Our People

CHASE-i is a one-stop multidisciplinary hub with a vibrant, innovative and high-performance team. This team is driven by the collective goal of improving health and socioeconomic outcomes using multidisciplinary approaches. We are intentional about partnerships and collaborative working arrangements with leading experts in their fields. CHASE-i’s model is one where team members and partners are affiliated to leading organisations in diverse disciplines, positions and geographical locations. They are drawn from the “three worlds” of research, policy and practice – working in academia, decisionmaking positions and at the frontline of service delivery. With shared values and a strong work ethic, we collaborate to achieve not only our own goals but also the collective goal.

Our highly skilled and experienced team members include biostatisticians, doctors, engineers, behavioural scientists, nutritionists, policy and legal experts, social workers, organisational development (OD) experts, development specialists, ICT specialists and public health specialists among others. Through multidisciplinary diversity and tapping into members’ networks, we are able to contribute in a number of areas including but not limited to Health  – SRH, MCH, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, WASH, quality improvement, health systems, policy and governance; Protection – including GBV, child protection and legal;  Agriculture and Livelihoods – including engagement of youth and women; ICT– including GIS and designing Apps to address socioeconomic problems; and Development. As our diverse projects will show.

Meet the Secretariat

Dr Gloria Seruwagi

Founder

Catherine Nakidde

Associate Director of Programmes

Dr Eric Lugada

Co-Founder & Associate Director

Hilda Namakula

Senior Programme Associate

Dorcus Kabahinda Maloba

Associate Executive Director (ED)

Andrew Omoding

Programmes Manager

Maria Ssematiko

Admin & Compliance Specialist

Muyinda Reagan

Communications Associate

Millen Namanya

Finance & Admin Associate

Moses Baguma

Legal Advisor

Aisu Joshua

Programmes Assistant

Moses Atine

IT Expert

Centre Advisory Board (CAB)

Dr Obed Ogega

Chair - Centre Advisory Board

Suzane Irau

Member – Centre Advisory Board (CAB)

Dr Julianne Sansa-Otim

Member – Centre Advisory Board (CAB)

Prof. Gerry McGivern

Member – Centre Advisory Board

Ellen Bajenja

Member – Centre Advisory Board

Alfred Nuamanya Buhitsya

Member – Centre Advisory Board

Meet the Associates

Dr Hadijah Mwenyango

Florence Tushemerirwe

Dr Edward Kanyesigye

Daniela Arocha Ramirez

Associate

Moses Owori

Dr Michael Kakooza

Maureen Nabatanzi

Agnes Kyamulabi

Martha Kirabo

Samuel Besigwa

Henry Bazira

Samuel Mutyaba

Francis Kinuthia

Francis Abura

Dr Priscilla Cheputyo

Grace Sekasala

Cordelia Besigiroha

Stephen Twinomugisha

Musa Sebi

Charlotte Amumpaire

Daniel Magumba

Senior Associate

Partners (Current)

Dr Milton Mutto

The Pincer Training & Research Institute

Eng. Dunstan Ddamulira

ACORD

Grace Ssali Kiwanuka

Uganda Healthcare Federation

Jesse Kamstra

LWF - Uganda & Burundi

Brian Luswata

Ministry of Health

Joshua Kayiwa

Ministry of Health

Isaac O. Wonyima

Uganda District Local Governments (DLGs)
Association of ADHOs/MNCH

Andrew Masaba

LWF - South Sudan

John Mary Ssekate

National Association of Social Workers of Uganda (NASWU)

Justus Cherop Kiplangat

Uganda Nurses & Midwives Union (UNMU)

Eric Hakizimana

Inzira, Burundi

Ssegawa Jimmy Ebil

RDC – Kitgum
District Local Government

Oceng Geoffrey Osborn

RDC – Lamwo
District Local Government

Hon. David Remson Otto

Commissioner - Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan

Peter Lujana

CDSS – South Sudan

Charles Ogeno

LWF – Uganda (Lamwo Sub-Program Office, Palabek Refugee Settlement)

Celebrating Legacy

Prof. Stephen Lawoko

1969 - 2021

Prof Stephen Lawoko (1969 - 2021)

BSc | MSc. Stat. | PhD


Lead Biostatistician & Quantitative Methodologist

Professor Stephen Lawoko (RIP) was CHASE-i’s inhouse biostatistician and quantitative methodologist until the end of 2021 when he passed on. Between 2008 – 2018 he was Associate Professor at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. At the time of his death, Prof. Lawoko was employed with Gulu University, in the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health.  Professor Lawoko had a PhD in Public Health from Karolinska Institute, Sweden and a Masters in Science in Statistics from Linkoping University in Sweden. He had been active in academia and research for more than 20 years, with a publication record of over 70 research articles in high impact peer-reviewed journals. Prof. Lawoko led several research and implementation projects, received several competitive research grants, and contributed to institutional building through curricula development and supervision of several PhD, Masters and Bachelors theses. He was an established global researcher and community enthusiast.

Under CHASE-I, Prof. Lawoko was Co-PI on the REFLECT and ALERTs study which focused on the experiences and impact of COVID-19 among refugees and communities in urban slums respectively. He also co-led the SUPREME assignment (2019-2021) seeking to strengthen implementation science and evidence-based programing while also widely disseminating innovation and learning from Uganda’s HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care and Treatment (PCT) in military settings.

Established in 2017, CHASE-i seeks to improve health and socioeconomic outcomes through multidisciplinary research, innovation, implementation and partnership. 

Address

  • P.O. Box 7062
    Kampala, Uganda
  • +256 (0) 772 073 703
    +256 (0) 708 778 557
  • inquiries@chasei.org

Useful Links

Focus Areas

CHASE-i © 2022

CHASE-i is an affiliate of Makerere University.

Innovate. Implement. Improve.

Dr Gloria Seruwagi

MPH | Taught Component - DrPH | PhD

Founder

Dr Gloria Seruwagi’s wide-ranging background includes extensive experience as a public health specialist, behavioural scientist, policy advisor, researcher and educator specialising in SRMNCAH+N, health systems, policy and issues affecting disadvantaged, marginalised or vulnerable populations. She has supported and led multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) in providing robust solutions to complex multisectoral challenges.

A versatile health systems and policy specialist, some of Gloria’s work spans implementation research and realist evaluation; reforming the healthcare regulatory system; improvement science (Quality Improvement/QI and in particular Quality of Care/QoC interventions in sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, adolescent health and nutrition (SRMNCAH+N); Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI) where she is a very strong advocate of community participation in health and wellbeing. She has undertaken extensive work addressing NCDs, forced migration, cross-border and multi-country dynamics in humanitarian and development contexts; development challenges in urban contexts; and supported several global initiatives on decolonisation of research, programming and enhancing equity between the Global North and South.

As the Centre’s founder, Gloria supports a multidisciplinary team from different fields including health, climate science, social science, education, engineering, law, economics, education, ICT and development as they join forces in partnership to provide impactful, sustainable solutions to the problems facing our nation, continent and world today. A strong believer in the power of partnership to bring about meaningful and lasting change, Gloria is particularly interested in bridging the longstanding gap between research, policy and practice (or the “the three worlds” as they are commonly known). She has championed a solid and impactful model at CHASE-i where its experts are drawn from different institutions and sectors within and outside of academia, stretching out to secure partnerships in research, policy and practice – within Uganda, the East African Community, Great Lakes Region and abroad.


Catherine Nakidde Nzesei

BSc. | MA | MPH | PhD ongoing

Associate Director of Programmes

Catherine Nakidde Nzesei is the Centre’s Associate Director of Programmes – providing leadership and support to the Programmes Unit across all projects, teams and associates.

Catherine is a public health specialist with graduate training in public health, health promotion and international development. A recipient of the 2022 Commonwealth Scholarship, she embarked on a PhD in public pealth at UCL which is driven by her passion for health system strengthening – and building on previous work around Strengthening Health Professional Regulation in Uganda and Kenya. Catherine’s PhD examines systems and processes for continuous quality improvement of healthcare professional training.

Catherine’s professional interests revolve around leveraging impact from effective systems and empowering vulnerable population categories to enable them to fulfil their potential – whether in a professional, community or personal setting. Some of her previous work has focused on understanding the experiences of refugees and slum dwellers in the COVID-19 pandemic as well as health system resilience. Since inception, Catherine has directly supported for several Centre projects including those on Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH), refugee health and wellbeing, Quality Improvement (QI) and livelihoods.

Dr Eric Lugada

MD | PhD

Co-Founder & associate Director

Dr Eric Lugada is a seasoned public health director with over 23 years of experience; medical epidemiologist and program implementer in the fields of HIV/AIDS, TB, RMNCAH and supply chain among others. He has led transformational programs that advance health system strengthening (HSS), effective and efficient evidence-based healthcare delivery in multiple developing countries across sub-Saharan Africa. He has worked in both stable and humanitarian settings. Currently, Eric is affiliated to Management Sciences for Health

A medical doctor, epidemiologist and program implementer, Eric also remains firmly rooted in research and academia. In the last decade he has been an external examiner for Makerere University School of Public Health. A seasoned mentor, Eric enjoys sharing knowledge and has been guest lecturing at different Ugandan universities including Makerere University, Uganda Christian University and Victoria university where he has also supervised student research and supported students to publish from their research. Over the years Eric has designed and conducted research including operations research, baseline surveys, program evaluations and has co-authored numerous peer reviewed publications.

