middle-income status did so through deliberate, sustained, evidence-driven investments in human capital.
Uganda is working within tight fiscal limits. The national budget for 2025/26 stands at Shs 72.38 trillion, with about Shs 5.87 trillion going to health.
Government spending on health has increased over time, rising from about Shs 2.8 trillion a few years ago to Shs 4.4 trillion today. But even with this growth, spending per person is still low, around $50 a year, less than half of what is often needed to provide basic health services.
Not all the money is used efficiently. Global estimates suggest that weak systems, poor coordination, and procurement challenges can cause up to a third of health spending to be lost.
According to Dr. Ggoobi, Uganda has made notable progress in strengthening its health system, driven by sustained public investment. Life expectancy has risen from about 50 years in 2000 to approximately 68.8 years in 2024, an increase of over 18 years. Access to services has also improved significantly, with about 91 percent of Ugandans now living within five kilometres of a health facility, while income poverty has declined from 24.5 percent in 2010 to 16 percent.
On the service delivery side, the government has introduced the malaria vaccine for children under five and rolled out electronic medical records across national and regional referral hospitals. Strategic investments have also been made, including 16 high-capacity oxygen plants, three regional blood banks, CT scan equipment in 14 of 16 regional referral hospitals, and 20 digital X-ray machines in general hospitals, with remaining gaps expected to be closed in the next budget. Together, he noted, these efforts demonstrate that sustained investment in health is yielding tangible results.
Beneath that progress, Dr. Ggoobi sees a health financing structure that is fundamentally unstable, noting that external partners still finance as much as 40–45 percent of health expenditure. Government contributes about 22 percent, household’s 31 percent, and insurance remains marginal at less than five percent. This balance, Ggoobi argues, is dangerous. It leaves the system exposed to shocks from outside while pushing risk onto those least able to bear it.
But the issue that troubles him most is government inefficiency. His priorities are to increase and protect domestic health financing, mobilise long-term capital, and improve efficiency.
“We are wasteful even with the little we have. Procurement is a major problem—many fights in government are not about mandate but about procurement. That is why we are moving all entities onto an electronic procurement system to improve transparency, reduce leakage, and ensure accountability,” said Dr. Ggoobi.
The government has enrolled 38 entities on the electronic procurement system. Full adoption is expected by mid-2026.
If you have good audits and we implement their recommendations, then we can expect positive outcomes. Number two is e-government, reducing human contact where it is not necessary. Unless you’re a doctor, you have to examine someone. Why do you have to sit in a hotel to discuss procurement? Humans must get out of discussing procurement. That’s why we are building the eGP and reviewing the procurement law. We are going back to the cabinet; we are going to remove human beings who are not necessary in the chain of procurement,” said Ggoobi.
Across the discussion, one issue drew near-unanimous agreement that prevention remains underfunded.
John Kauta, the Commissioner in charge of Health Information, Statistics, Monitoring, and Evaluation gives MoH reflections at the public lecture.
The Ministry of Health’s position, delivered through John Kauta, the Commissioner in charge of Health Information, Statistics, Monitoring, and Evaluation, is unequivocal that “the cheapest disease to treat is the one we prevent.”
Yet Uganda still spends more on treating illness than preventing it. Freddie Ssengooba, a Professor of Health Economics and Health Systems Management, MakSPH, highlighted malaria as a case study, both costly and preventable, while others pointed to rising non-communicable diseases driven by lifestyle factors.
This imbalance has fiscal consequences. Preventable diseases generate recurrent costs, crowding out other investments and reinforcing the cycle of inefficiency.
Freddie Ssengooba, a Professor of Health Economics and Health Systems Management, MakSPH.
Mak Chancellor Hon. Dr. Crispus Kiyonga pushed the debate toward geography and access, citing that while Uganda’s health system was originally designed to follow administrative structures, the ambition to reach every village was never fully realised.
