Makerere University

Yesterday we had a very eye-opening day at Makerere University and Mulago Hospital in Kampala. Since we spent so much time there and saw so many different things, I will post several entries.

Our day began by meeting Dr. Achilles Katamba, a health economics researcher at Makerere. He took us to meet Professor Nelson Sewankambo. I’d met Dr. Sewankambo before, a few weeks earlier in Toronto, and was excited to learn about his work at the University as the Principal of the College of Health Sciences. We spoke about the research at Makerere before walking over to a University lecture theatre where the learning really began!

The first surprise was the number of researchers, professors and academics who were waiting to hear the presentation on funding opportunities. It was the largest group I’d seen yet! That cemented for me the fact that Makerere is a university very committed to its research capabilities.

Researchers at Makerere University

We were welcomed and then we were very fortunate to be able to hear a psychiatrist from Mulago Hospital, Dr. Seggane Musisi, speak about a project investigating “Nodding Disease” in Northern Uganda. It was so interesting!

Nodding Disease is a condition that affects mainly children in areas of intense conflict or trauma. Many of these children are separated from their parents and have to endure emotional and psychological trauma without them. Many develop Nodding Disease, which is characterized by a physical tick, nodding, and by Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Severe Depression.

I thought that the most effective part of the presentation was a video of children with Nodding Disease. I knew that Global Mental Health was a very neglected area, so it was fantastic to see a bright and committed psychiatrist like Dr. Musisi working to improve it.

Next my dad gave his presentation on funding opportunities from Grand Challenges Canada and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenge Exploration Program. Because there was such a wide range of people listening, I really paid attention to the discussion period and wasn’t disappointed.

Grand Challenges Canada presentation

In previous discussions I’d heard a lot about the specifics of currently open opportunities. During this period, however, a Makerere researcher asked a question that really intrigued me: “How can we convince Ugandan governments to adopt the same model as you have in Canada?”

Now that’s the kind of thinking that’s going to further the ability of local innovators to solve local problems!