Eric has expertise in meeting the complex challenges of startups, turnarounds, and organizational restructurings. He has tackled complex HSS situations in fragile contexts and always manages to elicit peak effort from teams and stakeholders. Eric is a strong advocate of using high-impact, sustainable multidisciplinary approaches to address health and socioeconomic problems – a critical catalyst and major reason behind the birthing of CHASE-i.

On CHASE-i projects Eric brings seasoned expertise in programming and quantitative measurement among others. He also supports in providing vision, strategic direction and leadership.  Eric holds a PhD in Epidemiology (Public Health) from the University of Bergen in Norway and a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery degree from Makerere University.

Hilda Namakula

BA | PGD | MA (Sociology)

Senior Programme Associate

Hilda is a passionate practitioner in youth-led research, youth engagement, policy and development. She has practical experience in conducting research, developing policy publications and supporting the implementation of public health and development projects in Uganda and South Africa. She currently works as a Youth Research Advisor on the YouthPower2 Learning & Evaluation Program of USAID and partners. 

Hilda was Co-Investigator on the ALERTs (Adherence, Lived Experiences and Resilient Transformation among “slumdwellers”) study focusing on documenting the impact of COVID-19 on people living in Kampala’s informal settlements, specifically slums. This study funded by the Government of Uganda, through the Makerere University Research and Innovation Fund (MakRIF), generated evidence which informed and directly contributed to the national COVID-19 response. Additionally, she has previously worked with Makerere University School of Public Health as a Research Fellow in the Kampala Slum Maternal & New Born Project (MANE).

Hilda’s experience in youth-led research and policy has included the Youth4Policy fellowship with Konrad Adenuer Stiftung (KAS) and Youth Think Tank (YTT) fellowship with the MasterCard Foundation. She’s also an alumna of the Young Africa Leaders Initiative (YALI), and a Co-Founder of Mwamba Imara Foundation – an initiative that supports young adults in livelihoods and health.  Hilda has a postgraduate degree in social sciences from the University of Cape Town and an undergraduate degree in social sciences from Makerere University. Hilda’s current affiliation is in Research and Innovation at Windle International Uganda.

Dorcus Kabahinda Maloba

BA (First Class Hons.) | MSc. | MBA

Associate Executive Director (ED)

Dorcus Kabahinda Maloba is CHASE-i‘s Associate Executive Director (ED). She leads and manages the Centre – overseeing its operations, finances, programmes, and human resources among others.

With background training in clinical psychology, Dorcus is a Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) professional with extensive experience in research and practice – including conducting MHPSS assessments, diagnosis, delivery and evaluation of therapeutic services. She has undertaken extensive work in the field of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH), maternal and newborn health, HIV/AIDS and health system strengthening (HSS) in Uganda and other countries.  Dorcus is passionate about advancing evidence-based programming and the research-policy-practice nexus as well as applying proven business models and other frameworks for institutional capacity strengthening, operational efficiency and effectiveness.

Before transitioning into the role of Associate ED, Dorcus was a close Centre Associate – right from its inception. She has directly supported several Centre projects including the multi-country QCN Evaluation for Maternal and Newborn Health, Regulation study, the endline review of Uganda’s Investment Case for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (IC/RMNCAH) Sharpened Plan of 2016/17-2019-20 commissioned by the Ministry of Health and supported by the World Bank. She also supported Centre’s REFLECT and ALERTs studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, the COMPASS and REAL projects while continuing to support the Centre’s learning activities.

Dorcus received her undergraduate training from Makerere University in Uganda. She later completed the MSc in Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Psychological Practice (OL) at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.  She is a certified management specialist with MBA training, a leadership coach and respected local influencer currently driving transformative initiatives at grassroots and higher levels.

Andrew Gerald Omoding

BA., MSc. (M&E), MPH

Programmes Manager

Andrew is a public health and development specialist. He has solid experience in research, project and programme evaluations, capacity building; and working with bilateral agencies, NGOs and the private sector in education; health (HIV/AIDS, malaria, NCDs, diseases control and prevention); nutrition, food security, agriculture and livelihoods (NFSAL).

He previously worked with Korea Food for the Hungry International and the Embassy of Japan in Uganda in project and programme management. He has also worked with Lida Africa in the monitoring and evaluation of development programmes. Andrew has advanced skills in research – particularly qualitative research (study design, data collection, data management, data analysis and report writing).

Andrew’s training in Development Studies (Bachelors), Public Health (Masters) and Monitoring and Evaluation (Masters) have prepared him for complex and multidisciplinary tasks that involve a great deal of independent research, initiative, human relations, leadership, sacrifice, self-motivation and communication skills. These have enabled him to work with people from diverse technical, political, religious and ethnic background.

At CHASE-i Andrew has provided technical support to various studies, evaluations and projects including the ACRC’s, Health, Wellbeing and Nutrition domain for Kampala City. He has also directly supported research, learning and capacity building on the COMPASS  and REAL projects. As Programmes Manager Andrew works very closely with the Directors, technical teams and associates in the planning, delivery and evaluation of Centre projects and operations.

Maria Ssematiko

Associate

Maria is a public health specialist with experience in research, programming and administration.

She is skilled in executing both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, data management and analysis. She is proficient in the use of ICT and statistical packages like ODK and SPSS. She has been trained as a sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) educator and advocate, working extensively with youth-led organizations as a trainer and facilitator. In addition to her public health practice, Maria has invaluable experience in administrative and office management in corporate settings.

Maria has worked with CHASE-i since 2017 were she has served as researcher, evaluator, trainer and administrator. She currently provides administrative compliance and support for the Centre’s projects – shaving started with the FACe-U project which is using empirical and media monitoring data to assess the food environment, address childhood obesity and contribute to reduction of Uganda’s NCD problem. She later on took on the same role under the Research and Learning (REAL) project which is supporting several CSOs in Uganda and Burundi to undertake action research to support evidence-based programming and policy.

Muyinda Reagan

Communications Associate

Reagan Muyinda is our Communications Associate. He is highly motivated and passionate about the theory and practice of effective communication strategies. With a natural flair for storytelling and genuine enthusiasm for engaging with diverse audiences, Reagan works to create impactful content that resonates with readers. He is a great communicator, adept at leveraging various channels to convey messages compellingly and persuasively.

Reagan’s skills span strategic communication, content creation, storytelling, digital marketing, relationship building, branding and messaging. He quickly adapts to new technologies, trends and industry developments to optimize communication strategies.

Millen Namanya

Finance & Admin Associate

Millen Namanya is an accountant with experience in accounting and finance, business development, and project management across various sectors including government agencies, civil society, and the financial sector. In all the sectors she has worked, Millen demonstrates commitment to drive organisational goals and sustainable growth through effective financial management and strategic decision-making. Her expertise lies in budgeting, project management, financial modeling, and reporting.

In her current role at CHASE-i, Millen supports the ED’s office and Programmes team with overall budgeting, project analysis, finance unit budgeting, implementation, and reporting among others. Prior to this, Millen played integral roles in diverse projects funded and/or implemented by GOAL, Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Mercy Corps, and various Government of Uganda programmes – including the Local Economic Growth (LEGS) project and Emyooga initiative in Uganda. She also directly supported project implementation, partnership and resource mobilization at the Microfinance Support Centre Limited.

Millen holds a BSc. in Accounting and Finance and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Accounting and Finance at Makerere University Business School (MUBS). She has additional training and is certified in various applications and programmes related to ICT for finance, financial record-keeping and analysis, payroll processing, and compliance.

Moses Baguma

LLB

Legal Advisor

Moses is an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda and all Courts subordinate thereto. He specialises in Legal-Tech law, Corporate and Commercial law and Private Equity & Finance.

Moses has a wide range of experience across corporate transactional and advisory work including in Project Financing, Tax, Regulatory Compliance, IP portfolio filing, management and analysis, Artificial Intelligence, Data Protection, Cyber Security and Technology disputes. His practice also covers software, IT and cloud-based offerings, licensing, supply chain arrangements, electronic and mobile commerce, and information governance matters. He assists clients with all phases of the transaction lifecycle, ranging from strategic planning to structuring and negotiating complex arrangements, including advising on service performance, governance, pricing strategies, and compliance issues.

At CHASE-i, Moses provides legal expertise and support as required on its different projects.

Aisu Joshua

BSc. Stat.

Programmes Assistant

As CHASE-‘s Programs Assistant, Joshua’s work involves providing administrative and operations support to active projects. With attention to detail, great people-skills and excellence in multi-tasking, Joshua is an excellent team player providing invaluable support to the Secretariat and project teams.

Joshua holds a bachelor’s degree in statistics also has some experience in research – in data collection, where he is proficient in using data collection applications like Open Data Kit (ODK). He can also analyze data using software like SPSS and make reports of the data easily. In addition to providing administrative support, Joshua directly participated in fieldwork for the REFLECT in September 2020 where he was involved in data collection. He went to the Kyaka II Refugee Settlement in Kyegegwa district, South Western Uganda. He also supported  health facility data collection  at referral hospitals in the districts of Mubende and Fort Portal.