“We must plan based on what we can sustainably afford. We cannot import another country’s system. But where shall we save the majority of our people? It is in the villages. That is where children miss school due to illness. Where young girls drop out due to a lack of basic support, like pads. So, we must choose: given limited resources, what system gives the greatest impact? When the Minister of Health asks for a CT scan—something people travel to Nairobi for—that is important. But in the village, a child needs an antimalarial. The choice is between a CT scan and basic treatment. These are tough decisions,” says Dr. Kiyonga.
Mak Chancellor Hon. Dr. Crispus Kiyonga speaks during the public lecture on health financing for Uganda.
While the country is “highly indebted” and resources are limited, the level of care that Uganda can realistically provide to its citizens should borrow from China’s early pragmatic reforms of universal access first and quality later, according to the Chancellor.
“You cannot deliver health from a distance,” he said, arguing for a renewed focus on community-level access.
The Chancellor also strongly supported a shift from tertiary care to primary care. From Mulago National Referral and reducing its congestion to the village by investing in lower health facilities.
He urged the government ministries of Finance and Health to strongly collaborate with academic institutions to improve their work. “This dialogue should not be a one-off. It must be continuous. Makerere must engage the government with well-costed, risk-weighted proposals. We should build structured collaboration between universities and government so that research informs policy, and we reduce reliance on expensive foreign consultants. There is valuable research here,” said Dr. Kiyonga.
Taken together, the dialogue revealed a country’s health system in transition, from scarcity to expansion but not yet to performance.
As Ms. Jane Kyarisiima Mwesiga, Deputy Head of Public Service (Service Delivery), Office of the Prime Minister, framed it, the next phase must move “from expansion to performance, from inputs to outcomes, from financing to public value.”
Ms. Jane Kyarisiima Mwesiga, Deputy Head of Public Service (Service Delivery), Office of the Prime Minister, delivers her opening remarks on public health financing in Uganda, emphasizing government commitment to improved service delivery, governance, and increased staffing.
But the path forward remains contested. Should Uganda prioritise insurance or direct public provision? Prevention or specialised care? Infrastructure or functionality?
The answers lie not in choosing but in sequencing, something Uganda has historically struggled to do.
Dr. Ian Clarke, a Physician, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and Chairman of Clarke Group Companies, speaking while representing the Private Sector during the dialogue, spoke emotionally on national health insurance, whose discussion has been ongoing for close to 20 years, but with minimal progress.
Dr. Ian Clarke, speaks during the panel discussion.
“We have had studies and proposals, but many were rightly rejected because they were not practical. You cannot design a National Health Insurance scheme that looks like private insurance. There is simply not enough money in Uganda—or anywhere—to sustain that. We still think in silos: public sector and private sector. Then we ask, how do we support the private sector? There are many ways—but as has been emphasized, we must focus on prevention and equity, especially in rural areas.”
For Ssengooba, while insurance is important and long-term, its implementation needs to be phased. He called for more investments in the health sector as the first line of insurance for citizens. He also called on the government to partner with institutions such as the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), which already have systems, capacity, and reach in place to support health investments. “If we leverage institutions like NSSF—for collection, for pooling resources—we can make progress. During COVID, they demonstrated that they can support national priorities. So, we should think about how to leverage what already exists,” he says.
Freddie Ssengooba, a Professor of Health Economics and Health Systems Management, MakSPH, (Left) speaks during the dialogue. Listening in, Dr. Ian Clarke, NSSF’s Omojong, and the Moderator, Prof. Elizabeth Ekirapa.
Stephen Omojong of the National Social Security Fund highlighted an untapped opportunity. The Fund currently manages about Shs 30 trillion in assets, with millions of contributors.
This pool, he argued, could support health financing either through insurance-linked products or long-term investment vehicles. His example of a voluntary savings scheme now has 68,000 participants and Shs. 114 billion mobilised in a year, suggesting that behavioural barriers may be less rigid than often assumed.
Stephen Omojong, Research & Product Development Manager, National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Uganda.
Makerere University Vice Chancellor, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, framed the dialogue as more than an academic exercise, describing it as a call to action. He urged the government to tap into the University’s research capacity to inform strategic investments, noting that “health research constitutes more than 50% of all research at Makerere University,” with institutions like the School of Public Health and the Infectious Diseases Institute playing a central role.
