MakSPH Explores Partnerships to Strengthen Heat Stress Early Warning in Uganda @Makerere University School of Public Health has engaged the Meteorological Services Department of @min_waterUg and @ACTogetherUG to explore collaboration on heat stress measurement, public awareness, and early warning under the WISER ActionFirst Project. The meeting identified areas for potential collaboration, including selecting locally relevant heat stress indicators, identifying vulnerable populations, and translating weather information into practical public health messages. Dr. @isunju_j, Senior Lecturer at MakSPH, chaired the meeting. Dr. Edwin Ayesiga led the Meteorological Services Department delegation, while Mr. Peter Mwambu led the ACTogether Uganda team. The partners also explored opportunities for PhD fellows and master’s students to conduct research and access support to generate evidence for heat-related public health interventions. The proposed collaboration would connect MakSPH’s research expertise with meteorological information and community engagement to inform early warning messages and help communities respond to heat-related risks. #HeatStress #EarlyWarning #ClimateAndHealth #WISERActionFirst #MakSPH

Shared Toilet Quality Linked to Lower Odds of Illness in Three-Country Study Households using higher-quality shared toilets reported lower odds of diarrhoea, stomach pain and urinary tract infections, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at @Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH). Published on 26 September 2026 in Elsevier’s International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, the study identifies combinations of facility features associated with better health. Shared toilets serve communities where space and cost constrain private facilities. Yet global monitoring classifies improved toilets shared between households as “limited” sanitation, despite differences in quality. First author Lauren Sprouse, MakSPH co-author Dr. Richard K. Mugambe and colleagues examined sanitation quality and household-reported illness among 5,700 households in informal settlements in Kampala, Uganda; Nairobi, Kenya; and Delhi, India, between June 2025 and January 2026. Across the three countries, households using better-quality shared toilets had 50% lower odds of reporting diarrhoea and 64% lower odds of urinary tract infections. They also reported stomach pain less often. These links remained after researchers accounted for other factors. The toilets met at least four of six conditions: no visible faeces or urine, water for cleaning or flushing, a working handwashing station, lighting, a door that locks from inside and access at any time. Households using toilets meeting fewer conditions formed the comparison group. The findings link better toilet quality with better health, but cannot prove that better facilities prevented illness. The combined quality measure offers a way to distinguish better-performing shared facilities. The authors recommend incorporating graded quality indicators into monitoring to guide targeted improvements in cleanliness, water provision, safety, and accessibility. Read: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4280… #SharedSanitation #SanitationAndHealth #WASH #UrbanHealth #MakSPH

#Day2: BURST-Excel Workshop: Researchers today explored the role of mentorship and scientific publishing in strengthening doctoral research and advancing academic careers. The discussants; Dr. Andrew Tamale, Dr. Frederick Oporia, Dr. Godwin Anywar, Dr. Charles Kato and Prof. Thorkild Tylleskär, shared insights from their experiences as PhD students, early-career researchers and mentors. The discussion highlighted the importance of effective mentorship, collaborative research, strategic journal selection and scientific writing in navigating the publication process and building successful research careers. @Makerere @isunju_j @TTylleskar @MakSPHCTRIAD @AfricaResilient

Closing Uganda’s Malaria Policy-to-Results Gap | ALAMIME Alumni Webinar How can Uganda translate malaria policies into stronger implementation and measurable results? Join the @ALAMIMEprogram Alumni Webinar for a discussion on aligning planning, implementation, and accountability to advance malaria elimination in Uganda. Topic: Closing the Policy-to-Results Gap: Aligning Planning, Implementation, and Accountability for Malaria Elimination in Uganda Presenter: Mr. Malio Paul Lokiru, District Biostatistician, Karenga District, Uganda. Moderator: Mr. Mathias Mulyazawo Kasule, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, National Malaria Elimination Division, @MinofHealthUG, Uganda. 📅 Wednesday, 28 October 2026 ⏰ 5:00 p.m. EAT 💻 Online 🔗 Register: tinyurl.com/2jky6td9 Health professionals, district teams, policymakers, researchers, and partners working in malaria prevention and elimination are encouraged to participate. #MalariaElimination #MalariaPolicy #HealthAccountability #ALAMIME #MakSPH

The Dean, Makerere University School of Public Health, invites you to the public PhD defence of Dr. Mudiope Peter, scheduled to take place on Wednesday October 28th at 2pm. Thesis title Acceptability and Outcomes of Medication-Assisted Treatment Among People who Inject Drugs In Uganda Date: Wednesday, 28 October 2026 Time : 02:00 p.m. EAT Format: Hybrid Venue : College Of Health Sciences Boardroom Join via Zoom: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi…