Moses Atine

BSc. | ITIL | CISA | ISO 20000 | ISO 27001

IT Expert

Moses is an IT professional who thrives on helping others,  paying it forward and going above and beyond with each and every task.  He is enthusiastic about growing and gaining new skills on his IT journey.  He values learning from others, genuine connections and hearing about other people’s passions and how he can possibly help. Moses also believes in getting stuff done whilst smiling, laughing and even twirling along the way!

He has worn many hats in his career thus far – networker, programmer, graphics designer, cyber-security analyst and IT/IS Auditor. And with his CHASE-i identity, Moses is extremely proud to add researcher to that ever growing list. He continues to support CHASE-I projects both directly and indirectly; for example, he directly supported the quantitative team using ODK technology on the ALERTs study focusing on urban health issues in COVID-19.

Cuurently, Moses is an ISO Auditor with The National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U) under the IT certification department.

Dr Obed Ogega

BSc. | MSc. | PhD

Chairperson Centre Advisory Board (CAB)

Dr. Obed Ogega is a climate scientist and programme management specialist with a focus on research capacity strengthening for sustainable development. He is a great team leader and player with ability to influence for positive impact, act decisively, and drive innovation and change within teams. Obed is passionate about the transformation of lives through research and innovation for inclusive and sustainable socio-economic growth and development – especially in Africa. He seeks to contribute to evidence-based process and system re-engineering to minimize inequities and inform just transitions.

As a programme management specialist, Obed is extensively experienced in designing, implementing, and managing research for development projects and programmes across Africa. Currently, he works at the African Academy of Sciences as a Programmes Manager, leading a team of professionals implementing various projects and programmes across Africa. His work includes research and general project and programme management; resource mobilisation; strategy; partnership building; and team leadership and supervision. Some of his notable achievements include the design and implementation of the African Research Initiative for Scientific Excellence (ARISE); a €25 million 7-year initiative through which nearly 600 early-to-mid career researchers in 38 African countries have been supported. Through his work, Obed has interacted and collaborated with various international, multilateral, and private sector organisations including the African Union, the European Union, Sida, FCDO, IDRC, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, UNESCO, IOM, UNECA, UNHCR, as well as several universities and research institutions across Africa and beyond.

Additionally, Obed is a seasoned researcher with several publications in climate science and its applications in planetary health and sustainable development. He has also extensively researched and published on research for development with a focus on research capacity strengthening across Africa. He holds a Master of Climate Change Adaptation and a PhD in Environmental Studies (Climate Change & Sustainability). Additionally, Obed is a trained leadership and strategic business management executive as well as an Adjunct Professor of Climate Science at the Department of Chemistry and Physics, Saint Mount Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

Suzane Irau

Member – Centre Advisory Board (CAB)

Suzane Irau is a social scientist, behavioural change specialist, policy advocate and programming expert with vast experience in managing community development projects, gender integration and advocacy.  Suzane has directed, implemented and evaluated several projects, supported institutional capacity strengthening, undertaken policy advocacy at global, regional, sub-national and national level. She is the author of, and contributor to multiple policy and programming documents.

Suzane has management and leadership experience with advanced skills in building partnerships, resource mobilisation, conflict resolution and advocacy for the protection of rights, especially of women and children.  She is a seasoned provider of gender trainings – using recognised tools, and establishment of conflict resolution mechanisms. In her work on land rights for women – for example, Suzane has significantly contributed to promoting harmonization between state and traditional land justice systems, as well as implementing projects on women’s land rights under customary tenure, establishing conflict resolution mechanisms and supporting community-level structures to improve documentation and case management in a bid to promote peaceful coexistence and facilitate dialogue. Suzane has also worked with communities to advocate for improved quality of service delivery in the implementation of government programmes and regularly supports programmes on non-formal skills training for unemployed youths in different regions of Uganda.

Widely traveled yet deeply rooted in community, Suzane is also a seasoned critic of governance and development issues. During her free time, she can be found working as an ardent farmer and weekly panelist/commentator on a premier radio station within the Teso region of Uganda.

Dr Julianne Sansa-Otim

BSc, MSc, PhD

Member – Centre Advisory Board (CAB)

Dr. Julianne Sansa-Otim is a trailblazing scientist in Uganda, researcher and respected leader with extensive experience working within collaborative partnerships. She is currently Director of the IoT-ra lab (formerly WIMEA-ICT lab ) and a Senior Lecturer at Makerere University’s  College of Computing and Information Science (CoCIS). Under her leadership, the IoT-ra lab has developed a number of innovative solutions including: i) a low-cost automatic weather station; ii) weather information dissemination systems; iii) weather data repositories and weather forecast models. These solutions were not only deployed in Uganda – in partnership with the Uganda National Meteorological Authority – but also in Tanzania, South Sudan, Ghana and Nigeria.

Julianne has undertaken multi-disciplinary studies with colleagues from the health, agriculture and electrical engineering disciplines. Her research lab has won several research grants from development agencies, resulting into capacity building within the Networks Department at Makerere’s CoCIS, which she led for seven years. Her current research interests are Internet-of-things for developing regions, ICT4Development, Communications Network Protocol Design, internet and telecommunication policies, Quality of Service, Quality of Experience and Systems Security.  Currently, Julianne is the Principal Investigator of a 5-year multidisciplinary international research project  studying technologies for pollinator protection and insect pest control. She also serves as Board Vice Chairperson at UbuntuNet Alliance for research and education networking.

Julianne is widely published in international peer reviewed journals, has presented at several conferences and is a widely sought-after speaker at high profile events. She received a PhD in Communications Networks from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands – with a focus on Internet High-speed Data Transport Protocols. Prior to that she had completed a MSc. in Computer Science and a BSc. in Computer Science and Mathematics from Makerere University.She is the author of, and contributor to,  multiple policy and programming documents.

Prof. Gerry McGivern

Member – Centre Advisory Board (CAB)

Gerry McGivern is Professor in Public Services Management & Organisation at King’s Business School. His research focuses on understanding how professional knowledge, practices, identities and leadership are affected by regulation, management and organisation, primarily in health care systems in the UK and East Africa. His research aims to improve management, organisation, leadership and regulation in public services.

Areas of research:

  • Health care management
  • Professions
  • Health professional regulation
  • Leadership
  • Organization

Gerry has published research in leading management and social science journals, including Human Relations, the Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Studies, Public Administration, and Social Science & Medicine, and two books with Oxford University Press: ‘Making Wicked Problems Governable: The Case of Managed Networks in Health Care’ (2013) and ‘The Politics of Management Knowledge in Times of Austerity’ (2018). He is on the Editorial Boards of Organization Studies, Human Relations and the Journal of Professions and Organization.

Gerry has been Principal or Co-Investigator on research projects worth over £1 million, including those funded by the Medical Research Council Health Systems Initiative, Economic and Social Research Council, General Medical Council, National Institute for Health Research, Wellcome Trust and General Osteopathic Council.

Gerry’s research has impacted the Professional Standards Authority’s and General Osteopathic Councils’ health professional regulation policy in the UK and he is currently working to improve health professional regulation in Kenya and Uganda.

Gerry previously worked for Price Waterhouse, Ovum, in HR consultancy and at Royal Holloway, University of London, King’s College London, and was Professor of Organisational Analysis and Head of the Organisation and Work Group at Warwick Business School. He holds a PhD in Organizational Behaviour from Imperial College Business School.

Gerry McGivern’s Google Scholar Page

 

Ellen Bajenja

Member – Centre Advisory Board (CAB)

Ellen is the Country Director of Agency for Cooperation in Research and Development (ACORD), Uganda. A professional in public health programming, Ellen has a demonstrable track record of over 25 years of experience in HIV and AIDs, SRH and gender and women’s rights programming at local, national, and Pan African level. She has remarkable track record in designing integrated health and gender programs honed in a strong foundation of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.

Ellen is widely travelled throughout the African region with a keen interest in identifying cultural nuances that build bridges among cultures. She is remarkably skilled in inclusive monitoring and evaluation of integrated health and development programs in conflict, post conflict and stable environments. She has good management skills, particularly in supervision of multi-cultural and disciplinary teams.

Alfred Nuamanya Buhitsya

Member – Centre Advisory Board (CAB)

Alfred has over 25 years of experience over which he has grounded skills in leadership and management, institutional development, programming, strategic thinking, planning, monitoring and evaluation (M&E); policy analysis and evaluation; programme financing, budgeting and costing; and sector wide approaches among others.

He has worked with Government – occupying management positions in different sectors and line ministries including health, protection, education, finance and Auditor General’s office among others. He has worked in international NGOs as well as local NGOs – previously he was in leadership and management positions at Uganda National NGO Forum. Alfred has much-sought after grounded expertise in programming and working with multi stakeholder processes – including designing structures – to ensure their effectiveness. Alfred possesses an array of local and international advisory experience having undertaken various assignments in the fields of programme design, monitoring and evaluation (M&E); Human Resources (HR); Institutional Development/Organisational Development (ID/OD); Democracy and Governance; Accountability and Transparency; Performance Management; Competency Management; Corporate Culture; Customer Care; and Strategy Development among others. He has supported many organisations, both national and international, go through complex change processes including review of their structures and introduction of new approaches. He is an accomplished trainer and has supported various organisations (local, national and international) in their capacity building efforts. He has organised and facilitated key learning events offering the supported entities avenues to synthesize lessons and best practices for joint learning. He has vast experience in offering mentorship support and capacity strengthening in civil society and government settings.