Makerere University Vice Chancellor, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, speaking at the Public Lecture.
He referred to their national impact—from supporting over 20% of Uganda’s HIV patients to operating in more than 90 districts—and emphasised that Makerere brings in over one trillion shillings annually in research income. “When you fund Makerere University,” he said, “you should understand that we are not a net consumer—we are a net producer for the country.”
Taken together, the dialogue revealed a system in transition from expansion to performance, from spending to results. Uganda is no longer short of ideas, nor entirely short of resources. The real test is execution.
Whether the country can turn health spending into measurable outcomes will determine not just the future of its health system but the credibility of its economic ambitions.
Every 4 July, the United States marks its independence. This year’s commemoration carries added significance as the country celebrates 250 years, offering partners across the world a moment to reflect on relationships built through shared purpose, investment and trust.
For Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), that reflection leads to a long and productive partnership with the people and Government of the United States, spanning more than 35 years. Through U.S. Government agencies and programmes, the collaboration has supported MakSPH’s growth from a national public health training institution into a regional platform for evidence, leadership, health systems strengthening and public health preparedness.
Today, MakSPH stands at a defining point in its institutional journey. Tracing its roots to the introduction of preventive medicine in Makerere University’s then Faculty of Medicine in 1954, the School has grown into a leading public health institution in Africa, training more than 1,000 students across 12-degree programmes, working through district field training sites, contributing to national technical committees, and implementing research and capacity-building work across Uganda and more than 35 African countries.
Hon. Margaret Muhanga, then State Minister for Primary Health Care and Chief Guest, joins Makerere University leaders and partners in cutting the MakSPH@70 anniversary cake during the School’s 70th anniversary celebrations in December 2024.
Its work spans infectious diseases, maternal and child health, noncommunicable diseases, climate and health, digital health, injury prevention, universal health coverage and epidemic preparedness. While grounded in close collaboration with the Government of Uganda, especially the Ministry of Health, this reach has also been shaped by long-standing U.S. Government support. Reflecting on this shared history, MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze said the partnership has made a lasting contribution to public health capacity.
“For more than three decades, MakSPH has been privileged to work in strong partnership with the people and Government of the United States. We are grateful for this collaboration, which has made a major contribution to advancing public health training, research and practice in Uganda and across Africa. From the Master of Public Health programme to fellowships, enhanced surveillance, operational research, HIV and infectious disease work, regional networks, innovation, and programmes such as METS, this partnership has helped build the people, evidence and systems that support public health action,” Prof. Wanyenze said.
MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze speaks during the UPHIA 2025 launch in Kampala, highlighting MakSPH’s contribution to Uganda’s public health response through research, evidence and technical guidance.
Training Leaders for Uganda’s Health System
In 1994, as Uganda decentralised its administration and public services, the Institute of Public Health, now Makerere University School of Public Health, established the Master of Public Health (MPH) Full-Time programme in response to a clear workforce need for public health leaders who could manage district health systems, investigate outbreaks, conduct needs assessments and respond to emerging health challenges.
Prof. David Serwadda, Professor Emeritus at Makerere University and former Dean of MakSPH, recalls the programme was designed to fill a critical district-level leadership gap. “After a very strong needs assessment by Makerere University and the Ministry of Health, it was found that we needed to train a specific cadre of public health leaders for the districts,” he said. “We needed people with good management skills, people who could investigate an epidemic, do a needs assessment and respond to health challenges.”
Prof. David Serwadda speaks during a departmental retreat in Jinja in June 2026. He served as Director of the Makerere Institute of Public Health from 2003 to 2007 and as the first Dean of MakSPH from 2007 to 2009.
Established as a two-year programme, the MPH Full-Time was based on the Public Health Schools Without Walls model and became one of the earliest community-based public health graduate programmes in Africa. Developed through joint commitment by the Institute of Public Health, the Ministry of Health and the Rockefeller Foundation, and with technical support from the U.S. CDC, the programme placed students at district field sites to learn through apprenticeship while working on real public health problems. Other partners, including WHO and UNFPA, later provided scholarship support.
