Remarks by DCM William Bent | During the commemoration occasion to mark 70 Years of the Makerere University School of Public Health
Friday, December 13, 2024; | At the MakSPH Health Auditorium, Main Campus, Eastern Gate.
- Deputy Speaker, Parliament of the Republic of Uganda, Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa
- Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng
- WHO Country Representative
- Our esteemed Host – Vice (*70*) Makerere University, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe
- Dean, Makerere University School of Public Health, Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze
- Chair, Organizing Committee for this celebration, Dr. Lynn Atuyambe
- Distinguished visitors, school, and college students of Makerere University
- All protocol noticed.
Good afternoon! I’m delighted to affix you right now to have a good time 70 years of excellence at Makerere University School of Public Health. Congratulations to the school, workers, college students, and alumni for this outstanding achievement!
The U.S. Government understands {that a} wholesome inhabitants is important for a rustic’s improvement, which is why a lot of our funding in Uganda is in the well being sector. The United States is proud to have supported the Makerere University School of Public Health for a lot of its 70 years. Our partnership is central to our efforts to strengthen Uganda’s well being programs, enhance public well being outcomes, and practice the subsequent technology of well being leaders. These efforts don’t solely profit the Ugandan folks however are additionally in the U.S. authorities’s curiosity as we search to guard international well being safety.
Through U.S. authorities packages like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), USAID, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we’ve supported important workforce initiatives that save lives and shield the well being of Ugandans. For instance, the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), funded by the CDC, has skilled a whole bunch of public well being professionals—typically referred to as “disease detectives”—who examine illness outbreaks. Many FETP graduates now lead well being packages all through Uganda and past.
Our workforce improvement efforts have confirmed notably efficient throughout well being emergencies. These illness detectives have performed an important position in responding to outbreaks, offering important management and experience in managing complicated well being crises. They have been at the forefront throughout Ebola outbreaks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and now mpox, whereas additionally conducting analysis on HIV, TB, maternal and little one well being, and zoonotic ailments underneath the One Health initiative. These partnerships are important in guaranteeing swift and efficient responses to public well being threats.
Through the PEPFAR program, we’ve additionally made important progress in analysis. Our collaboration with Makerere University School of Public Health and the Rakai Health Sciences Program has led to complete HIV prevention, care, and remedy companies in the Masaka Region. This analysis has vastly influenced international HIV prevention and remedy insurance policies, demonstrating that medical male circumcision and antiretroviral remedy can scale back HIV transmission.
Additionally, the partnership between PEPFAR, the U.S. CDC, and Makerere University on the Enhanced Surveillance Project and the Crane Survey has produced impactful HIV analysis. These efforts have improved Uganda’s response to HIV, formed nationwide insurance policies, and enhanced well being outcomes for key populations. They spotlight how evidence-based analysis can drive change and enhance public well being interventions at the group degree.
A major side of our partnership with the School of Public Health has additionally been in strengthening Uganda’s well being programs, notably in knowledge use, reporting, and evaluation. Through initiatives corresponding to the Monitoring & Evaluation Technical Assistance undertaking or METS, we’ve helped construct Uganda’s capability to generate high-quality well being knowledge, important for making evidence-based choice making and enhancing public well being responses. A key achievement of this collaboration was the current launch of Uganda’s first National Data Warehouse, a significant step in enhancing the administration and use of well being knowledge throughout the nation and one that can play an important position in strengthening well being programs in Uganda for years to return.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health has over a number of a long time supported analysis carried out by school at the Makerere School of Public Heath with sturdy collaborations between your school and researchers at Johns Hopkins, Yale, Duke, Columbia and plenty of different U.S. universities. Through the NIH Fogarty International Center coaching packages, many of your college’s school have obtained doctoral diploma coaching creating the subsequent technology of Public Health leaders in Uganda. This is a powerful instance of the United States investing in folks in order that Ugandans can proceed to strengthen their very own capability to steer in the public well being house.
As we have a good time the seventieth anniversary of Makerere University School of Public Health, we glance to the future with nice optimism. The U.S. Government stays totally dedicated to supporting the School’s mission to strengthen public well being programs, improve well being safety, and construct a brand new technology of public well being leaders prepared to reply to outbreaks. Through our continued partnership, we are going to work collectively to scale up the successes of the previous and discover new alternatives for collaboration. Our shared objective is to make sure that Uganda is provided with the vital instruments, analysis, and experience to face rising well being challenges, whether or not they’re native, regional, or international in nature.
In closing, I wish to congratulate Makerere University School of Public Health as soon as once more on 70 years of excellent contributions to public well being. The work you do right here is transformative, for Uganda, the African continent, and past. The U.S. Government appears ahead to persevering with to work collectively to make sure that Uganda stays a world chief in public well being. Thank you, and I want you a lot extra years of success and affect in the future.