Alfred holds full professional qualifications as an ICSA Associate member, a post graduate diploma in Human Resource Management and a degree in Political Science and Public Administration. He holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) with Maastricht School of Management (MsM)/ ESAMI.

Dr Hadijah Mwenyango

B. Social Work | MA | PhD

Associate

Dr Hadijah Mwenyango is faculty at Edinburgh Napier in Scotland. Previously she lectured at Makerere University while also serving as guest lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and other universities. She has a PhD in Social Work from the University of Edinburgh (UoE), United Kingdom, a Master of Science in Social Work and Human Rights from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from Makerere University Kampala (MUK), Uganda.

Dr. Mwenyango’s research agenda contributes to improving health outcomes for vulnerable populations, especially forced migrants and Women and children in vulnerable situations by drawing on interdisciplinary knowledge and mixed methods. She has published research on vulnerability and resilience in refugee situations; Health needs and challenges for women and children in refugee camps; the Gendered dimensions of health in refugee situations basically examining sexual and gender-based violence faced by women; adolescent sexual behaviour and reproductive health needs; Voluntary Male Medical Circumcision Coverage for HIV Prevention in Priority Populations ( looking at Experiences from Uganda’s Military Settings); Access to HIV/AIDS or TB care among refugees mainly exploring the enablers and barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic; the socio-economic and psychosocial impact of Covid-19 pandemic on urban refugees in Uganda; mental health effects of COVID-19 among refugees; the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on women’s rights and wellbeing. She also has extensive experience in supporting vulnerable children living on the streets of Kampala.

Florence Basiimwa Tushemerirwe

BSc | MPH | PhD in progress

Associate

Florence is a Public Health Nutritionist with expertise in nutritional epidemiology, public health intervention programming, implementation, evaluation and grants writing. She has extensive experience in public sector policy reviews, policy implementation gap analysis and stakeholder engagements to inform policy processes. Florence is passionate about the Food Environment and Health research, food systems, food supply chains and how these can strengthen interventions to address nutrition-related Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) to achieve population health and development.

Florence is currently Co-Principal Investigator on the FACe-U study whose title is  “Extent and Nature of food advertising targeting children and adolescents (5-18 years) in Uganda”. The study is a cross-College/Departmental partnership between Makerere University’s School of Public Health and CHASE-i in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS). The study focuses on measuring food environments to improve health outcomes among children and adolescents. Our vision and big picture is to clean Uganda’s food environment, prevent childhood Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and save resources for national development.

The problem: Uganda has an increased risk to NCDs among children below five years, adolescents and the general population. While Uganda signed up to international commissions to regulate food marketing to impressionable children and adolescents, there seems to be laxity in the policy regulations. The food industry conducts in-community food advertising of sweetened beverages, oily and fatty food, unfettered and without regulation. Unregulated food advertising favourably predisposes children to NCD risk.

Dr Edward Kanyesigye

MBChB, DPH (Mak), MPH (Adelaide), FAIPH

Associate

Dr Edward Kanyesigye graduated with an MBChB degree in April 1979 at Makerere University Medical School. He holds a post graduate diploma in Public Health (DPH) from the same University (1982) and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Adelaide, South Australia (1992). He was appointed Fellow of the African Institute of Public Health Professionals (FAIPH) in 2019. He served in the Uganda Public services as a Medical officer (1979-81), District Medical Officer (1982-1986), Assistant Commissioner Health Services (1988-2002).

From 1986 to 2002 Edward worked at the Ministry of Health (MOH) Headquarters heading (at different times) the divisions of Training, Health Education, Clinical Services, Nutrition, Human Resources Development. He had a three year stint in between and served as Behavior Scientist in The Medical research Council (MRC) – UK Program of AIDS in Uganda on an IEC intervention Trial in stopping HIV transmission among the people living in Masaka District- Southern Uganda. He worked as the Training and Primary Health Care Manager, African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF)Uganda Country office  from June 2002 to December2003.Between 2004 and 2007 he was a pioneer at the International Health Sciences University, Namuwongo,  Kampala, teaching Public health. From 2009 he has been at the Uganda Christian University (UCU) where he headed the health sciences department which was upgraded to a faculty in 2014 and a School of Medicine in 2018.

He has served as external examiner (Public Health in several Ugandan Universities), chaired several conferences and Boards of Health Services Organizations and is founder and President of the Uganda Public Health Specialists Association (UPHSA). He is a Rotarian and member of the Uganda Medical Association (UMA).

Daniela Arocha Ramirez

Associate

Daniela Arocha Ramirez is a psychologist with both research and practice experience in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), migration, and public policies for global development. Daniela has worked with social research and international non-governmental organizations (iNGOs) in Latin America – particularly in the areas of community-based and psychosocial interventions, humanitarian contexts, and human rights advocacy. She  holds an associate degree in education, and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Stavanger (UiS) in Norway.  

Joining CHASE-i as an Erasmus Mundus Scholar, Daniela was initially a visiting researcher in Uganda attached to the Centre where she conducted graduate research on the COMPASS project’s Protection and Mental Health intervention under the supervision of Dr. Gloria Seruwagi and Dr Esther Nanfuka in Makerere University’s Department of Social Work. Her research focused on  assessing and documenting  the implementation of the WHO’s Interpersonal Group Therapy (IPT-G). It also explored perceptions and experiences of IPG-T implementers, clients, refugee and local host communities in Uganda. IPG-T is part of the WHO’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP). Daniela’s research generated important evidence which contributed to programming under the Protection and Health strands of the COMPASS Project implemented in Uganda and South Sudan – with key lessons for adapting the intervention in other contexts.

Daniela is originally from Colombia. Her motivation for MHPSS and research generally stems from her work with internally displaced people (IDPs) affected by Colombia’s armed conflict and Venezuela’s refugee crisis, where she closely attended to the anguish of vulnerable communities who had suffered through traumatic situations of displacement.

Moses Owori

BSc | MSc. | PhD in progress

NFSAL Expert

Moses set himself on a professional path to become a Nutrition, Food Security and Livelihoods (NFSAL) expert, with MSc. Global Public Health Nutrition of University of Westminster, London, BSc. Food Science and Technology, and currently enrolled for a Doctorate in Agricultural and Rural Innovation at College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Department of Extension and Innovation Studies Makerere University. Moses has worked expansively in several NFSAL related roles, with about seven years in operational management, academia and research. Currently, Moses works as a part-time lecturer at Makerere University Department of Food Technology and Nutrition where he tutors on the Food Security and Nutrition module. Moses developed passion and received several trainings in business and entrepreneurship. From this, he has built deep interest and knowledge in using market-based systems to apply business solutions to NFSAL problems amongst populations at the base of the economic pyramid.

Under CHASE-i

For CHASE-i, Moses provides expertise on the Environment and livelihoods project components

Previous Projects

Moses has been part of high-level research teams evaluating regional and national multi-sector NFSAL projects, at Makerere University, Community Action for Health (CAfH), Food and Nutrition Solutions (FONUS), Kilimo Trust and Bioversity International. From these roles Moses brings a wealth of research experience, quantitative and qualitative, using software like Microsoft excel, NVivo, Atlas Ti, ENA, Stata and SPSS.

As a consultant on the Bio-Innovate Project titled “Adaptation and promotion of refractance window drying technology (RWDT)for production of high quality bioproducts” implemented by the Makerere University College of Agricultural of Environmental Sciences, Moses led the baseline study to identify and document mango varieties grown in Uganda, post-harvest handling of mango, as well as the assessing the mango value chain with the aim of identifying the most suitable varieties for processing. On the same project, he qualitatively assessed the suitability of the RWDT for different agro-processor levels (individual, cottage and industrial), the readiness of the agro-processor groups to adopt the technology as well as the payback period on adoption of the RWD technology. Further, Moses developed training materials to guide training of agro-food processors involved in production of yoghurt, flavoured milk, bakery products and reconstituted fruit juices on the use of RWDT products as ingredients or flavours.

As a Nutrition consultant with CIAT-Bioversity Alliance, Moses led a qualitative feasibility study to inform a subsequent feeding efficacy RCT in Uganda under a project on “Addressing micronutrient deficiencies in Sub-Saharan Africa through Musa-based foods”. Still with CIAT-Bioversity Alliance, Moses is leading the development of a Gendered Nutrition Social Behaviour Change Communication Strategy toolkit to promote production and utilisation of Orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) puree in food processing in Uganda.

As a Consultant with FONUS, Moses was part of a team that won a contract to conduct the Uganda Multisector Food Security and Nutrition Project (UMFSNP) quantitative and qualitative monitoring and evaluation and communication materials development by the Ministries of Agriculture, Health and Education – funded by World Bank Group.

As a Monitoring and Evaluation consultant with Community Action for Health (CAfH), Moses periodically quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated a multi-sectoral health facility and community-based NFSAL project in Northern Karamoja for four years. Moses had previously worked with CAfH as Abim District Team Leader where he recruited, led, managed and provided technical oversight to staff in the implementation of the same project.

More recently as an Consultant with Kilimo Trust, contributed to a multi-tier quantitative and qualitative research on “Small Holder Coffee Farmer Income Diversification and Resilience” commissioned by IDH (the sustainable trade initiative) undertaken to provide evidence of opportunities in the farm and market systems, for private sector (service providers, coffee traders and coffee cooperatives) and farmers to invest in provision of blended services for coffee and non-coffee farm produce (NCFP) in order to increase income and climate resilience for smallholder coffee farmers while guaranteeing supply of coffee.  The evidence generated supported the business case for investing in service delivery for combined coffee and NCFP as a strategy for closing living income gaps for coffee smallholder farmers.