Three decades later, the MPH Full-Time programme remains one of MakSPH’s flagship contributions to Uganda and the region’s public health workforce. It has trained more than 1,000 public health professionals for leadership across districts, Ministry programmes, research, teaching, implementation and technical advisory work. Many graduates have gone on to serve as District Health Officers, commissioners, programme leaders, researchers, lecturers and public health specialists, strengthening Uganda’s health system leadership.
Fellowships That Strengthened Public Health Response
In 2002, MakSPH hosted the first direct cooperative agreement between Makerere University and the U.S. CDC, formalising the workforce development arm of the partnership. Under the Leadership and Investment in Fighting Epidemics (LIFE) initiative, the agreement launched the HIV/AIDS Fellowship Programme, which trained leaders for organisations working in HIV and AIDS. By 2014, the programme had produced more than 100 long-term fellows, more than 200 medium-term fellows, and over 3,000 short-course participants.
Graduates pose with then U.S. Ambassador to Uganda H.E. William W. Popp during the 10th graduation of Advanced Field Epidemiology Fellows and the 2nd graduation of Laboratory Leadership Fellows under the Uganda Public Health Fellowship Programme in January 2026.
The fellowship platform later transitioned into the Uganda Public Health Fellowship Programme and, through subsequent cooperative agreements in 2016 and 2021, expanded into the broader Public Health Workforce Development Programme. Led by the Ministry of Health through the Uganda National Institute of Public Health, and implemented with the U.S. CDC, districts and MakSPH, the programme now supports advanced field epidemiology, Frontline and Intermediate Field Epidemiology Training, and laboratory leadership.
Fellows are embedded within the Ministry of Health, districts and public health institutions, strengthening surveillance, outbreak investigation, HIV/TB programming, quality improvement, laboratory systems and health informatics. The Field Epidemiology Track has supported an average of about 37 active fellows, including 39 in 2024/2025. That year, fellows provided technical assistance to the Ministry and conducted 84 epidemiological studies and investigations, including work linked to Uganda’s Mpox response.
HIV Evidence That Changed Policy and Practice
UPHIA 2025 laboratory technicians undergo pre-deployment training at MakSPH, delivered with Uganda National Health Laboratory Services, ahead of field data collection on HIV and related health indicators across Uganda.
Uganda’s HIV crisis in the 1980s became one of the earliest tests of MakSPH’s public health mission. The wasting illness, then known as “Slim”, was reported in Rakai in the early 1980s and later identified as HIV/AIDS. Researchers at the Institute of Public Health, now MakSPH, helped advance understanding of the epidemic, with Prof. David Serwadda among the earliest physicians in Uganda to recognise and describe the disease.
That work grew into the Rakai Health Sciences Programme, established in 1989 through collaboration involving Makerere University, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and partners. Over the decades, Rakai became a platform for research, surveillance, service delivery and training in communities deeply affected by HIV.
One landmark contribution showed that safe medical male circumcision reduced female-to-male HIV acquisition by about 60 per cent, helping inform HIV prevention policy in Uganda and globally. PEPFAR support also helped expand treatment in Rakai, where surveillance documented reduced mortality, lower HIV incidence, reduced orphanhood and improved community productivity.
The search for stronger prevention tools continued through MakSPH researchers, including Prof. Noah Kiwanuka, whose work in rural and fishing communities highlighted the need for better options for adolescent girls and young women. From 2022 to 2024, MakSPH managed the Makerere-Kalangala study site with UVRI-IAVI for the Gilead Sciences-led PURPOSE 1 trial, with Prof. Kiwanuka as Site Principal Investigator. The study contributed evidence on lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable now recognised as a major advance in HIV prevention.
Surveillance and National Decisions
Then Minister of Health Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng flags off UPHIA 2025 field teams in Kampala on 29 May 2025. The Ministry of Health-led survey is implemented with technical support from MakSPH and partners.