Researchers from Uganda and Norway have gathered today for the BURST-Excel workshop to strengthen doctoral research and build collaboration across institutions and disciplines. The workshop was opened by @Makerere Director of Graduate Training, Prof. @JuliusKikooma. BURST-Excel brings together Makerere and the University of Bergen @UiB in Norway to strengthen research and doctoral training in global health. The partnership supports the development of a research community that connects scholars, institutions and expertise across the two countries. Speaking at the opening, the project’s Principal Investigator, Dr. @isunju_j , outlined its focus on strengthening the research capacity, academic development and professional networks of Ugandan PhD fellows through mentorship, peer learning and practical skills development. The 2-day workshop focuses on scientific writing and knowledge sharing, giving participants space to exchange ideas, share opportunities and develop partnerships that can support their work beyond the PhD. Through this support, BURST-Excel aims to equip emerging scholars with the skills and confidence to produce research that responds to Africa’s development challenges. @isunju_j @DeborahNaluyima

Happening Now: Webinar on Managing Complexity in Uganda’s First-Referral Hospitals How can Uganda's first-referral hospitals better manage complex healthcare demands, and what does this mean for primary health care reform? Join the AFRHiCARE Uganda Webinar Series for a discussion on the challenges facing first-referral hospitals and their implications for strengthening primary health care in Uganda. Topic: Managing Complexity in Uganda’s First-Referral Hospitals: Implications for Primary Health Care Reform Presenter: Prof. Freddie Ssengooba, Professor of Health Economics and Health Systems Management, Makerere University School of Public Health, and Principal Investigator, AFRHiCARE Uganda. Moderator: Dr. Raymond Tweheyo, Co-Principal Investigator and Research Manager, AFRHiCARE Uganda. 📅 Thursday, 22 October 2026 ⏰ 1:00–2:00 PM EAT 💻 Online via Zoom 🔗 Join: t.ly/UFalr Health professionals, hospital managers, policymakers, researchers, students and stakeholders working in health systems strengthening and primary health care are encouraged to participate. #AFRHiCARE #MakSPH #FirstReferralHospitals #PrimaryHealthCare #HealthSystemsStrengthening #Uganda

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Coming Up Tomorrow | Health Systems Dissemination Workshop @Makerere University School of Public Health, in collaboration with Uganda’s Ministry of Health, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the University of Oslo, invites you to a Health Systems Dissemination Workshop tomorrow to share research findings and discuss decentralisation, community involvement and health financing in Uganda. Theme: Advancing District Health System Resilience through Decentralisation, Community Involvement and Financing in Uganda Speakers: Dr. Alfred Driwale, @MinofHealthUG Dr. Victoria Nankabirwa, Makerere University School of Public Health Dr. Alex R. Ario, @UNIPH3 Dr. Mahima Venkateswaran, Norwegian Institute of Public Health PhD Student Presentation: Mr. Denis Okethwangu 📅 Thursday, 22 October 2026 🕣 8:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m. EAT 💻 Register to join virtually: tinyurl.com/3ww2zvfp #HealthSystems #HealthSystemResilience #CommunityHealth #HealthFinancing #MakSPH

Take Part in a Survey on Changes in Health Research Funding in Sub-Saharan Africa Makerere University School of Public Health is inviting people involved in health policy and systems research relating to sub-Saharan Africa to complete a short survey. We want to understand how recent changes in health research funding have affected research work, organisations, partnerships and careers since January 2025. Your experience will help identify practical actions needed to sustain health policy and systems research across the region. The survey is open to researchers, policymakers, programme implementers, funders and others whose work supports or uses health policy and systems research in sub-Saharan Africa. We also welcome responses from people who have left the field or changed sectors because funding changed. You may participate whether or not you currently live in sub-Saharan Africa. The survey takes about 10–15 minutes. Taking part is voluntary, and your responses will be treated confidentially. Results will be presented only in summary form, without identifying individual participants. Take the survey: ee.kobotoolbox.org/x/teO2ewe… The study is led by Makerere University School of Public Health in collaboration with the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research at the World Health Organization. @Makerere @Lung_Institute @IDIMakerere @MakerereCHS @uonbi

Thank You, Dr. Marianna Agaba Nyangire @Makerere University School of Public Health thanks Dr. Marianna Agaba Nyangire for her service as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health from 2022 to 2026. We appreciate her contribution to teaching, student supervision and mentorship in Occupational Health and Safety, and the collaborative spirit she brought to our academic community. We wish her continued success, fulfilment, and happiness.

Workshop Invitation | Digital Health Dissemination Workshop @Makerere University School of Public Health, in collaboration with @MinofHealthUG and @UniOslo, invites you to a Digital Health Dissemination Workshop tomorrow to share research findings on digital antenatal care and facility-based birth and death notification in Uganda. Topic: Advancing the Digitalisation and Integration of Antenatal Care Systems with Facility-Based Birth and Death Notification in Uganda Speakers: · Dr. Victoria Nankabirwa · Prof. Jahn Frederik Frøen · Dr. Richard Mugahi · Mr. Paul Mbaka PhD Student Presentations: Ms. Flavia Namagembe Ms. Asio Evelyn Patra Ms. Sandra Nabatanzi 📅 Wednesday, 21 October 2026 🕗 8:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m. EAT 💻 Register to join virtually: shorturl.at/eNdWd #MakSPH #DigitalHealth #AntenatalCare #HealthInformationSystems