Nabatanzi Maureen

MPH

Associate

Maureen is a Public Health Fellow with Makerere University School of Public Health in partnership with U.S. CDC and Ministry of Health Uganda. Here, she conducts research and interventions in Epidemiology, Global health security, Nutrition and Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Technology and a Master of Public Health Nutrition from Makerere University, Uganda.

Project under CHASE-i

Maureen is currently a Research Fellow on the project, “The Extent and Nature of food Advertising targeted to Children and adolescents (5-18 years) in Uganda”. The project is funded by the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (MakRIF) and is being implemented by Makerere’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) under CHASE-i, in collaboration with the Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH). This study seeks to examine the extent and nature of food advertising targeted to children and adolescents in Uganda with the aim of identifying unhealthy drivers of children’s food choices that could be predisposing them to non-communicable diseases.

Previous Projects

As a public health fellow, she has undertaken work on the outbreaks and interventions of COVID-19 in East Africa and Democratic Republic of Congo, implemented a quality improvement project on adherence to Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) standard case definition for Typhoid Fever at Kitebi Health Center III in Uganda, and participated in surveillance and response to epidemic prone diseases. During her Masters’studies in 2018, she assessed feeding practices among children with oral clefts seen at CoRSU Hospital in Uganda.

Agnes Kyamulabi

MA

Research Associate

Agnes Kyamulabi is a child protection and adolescent health expert whose work concentrates on research, policy and programming. She is currently a Research Fellow in Makerere University’s Department of Social Work and Social Administration. She is a committed social development professional with experience in child protection, adolescent health, policy analysis, designing strategies and implementing development activities that aim at addressing both social and economic needs of the children, adolescents, youth and women. She is also a ToT of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights and her focus is on equipping adolescents with the right health-related information. Agnes holds an M.A in Development Studies with a major in Children and Youth Studies (ISS, Erasmus University, Netherlands) and aims at providing service above self to the needs of the less privileged – particularly the children and women in adversity.

Agnes wishes to further interact with forces that may stop girls and women from realizing their potential. She has a keen interest in community engagement, adolescent health and protection, girls and women’s health promotion, domestic/gender-based violence, social protection, child vulnerabilities, reforming care for children, youth employment, family and care for children, social exclusion and inequality, sexual and reproductive health. She is committed to advancing human rights and gender equality. During off-work hours, she offers voluntary counselling and life skills building for children in and out of school in Uganda. Agnes is passionate using research to inform practice as well as documenting learnings from practice to make progress.

Brief description of recent work

Under CHASE-I Agnes continues to provide technical expertise and support, including fieldwork and community engagement. She led a district team on the Ministry of Health’s endline review of its RMNCAH Sharpened Plan 2016/17-2019-20 and has, in September 2020, also led another team on the qualitative arm of the REFLECT Study on COVID-19 in Kisenyi, Kyaka II and Adjumani refugee settlements.

Agnes was part of the consultants hired by SOS Children’s Villages International in 2019 to develop an East African regional training curriculum and manual on Alternative Care for Children. The curriculum and manual serve as a guiding tool for building the capacities of the alternative care service workforce in East Africa. She also assisted to coordinate the “Keeping Children in Health and Protective Families (KCHPF) Project” (2017-2019) – a randomized control trial that assessed the effects of a household-based parenting program on reintegration of children into family-based care in Uganda. It sought to determine whether participation in a household-based parenting program improves outcome in and across the six domains of reintegration; and it also sought to qualitatively assess the satisfaction and feasibility of the intervention component among children, caregivers, and implementers. The project was implemented in 9 districts of the central region i.e. Mukono, Mpigi and greater Masaka districts. It was funded by Displaced Children & Orphans Fund (DCOF) under USAID.

Currently, Agnes is coordinating a qualitative component of a study “Promoting Inclusion in Decent Work for Ugandan Young People: Will Reducing Violence Help?” (2018-2021). There is little evidence on how experiences of violence in childhood and adolescence affect participation in skills programmes, work outcomes and about the extent & nature of violence in the workplace. This project is exploring whether experiences of violence in childhood and adolescence lead to: inequalities in work outcomes and the potential of these inequalities to be mitigated by skills training programmes and education.

It is implemented by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in collaboration with Department of Social Work and Social Administration. This research study is fully funded by Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC), UK.

Martha Kirabo

MA

Associate

Martha Kirabo is an economist working as part-time lecturer and member of the Online Distance Learning Committee at Uganda Christian University (UCU). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management from UCU and a Masters of Arts in Economic Policy and Planning from Makerere University. Martha is an Alumnae of various leadership programs including Educate! and Honours College Leadership Program. She is proficient in English and speaks basic Luganda, Runyakitara and French supplementary to her experience in both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Martha is skilled in data collection mobile applications and statistical packages such as ODK and STATA 14. In addition to her work experience, Martha brings critical thinking, ingenuity and enthusiasm to any team and project she is assigned to.

Under CHASE-i Martha brings both research and an economic lens to different studies and interventions; she is particularly interested in health economics and undertaking different types of economic analyses for health and social programmes. Martha has served as a Research Associate for a health policy evaluation for the RMNCAH (Reproductive, Maternal Newborn Child Adolescent Health) Sharpened Plan, as a quantitative researcher under REFLECT a study on the COVID 19 lived experiences of refugees in Uganda and participated in CHASE-I’s other community engagements.

Samuel Besigwa

SWSA | MA

Associate

A professional Social Worker, Samuel Besigwa is a graduate and Junior Research Fellow in the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at Makerere University. He is also a part time Research Fellow at Applied Research Bureau (a local research and consultancy firm). As a graduate fellow, Samuel has been involved in University teaching/lecturing for the last two years. Samuel has over 5years extensive experience in conducting social research, using both qualitative and quantitative methods.  Samuel has participated in a wide range of research undertakings to the level of an Associate Consultant on projects focusing on Child Protection, Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in Uganda. For example, Samuel co-consulted on a study to Map Hot Spots for Violence against Children and Gaps for Delivery of Child Protection Services in Kyangwali and Omugo Refugee Settlements in Uganda.

He also participated in a study to assess Gender Based Violence Prevention and Response and Child Protection Services in 11 Refugee Hosting Districts in Uganda.  Recently, Samuel assisted in coordinating a collaborative cross-national needs assessment study between Makerere University and the University of Edinburg on a reproductive health of adolescent refugees in camp/refugee settlement settings in Uganda, Bangladesh and Jordan. He is also among the team of researchers conducting a controlled randomized community trial to understand if community engagement can result into positive uptake of COVID-19 prevention measures in Uganda. He further co-investisgted on a study to understand the linkages between Gender Based Violence, Climate Change and Livelihood Strengthening in Pallisa and Bushenyi Districts of Uganda. As an associate consultant, he has also worked on baseline survey for the project titled Strengthening Education and Training in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Uganda. Towards the end of 2019, he worked as co-investigator on the baseline study for HIV Prevention Program among Key Populations in Uganda.

Mr. Besigwa Samuel is currently completing his Master of Arts Degree in Social Sector Planning and Management from Makerere University (awaiting graduation). He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and Social Administration from Makerere University (First Class Honours). Besigwa Samuel is very goal-oriented, sensitive to task deadlines yet increasingly pays attention to self-awareness which makes him distinguish between what he can and cannot do. Heterogeneous team working, self-motivation and working under minimal supervision are virtues he cherishes. He has keen interest in child protection and adolescent health in humanitarian settings as well as issues in disaster preparedness, management and recovery.

Projects Under CHASE-i

Research Associate– Endline Evaluation of the Investment Case (IC) for the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) Sharpened Plan 2016/17-2019/2020. This was a nationwide evaluation conducted by Makerere University school of Public Health commissioned by the Ministry of Health Uganda. I was recruited as a social scientist research associate. My role was to conduct qualitative interviews, write reports highlighting emerging issues from the interviews conducted and district specific reports. This endline review was led by Prof. Peter Waiswa and Dr Gloria Seruwagi of MakSPH.

Henry Bazira

BSc. | MSc.

Henry Bazira is a public health specialist, researcher and SRHR professional with vast experience in corporate, humanitarian and development contexts. He is passionate about applied science and the use of empirical evidence in policy and programming; promoting behavioral change and advocating for issues affecting women and young people, locally and internationally.

Henry is actively involved in research across wide range of fields including health, agriculture, livelihoods, nutrition, NCDs, business and markets. His years of experience have equipped him with expertise in sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) programming; Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E); research applying both quantitative and qualitative methods, proposal or grant development and delivery; policy analysis and overall project management. He is a dynamic individual that is passionate about contributing to provision of better healthcare while also increasing awareness of public health and human rights issues. He posses’ strong interpersonal skills and can skillfully establish, coordinate, strategic alliances and partnerships while liaising with people from diverse backgrounds. Henry has worked and collaborating with highly reputable institutions including Youth Coalition, PEPFAR Clinic Ibadan, Makerere University School of Public Health, Ministry of Health (MOH) Uganda, Master Card Foundation, Farmer Line Ghana, GB Consultants, XSUBA and Ipsos.