The partnership has also strengthened Uganda’s ability to measure the HIV epidemic and use evidence for national decisions. The Uganda Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (UPHIA) 2024/2025 is the country’s third national household-based HIV impact survey, commissioned by the Ministry of Health with technical support from MakSPH in partnership with UBOS, UVRI, and the U.S. CDC. After two earlier rounds supported by ICAP at Columbia University in 2016 and 2020, the current survey marks a shift to Ugandan leadership in implementation, analysis and use of evidence for the national response.
Funded by the U.S. Government through PEPFAR, UPHIA represents a USD 10 million investment in national evidence generation. Its results, expected in 2026, will provide updated national and subnational estimates of HIV prevalence, incidence, viral load suppression, service coverage and progress toward UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets. The survey covers 6,685 households and about 15,000 people aged 15 years and above, with additional focus on adolescents, noncommunicable diseases among people living with HIV, and barriers among those not virally suppressed.
Related surveillance work through the CRANE Survey has generated evidence on populations at higher risk of HIV and often missed by routine data. Established in 2008 with U.S. Government support through PEPFAR and implemented by MakSPH with the Ministry of Health and U.S. CDC, CRANE is one of Uganda’s longest-running HIV bio-behavioural surveillance platforms. More than USD 7 million in U.S. Government investment has supported evidence used in Uganda’s HIV Investment Case, the National HIV Strategic Plan, national bio-behavioural surveillance guidelines and UNAIDS guidance.
In its third round, conducted in 2023 and disseminated in 2024, CRANE reached 7,947 female sex workers and sexually exploited minors across 12 districts. About one in three participants were living with HIV, rising to 54 per cent among those aged 35 to 49. The survey also documented syphilis, high-risk HPV infection, violence, stigma in health facilities and high levels of depression, strengthening the case for targeted HIV prevention, treatment, mental health support, violence prevention, cervical cancer prevention and access to justice.
Then U.S. Ambassador to Uganda H.E. William W. Popp tours MakSPH exhibition stands with MakSPH and U.S. CDC leadership during the 2024 dissemination of CRANE Survey results in Kampala.
Regional Leadership, One Health and Innovation
U.S. Government support extended MakSPH’s contribution from national workforce development to regional public health leadership. In 2005, USAID, through the Higher Education for Development programme, supported the Leadership Initiative for Public Health in East Africa (LIPHEA), led by MakSPH with Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. The initiative strengthened leadership, competency-based training, faculty development and collaborative research across East Africa.
LIPHEA’s legacy continued through the East Africa HEALTH Alliance, which evolved into the One Health Central and Eastern Africa network and later the Africa One Health University Network (AFROHUN). These platforms brought public health, veterinary, environmental and allied disciplines into shared training and practice, helping build a workforce able to predict, detect and respond to zoonotic diseases, epidemics and other complex health threats.
The regional focus expanded further in 2012, when USAID selected Makerere University, through MakSPH, to lead the ResilientAfrica Network (RAN) under the Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN). Operating in 16 African countries through a network of 20 African universities, RAN connected African universities, U.S. partners and local innovators to strengthen community resilience to disease outbreaks, climate shocks, food insecurity, conflict and natural disasters. Through research, innovation grants, policy engagement and capacity building, it expanded MakSPH’s regional contribution to resilience science, innovation and implementation research.
METS and National Stewardship
MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze signs the METS handover board during the transition of digital health systems and assets to the Ministry of Health on 31 March 2026, as then U.S. Ambassador to Uganda H.E. William W. Popp and Dr. Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, look on.
A recent marker of partnership maturity came through the Monitoring and Evaluation Technical Support (METS) Programme. Launched in 2010 with U.S. Government support through the U.S. CDC and PEPFAR, METS strengthened Uganda’s health information systems, case-based surveillance, monitoring, evaluation and quality improvement for HIV, TB and broader public health programming. Across three five-year grants totalling USD 103.8 million, the programme helped move Uganda from fragmented reporting toward stronger national data systems and more integrated digital health infrastructure.