Henry has worked with CHASE-i since inception providing technical support for several studies and projects including ACRC, QCN for MNCH, Strengthening Health Professional Regulation, REFLECT, ALERTs and COMPASS among others. He holds a Master of Sciences in Reproductive Health from PAULESI, University of Ibadan and a Bachelors of Community Health from Uganda Christian University.

Samuel Mutyaba

MInistry of Health

Samuel’s background is in Computer Sciences. He is a database management specialist with strong knowledge of relational database design and management. He is skilled in setting up information systems to enable management of the M&E function; also, to ensure fidelity and impact of program activities.

At CHASE-i Samuel designs and maintains robust mobile data collection platforms using ODK central technologies on its various project. He supports creating interoperability between systems to enable projects achieve their objectives. He also supports the design and analysis of database management information systems in the following ways: first, he supports development, configuration and automation of quantitative study tools. Additionally, he trains field teams, set ups and tests robust study ODK central servers to enable smooth upload of daily interview responses. He then incorporates quality checks and skip patterns, supports study teams in ongoing analysis of data quality and tracking of errors.

For the past 10 years, Samuel has designed and implemented a number of information management systems in different areas of health systems, with the ability to deliver time saving solutions to tight deadlines. He continues to provide technical guidance and support in the development and implementation of robust health management information systems, programs and plans. He is knowledgeable in administration, management, design, documentation and evaluation of a variety of database management systems.

And he does all this with a huge smile on this face.

Kinuthia Francis Kariuki

MPH

Research Associate

Francis is a Public Health Specialist with extensive experience in research, reproductive health, primary health care, Monitoring and evaluation, community health services and clinical service delivery. He is a strategic and analytical thinker who promotes constructive and active participation of all parties combining both theoretical knowledge and evidence based practical experiences.

As a member of CHASE-I family, Francis is currently the coordinator of manuscript publication for Department of Defense HIV/AIDs Prevention Program (DHAPP) project. In this position, he is primarily responsible for coordinating and tracking manuscript writing through out to publication, and also coordinating data mining, sharing, and data tool development on different studies.

Prior to joining CHASE-I, and as a co-founder of Uganda Health Promotion Initiative (UHPI) Francis was responsible for coordinating activities with cooperate companies, government agencies, training, Information Education Communication (IEC) development, and supervision. During this period, he played a major role in competitively writing a proposal and winning sponsorship from Insurance Company of East Africa to conduct an awareness campaign on prostate cancer among men in Uganda in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Uganda Cancer Institute.

In addition, Francis was able to partner with National Drug Authority (NDA)-Uganda and developed IEC materials on drug and substance abuse for youths and students as part of the awareness campaign to empower the youths on the effects of drugs in their lives. As a Clinical Officer at International Medical Center, he was responsible in provision of standard of care services for all medical conditions, and planning, organizing outreach activities on health promotion and education -he was also in charge of continuous medical education (CME) and coordinator of continuous professional development (CPD) activities. In 2009, Francis was primary involved in initiation of Immunization services and ART clinic at St Mary’s Medical services and Green Medical center.

Francis is passionate about sexual and reproductive health issues. He is concerned about the level of engagement and commitment of men on this critical matter. This can further be confirmed by research project he and Dr Gloria undertook to document determinants of male partner involvement in antenatal care in Uganda and recommend approaches to enhance their level of involvement.

Previous Studies

Francis was in charge of quantitative data collection team on;

  • Knowledge, Adherence and the lived experiences of refugees in COVID-19: A comparative assessment of Urban and rural refugee settings in Uganda” (September 2020)
  • Makerere University: End line Evaluation on Reproductive Maternal Neonatal Child Adolescence Health (RMNCAH) Investment Case Sharpened plan. (August 2020)
  • Process Evaluation on Pre-term Birth Initiative (PTBi) In Busoga region Eastern Uganda (April 2018)
  • A situation Analysis of Maternal and Newborn Health in Karamoja Region (2017); funded by UNICEF crises.

Abura Francis

Associate

Francis has a background in both pharmacy and public health and currently works with Makerere University-Johns Hopkins Research collaboration (MUJHU) as a Pharmaceutical Public Health Practitioner. His work involves dispensing of medicines to research participants and documenting the necessary outcomes.

Francis has had trainings in multicenter global research networks like HIV Prevention Trial Network (HPTN, HPTN 084, and HPTN 084-01) studies, Microbicide Trials Network studies (MTN 043, MTN 042, MTN 034) studies, IMPAACT Network studies ( P1093, P1115, IMPAACT 2010 ), Maternal Repeat Pregnancy bone health study, Odyssey Penta study plus so many others. He is keen on the health supply chain, with experience and trainings in real time ARVs stock status reporting system, (RASS) Web based ARVs ordering system, (WAOS) TB drugs ordering system. (TWOS), Rx solution medicines management software.  These he undertakes as a regional mentor and trainer for health supply chain.

Studies and assignments conducted under CHASE-i.

Francis has been a CHASE-i Associate since 2017 where he participated in conducting a UNICEF-funded situation analysis of maternal and newborn health in the Karamoja sub-region. Francis was one of the leaders on the quantitative arm of this study, providing oversight to research assistants in several districts and health facilities within the Karamoja region.

He also was part of the Elrha-funded REFLECT (September 2020) study assessing the impact of COVID-19 on refugee populations. Under the REFLECT study Francis was a Field Supervisor for a team of Research Assistants in one of the study sites –  Kisenyi, a Kampala slum area inhabited by mostly Somali and Eritrean refugees. Following data collection Francis further supported data management and analysis on this study.

RMNCAH Study 2020

Between July and August 2020 Francis also supported the data management process on the endline evaluation of Uganda’s Investment Case for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) Sharpened Plan 2016/17-2019-20. This endline review was commissioned by the Ministry of Health and supported by the World Bank Global Financing Facility  and APHRC.

Dr Priscilla Cheputyo

MBChB | MPH-N in progress

Associate

I am a medical doctor with experience working in clinical and community settings. Following graduation from medical school I worked as a Clinician at St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Gulu district, northern Uganda and later at the Aga Khan University Hospital Outreach Medical Centers in Kampala. I am passionate about health, nutrition and the prevention of non-communicable diseases – among all population categories, and especially among children and young people.

Under CHASE-i I am part of the  FACe-U Project team.

Grace Bamanyisa Sekasala

Associate

Grace Bamanyisa Sekasala is a graduate of Daystar University in Nairobi, Kenya in Community Development (Major) and Business Administration (Minor).

She is knowledgeable, experienced and passionate about Community Development. She is moved by human suffering and very supportive of decisions and interventions for community empowerment. She is particularly interested in strengthening community systems, structures and consolidating them to take control of the resources at their disposal. She is also passionate about enhancing the voices and experiences of children and young people; listening to them and supporting them to live healthy and productive lives.

Grace believes in the community development methodologies of participatory bottom-up approaches. She has several years of research and is well versed in qualitative methodologies. She has been involved in a number of studies in different areas including research and evaluations on Integrated Management for Child Illnesses (IMCI); quality of healthcare in rural health facilities (UNAIDS); Evaluation of implementation Projects in SRH and Family Planning (UNFPA/IPH); Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) with CHASE-i and Makerere University School of Public Health. More recently she has supported research on refugees and urban slums in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cordelia Besigiroha

Associate

Cordelia is a journalist, administrator and freelance writer who is passionate about leadership and social work.  She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication and has great managerial skills. Cordelia started her professional journey writing feature stories for The Daily Monitor and The New Vision which are Uganda’s leading newspapers. Over the past 10 years she has worked with organizations operating in the sphere of social welfare (including HCP – a USAID global project on social and behavioural change communication (SBCC), AfriComNet on strategic communication for health and development,  a childcare ministry and a rehabilitation center for drugs and alcohol. With a big heart for community, Cordelia is a firm believer in the power of empowering others to improve living conditions and life possibilities, especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged.

At CHASE-i, Cordelia has been supporting different projects addressing issues close to her heart and passion for community empowerment. For example, she was part of the field team in Kisenyi, an urban refugee setting, on the REFLECT Project, a study which aimed at capturing the knowledge, adherence and the lived experiences of refugees (rural and urban) in COVID-19: The project aimed to ascertain the extent to which refugee communities are aware of COVID-19, and to what extent they have complied and are coping with the related preventive measures.  Cordelia also supported the ALERTs Project in the Ki-Mombasa and Kabalagala-Kataba slums of Kampala. This research sought to develop evidence of how Ugandan COVID19 guidelines operate, are being perceived, experienced in practice and potential barriers to their adherence and compliance among urban slum communities in Kampala.

Outside her formal work, Cordelia is an artist. A bonafide singer with some albums to her name, she also has a knack for crafts and design. She is currently planning to venture more into (home/office) décor and interior design.

Twinomugisha Stephen

MPE

Associate

Stephen is a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) practitioner with a postgraduate training from Uganda Management Institute UMI and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Makerere University. He has over ten years’ experience working in the field of research with several organizations such as Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI), Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC)  and Makerere University. 

Under CHASE-i Stephen has participated in the following studies and assignments;

REFLECT (September 2020) – A study to assess the Knowledge, Attitudes and response of refugees to the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda; where I successfully took part as a Team supervisor of a team of Research Assistants that collected data in 9 refugee settlements in Adjumani District, Northern Uganda.