During its March 2026 handover to the Ministry of Health, METS transferred 16 digital health systems, 725 servers, more than 4,700 computing devices, solar systems for nearly 800 facilities, connectivity equipment for more than 1,300 sites, and network upgrades for regional referral hospitals. The transferred ICT infrastructure was valued at USD 9.3 million. METS also helped improve District Health Information System 2 reporting from 58 per cent in 2020 to 98 per cent by 2025, while Electronic Medical Record coverage expanded to more than 86 per cent nationally, with 1,900 sites using electronic medical records.
Infrastructure and Future Capacity
MakSPH’s new home takes shape near the Eastern Gate at Makerere University Main Campus, supported in part through the USAID ASHA grant.
MakSPH’s expanding mandate has placed new demands on its infrastructure. With more than 1,000 students, wider regional work and a growing research portfolio, the new MakSPH complex on Makerere University Main Campus is designed to support training, research, policy engagement and innovation at scale. In 2021, USAID, through the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) programme, awarded USD 1.1 million through Johns Hopkins University to support the Makerere University Centre of Excellence for Global Health within the new building.
The infrastructure agenda also points to the next phase of the MakSPH and U.S. Government partnership. After more than three decades of investment in leadership, evidence, surveillance, digital systems, regional networks and response capacity, sustaining these gains will require stronger shared responsibility.
As the United States marks 250 years of independence, MakSPH recognises a partnership that has strengthened Uganda’s public health system and continues to build capacity for the region.
The Makerere Bioethics Conference (MakBC) 2026 Organizing Committee is pleased to invite researchers, academics, students, practitioners, policymakers, research ethics committee members, and other stakeholders to submit abstracts and register for MakBC 2026.
Conference Theme: Evolving Trends in Global Health Research Ethics
Conference Dates: 10th – 11th November 2026 Venue: Hotel Africana, Kampala, Uganda
Conference Sub-Themes
Research in Emergency and Disaster Situations
Genetic and Genomics Research, Biobanking, and Data Governance
Research in Vulnerable Populations and Health Equity
Emerging Technologies in Research and Artificial Intelligence
Research Regulation and Research Integrity
We welcome the submission of original abstracts that address the conference theme and sub-themes. The conference will provide an opportunity for participants to share research findings, best practices, innovations, and emerging ethical issues in global health research.
Applications are invited for an exciting Master’s Scholarship Opportunity offered through a collaboration between Makerere University and Case Western Reserve University (USA).
The Biomedical Engineering Unit, Department of Physiology at Makerere University, in partnership with Case Western Reserve University, received funding from the U.S. NIH Fogarty International Center to train Ugandans in Biomedical Engineering (BME). The program aims to strengthen capacity for medical technology innovation and develop the next generation of researchers in Biomedical Engineering.
Scholarship Highlights
The scholarship supports students pursuing a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering or a closely related field. Eligible applicants include MSc students from:
Technology Innovation and Industrial Development (CEDAT)
Computer Science (COCIS)
Immunology and Clinical Microbiology
Master of Health Informatics
Master of Bioinformatics (CHS)
The scholarship provides:
Tuition support
A modest monthly stipend
Reasonable research funding
Support for up to one academic year (Master of Science)
Eligibility
Applicants should:
Hold a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a health-related field from a recognized university.
Demonstrate interest in medical devices and technology innovation.
Have a research project idea focused on:
Cardiovascular diseases,
Blood disorders, or
Chronic movement disorders.
Show evidence of good academic performance in the first year of their MSc program.
Be available for an oral interview.
Application Requirements
Submit the following as a single PDF:
Certified copies of relevant academic documents
Two reference letters
A motivation statement (maximum 500 words)
A one-page research project idea
A brief CV (maximum four pages)
Applications should be emailed to sightproject2022@gmail.com with the subject line:
“Scholarship MSc Application 2026”
Important Dates
Application Deadline: 30 July 2026
Interviews: 13 August 2026
Notification of Successful Applicants: 21 August 2026
Qualified MSc students interested in advancing research and innovation in Biomedical Engineering are strongly encouraged to apply.
General1 week ago
General7 days ago
General1 week ago
General2 weeks ago
Education2 weeks ago