LWF (December 2018) – An endline evaluation of a Lutheran World Federation project on Protection and Health. It assessed programme performance in the areas of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), Water and Sanitation (WASH)  and Livelihoods of refugees in Palabek Refugee Settlement, Lamwo District in Northern Uganda. Stephen was  a Team Supervisor on this evaluation.

Process Evaluation of the Pre-term Birth Initiative, PTBi (April/May 2018) – On this study, Stephen supervised a team of highly skilled Research Assistants who collecting quantitative and qualitative data  from different study participants –including healthworkers, mothers of preterm babies, civil society actors, politicians and local leaders in the study sites which were referral hospitals, HCIVs in the districts of Kamuli, Iganga, Bugiri, Jinja and Buyende where we ensured that quality data was collected and on time.

Musa Sebi

Associate

Musa is a versatile, selfless, hardworking and hospitable professional with longstanding experience in health, youth and community emancipation programs. He has undertaken multiple research and program assignments across different regions of Uganda. He is skilled in both qualitative and quantitative methods of research – exceptionally proficient at using, for example, Open Data Kit (ODK) but can also expertly handle qualitative interviews and dialogues. He is also experienced with the administrative aspects of research.

Musa’s more recent engagement with CHASE-i is in the ALERTs study which was about lived experiences of communities living in Kampala slums. He was an Assistant Team Supervisor for the team of research assistants collecting data in the Kabalagala-Kataba study site.  He also supported the REFLECT study on refugee lived experiences as a field team member in the 11 study sites in Uganda’s West Nile region which is his home area and actively supported local engagement using his knowledge of the area, including the local language.

Away from research, Musa is a sports enthusiast, professional basketballer and coach who believes in creating opportunities for the less privileged. Through different sporting programs, he has been able to train and equip several youths with basketball skills which have helped them secure scholarships at different academic levels. Musa is part of Jinja Youth Sports Foundation (JYSF) an organisation whose primary and core goal is to develop the community through sports among the Youths. As the Head of Operations, Musa and his team are responsible for giving opportunities to youth through exploring their talents in sports and use it as a basis for securing them good quality education to help them build their future, develop their families and communities. In addition to that, the most outstanding participants are given a chance to represent their country on national and international level through participating in under 16 18 22 tournaments and as partners with Jinja Connection whose sole goal is to keep children away from the streets, rehabilitation, reintegration and supporting their education and lifeskills for a better, more meaningful life. Musa is a graduate with an honors degree in Business Administration.

Charlotte Amumpaire

BSc. Stat & Econ

Charlotte’s holds a first degree in Economics and Statistics. She has experience in conducting and supporting research, including qualitative studies. She has worked on different research projects in health and the humanities on various issues including SRH, MNCH, quality of care, community, humanitarian and development interventions.  

Under CHASE-i Charlotte has participated in the following research projects:

  • REFLECT (September 2020) on COVID-19 lived experiences of refugees in the Central Kampala Uganda where she was part of the team collecting data.
  • She also participated in the ALERTs study on COVID-19 in Kampala slums
  • She was part of the data management team (including transcribing and data cleaning) for the Makerere University on strengthening health professional regulation in Uganda and Kenya; as well as the endline policy review of Ministry of Health’s RMNCAH Sharpened Plan 2016-2020.
  • In 2017 she supported a baseline survey and endline evaluation of the WASH and Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) programs of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) among refugee communities in Lamwo, Northern Uganda.

Away from research, Charlotte is a health and fitness enthusiast who also manages a gym and wellness centre in a Kampala City suburb.

Daniel Magumba

BSc. | MA | PGD

Senior Associate

Daniel has background training and extensive experience in management, research and training. He has led, coordinated and supported several multi-disciplinary teams in Uganda and other countries, some of which are currently ongoing. He has a solid foundation in strategic management and performance direction aimed at stimulating higher performance in organisations – including in education institution settings where he has been a teacher, Headteacher and key member of Senior Management Teams. Daniel has widely consulted with private and public or government agencies on assessment and improvement of education standards in public and private training institutions. He is a trainer of trainers (ToT) and much sought-after for capacity building of school systems, human resources and research teams within Uganda and beyond.

Until 2024, Daniel was CHASE-i’s Director of Programmes which involved overseeing all Centre projects, operations and initiatives – tracking their progress, performance and aligning them to the Centre’s strategic objectives. As Senior Associate he remains a critical support system for the Centre Secretariat, field teams and partners.

Dr Milton Mutto

The Pincer Training & Research Institute

Dr Milton Mutto is a global health research scientist with advanced training in epidemiology and biostatistics, sociology and medical rehabilitation. He has significant experience working with the public, non-governmental, and private sectors in the areas of policy, program and capacity development. He is an expert in child and youth welfare and safety; injury, violence and disability prevention. He is skilled in the design, implementation, and review of epidemiologic and social scientific research projects, has published widely in indexed journals in the areas of injury, violence and disability prevention, education revitalization and measurement; and is peer reviewer for a number of indexed journals.

Milton holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; a postdoctoral Diploma in Global Health Research from the Swedish School of Global Health Research, Stockholm, Sweden; a Master of Science (in Medicine) in the field of Epidemiology & Biostatistics from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; and a Diploma in Physiotherapy from Mulago School of Physical Therapy, Kampala Uganda. He has additional training in Bioethics; Injury/ violence prevention and safety promotion; analysis of data from complex hierarchical designs; survival analysis; public health in conflict situations; traffic injury prevention and control; multi-Level modelling; Grant Proposal and scientific writing.

He has extensive experience in community development in post-conflict settings with several years of experience working with national ministries – engendering reforms and mainstreaming innovations. He has mentored local government leaders in the area of strategy development, advocacy and lobbying. Currently Milton is Chairman of The Pincer Group International Ltd (TPGIL) and the Pincer Training and Research Institute (PTRI). 

Eng. Dunstan Ddamulira Paul

BSc. | MSc. | PGD

Agency for Cooperation in Research and Development (ACORD)

Dunstan is a Development and Humanitarian worker with over 20 years of experience working with National and international organisations. Over the years, he has developed a multi-dimensional niche of managing field operations and grassroots programming in the areas of; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Orphans and other Vulnerable Children’s Rights, Sexual and Gender Based Violence, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, Livelihoods, Conflict Sensitivity, Climate Change Adaptation and Water Resources Management. As a Director of Programmes for ACORD Uganda, Dunstan has gained hands-on experience in management and leadership of multi-sectoral projects and programmes; providing strategic direction, maintaining partner relations and networking. He has been involved in a number of Research projects such as; the one undertaken in partnership with the University of Warwick – Development Technology Unit titled “Low Cost Water Technologies for Developing Countries” in which he was the lead for the Ugandan chapter of the research.

Dunstan is skilled in the Design of; Development, Humanitarian response and Research programmes for Vulnerable Nationals and Refugees. He is also able to spearhead participatory community based planning, capacity enhancement processes, project implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes at local and national levels in Conflict, Post Conflict and stable environments. He has done this for rural and peri-urban communities in over 23 Districts and refugees in over 6 settlements and transit centres. Dunstan has also mastered the art of resource mobilisation, donor engagement, and institutional sustainability.

Dunstan holds a Master’s Degree in Institutional Management and Leadership, a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil and Building Engineering and a Diploma in Water Engineering. He is also a candidate for a Master of Science Degree in Civil Engineering. Dunstan is a Steering Committee member of the Global Water Partnership – East Africa, a Vice Chairperson of the Uganda Water Partnership, former SW Regional Co-ordinator for the Uganda Water and Sanitation NGO Network, a Corporate Member of the Uganda Institution of Professional Engineers and a Registered Engineer with the Uganda Engineers Registration Board.

Grace Ssali Kiwanuka

Uganda Healthcare Federation

Grace Ssali Kiwanuka is Executive Director at Uganda Healthcare Federation (UHF) an association of associations and membership umbrella body for the private health sector in Uganda. She has several years of experience in health sector management, health quality improvement (QI), health system strengthening (HSS). 

Grace is passionate about health, quality healthcare and has been at the forefront of supporting the design and/or delivery of impactful interventions; for example, she was responsible for the successful planning and implementation of the fortified food programme campaign by MOST Project working with the Ministry of Health and a team of nutritionists from Mulago Hospital. She is directly and actively involved in policy, programming and evaluation. She Co-Chairs Uganda’s Public Private Partnerships in the Ministry of Health Technical Working Group (TWG); represents private sector on the Ministry of Health – Health Policy Advisory Committee (HPAC); is part of the National Health Insurance TaskForce and contributes to National Quality Assurance in the Health Coordination Committee.

Grace holds an MA in Administration – specialising in Innovation and Technology – from Boston University (USA); and a BA in Social Work – with Economic and Political Development – from Exeter University (UK).

Brian Luswata

MSc. | LLB (Hons)

Ministry of Health (MoH)

Brian Luswata is a Principal Legal Officer with Uganda’s Ministry of Health. He was called to the Bar in Uganda and is entitled to practice in the Courts of Judicature. He has worked in the public sector, specifically the health sector, in various capacities for the last 10 years.  He previously served as Senior Legal Officer in the Health Sector Monitoring Unit for 7 years before joining the Ministry of Health where he has been serving for the last 3 years as the head lawyer.

Brian holds an MSc. from the University of Aberdeen in the UK and an LLB (Hons) from Makerere University, Uganda. After admission to the Bar he had a stint in private practice before joining the public sector where he has been serving to-date.

He has worked on a variety of statutory and regulatory matters in the health sector, and has the highest regard for public service. He has a good understanding of complex legal and policy issues related to the health sector and has been providing legal assistance to the Ministry of Health while dealing with some particular legal tasks, litigation, contracts, dispute resolution and also guides the Ministry on taking appropriate decisions.

At CHASE-i, Brian is a Co-Investigator and MoH representative on the REFLECT and FACe-U studies. He is also part of the Project Advisory Board on the project “Strengthening Health Professional Regulation in Uganda and Kenya”. He continues to provide technical input and guidance on multiple areas including medico-legal issues, health systems and health policy among others.

Joshua Kayiwa

BSc. | MSc. | PGD

Ministry of Health (MoH)

Joshua Kayiwa is a medical statistician by training, with a passion for the design and implementation of epidemiological investigations, analysis of the resulting data, as well as managing tropical public health emergencies. He has sixteen years of progressive career growth in Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM), Clinical Data Management (CDM), statistical programing and analysis – eight years while serving in leadership positions, which involved leading teams to achieve pre-defined targets. Joshua is also a post-graduate tutor and has over 32 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals.

After earning his MSc in Medical Statistics from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in 2009, Joshua headed back home in Uganda, from where he has been operating to date. Most of his time is spent ensuring that the correct pieces of data from epidemiological studies, clinical trials, public health emergencies and routine surveillance programs are availed to analysts and decision makers. He has also undertaken several other on-the-job trainings, leading to the award of two diplomas in PHEM and M&E.

Currently, Joshua is based at the Uganda Ministry of Health within the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC), where he heads the information management section. This post has seen him contribute to the successful control of the several infectious diseases in Uganda, including Ebola Virus Disease outbreaks, Marburg, Rift Valley Fevers, Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fevers, Yellow Fevers, Anthrax, Measles, cholera, among others. Currently, the PHEOC is actively involved in mounting a contextually – appropriate response to the COVID19 pandemic. Joshua also heads the team overseeing the country’s electronic Integrated Diseases Surveillance and Response (eIDSR), a system overseeing all epidemiological surveillance for any potential outbreaks, leading to the mounting of appropriate and timely responses to diseases outbreaks. 

For the past ten years, Joshua has actively served as an online tutor at the LSHTM, where he lectures on the MSc. Epidemiology program under the ‘Statistical Methods in Epidemiology’ module. Joshua looks back in time, while serving in this capacity, and all he can recall are the wonderful challenges the tutoring journey has brought his way, and how satisfied he feels by helping students achieve their learning objectives.

On CHASE-i projects, Joshua supports the quantitative data management and analysis pillar, where he is honored to work hand in hand with seasoned researchers and the wonderful team.

Andrew Masaba

BSc. | MSc.

Lutheran World Federation (LWF)

Andrew Masaba has 12 years of experience as a humanitarian worker, 6 of which are in senior management, having been involved in strategic decisions concerning organizational corporate goals and business plans.

As a senior manager in the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Andrew has, for the last 6 years, been actively participating in the development of projects, strategies and policies in the country office. During this period, he has had a hands-on experience in innovative multisector programming, reviewing policies and strategies and documentation of learning. 

His current role as a Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Manager for LWF in Uganda focuses on fundraising and strategic partnerships covering humanitarian assistance, and development programs. Apart from working with local partners, LWF does the direct implementation along the emergency and development continuum, being UNHCR’s implementing partner (IP) in Livelihood, WASH, Environment and Protection.

Prior to this role, Andrew worked as the Field Operations Manager, Emergency Program Manager, Sub Program Manager, and Program Nutritionist for LWF in Uganda; and as Community Nutritionist for ACDI VOCA covering the eastern region of Uganda. During this time, he gained experience in project implementation, grants management, and program development and management.

John Mary Ssekate

National Association of Social Workers of Uganda (NASWU)

John Mary Ssekate is a professional social worker and the current National Coordinator for the National Association of Social Workers of Uganda (NASWU). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Social administration (Hons.) as well as a Master’s in Project Planning and Management. John Mary has additional professional training in Case Management for Children and Adolescents Exposed to Violence (Makerere University) as well as Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) from Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH). He is also professionally certified in sign language and working with extremely vulnerable persons and communities.

John Mary is a professional and core member of the NASWU Secretariat. John Mary sits on several high-level policy and intervention groups. He is a member of the Uganda National Child Protection Working Group in the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development (MoGLSD) and the National Advocacy Committee on Child Protection in the same ministry. He is also a member of Global Social Workforce Alliance and Occupational Therapy of International Federation of Social Workers. John Mary doubles as an independent social worker in Uganda for Children and Families Across Boarders (CFAB), and has been assessing UK child-directed court cases since 2019.

Previously John Mary served as the Capacity-building Officer of NASWU where he led capacity building efforts of early career professionals in all social work teaching institutions in Uganda. He continues to offer continuous capacity building efforts to those in practice, mostly in social work agencies. Johnmary has managed a number of projects like Dream a difference project to identify the strength of children in humanitarian crises and empower them to realize their potential through use of technology and behavior modification models. He has presented several papers on child protection and integrating technology to improve social work practice. He continues to support and participate in research projects like the REFLECT study where he was among the field leaders on the Protection component –  collecting data while also engaging sub-national stakeholders including district local governments, political and community leaders.

Eric Hakizimana

Inzira - Burundi

Co – founder of Inzira Consult in Burundi, Eric Hakizimana is a versatile professional with extensive experience in strengthening CSOs to increase their participation in governance and socio-economic development. Holding a MA degree in Leadership and Management of Organisations, with 15 years of professional experience, Eric has played a role in the process of design, implementation and evaluation of community development Plans. He has worked in the field of communication (Communication for Development – C4D). Over the years, Eric has contributed to the strengthening of local organisations, particularly in strategic planning, project management, organisational development and evaluation.

With proven skills and expertise in peace and conflict, he has contributed to the community mobilisation for peace and the construction of Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) networks. He is passionate about action research and the co-creation of innovative advocacy mechanisms aimed at transforming issues into public policies (the process of defining, implementing and monitoring-evaluating public policies). Eric is also skilled in agribusiness management, entrepreneurship and human rights.

INZIRA is an organization with expertise in organisational development, project evaluation and research with the objective of contributing to local actions aimed at improving local and international governance as well as socioeconomic development. INZIRA’s mission is to support its partners – be it individuals or organizations – in finding appropriate solutions to their needs and considering existing opportunities. As to its vision, INZIRA seeks to inspire action informed by evidence-based research.

Ssegawa Jimmy Ebil

RDC – Kitgum DLG

Mr. Ssegawa Jimmy Ebil is the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) for Kitgum District Local Government in Uganda. He is a seasoned administrator with extensive experience in leadership, management, policy and development programming. Mr. Ssegawa has been at the forefront of ensuring peace, security and sustainable development through several multisectoral interventions.

He is government overseer and host for COMPASS project activities in Uganda, Kitgum District. COMPASS is an acronym for “Cross-border Opportunities for Migration, Peace and Self Sustenance”. On the COMPASS project, Mr. Ssegawa was – and remains – instrumental in brokering peace, security and development initiatives with his counterparts in Lamwo District Local Government (RDC); as well as the Commissioners of Magwi and Budhi Counties in Eastern Equatorial State, South Sudan.

As part of the project activities Mr. Ssegawa co-led a high powered Ugandan delegation to South Sudan to sign of a cross-border peace agreement on 21st February 2023, with intention to harness the gains anticipated in implementing the project in Uganda and South Sudan. The delegation comprised of government representatives from Uganda (Office of the Prime Minister, officials from Palabek Refugee settlement and Lamwo district – including the RDC); other stakeholders from Acholi sub-region and CHASE-i Makerere.  In April 2023 Mr. Ssegawa hosted these same stakeholders on the Ugandan side of the border. He continues to monitor and support the project COMPASS both directly and indirectly.

The Centre for Health and Social Economic Improvement (CHASE-i), Makerere University, is the Research, Learning, Documentation and Capacity Building partner on the COMPASS project.

Oceng Geoffrey Osborn

RDC – Lamwo DLG

Mr. Oceng is the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) for Lamwo District Local Government (DLG). He is government overseer and host for COMPASS project activities in Uganda. COMPASS is an acronym for “Cross-border Opportunities for Migration, Peace and Self Sustenance.

Mr. Oceng is a charismatic leader, administrator, Pan Africanist, agriculturalist and  senior educationist among the many hats he wears. He is committed to serving the nation at all levels from the centre to the grassroots. He has special interest in research and academia – specifically the application of research to government policy and programmes.

On the COMPASS project and beyond, Mr Oceng was –  and remains – instrumental in brokering peace, security and development initiatives with his counterparts in Kitgum District Local Government (RDC) and Commissioners of Magwi and Budhi Counties in South Sudan.

As part of COMPASS project activities Mr. Oceng led a high-powered Ugandan delegation to South Sudan on 21st February 2023 to sign of a cross-border peace agreement, with intention to harness the gains anticipated in implementing the project in Uganda and South Sudan.  The delegation comprised of government representatives from Uganda (Office of the Prime Minister, officials from Palabek Refugee settlement and Lamwo district, RDC for Kitgum district, CHASE-i Makerere, other stakeholders from Acholi sub-region.  In April 2023 Mr. Oceng co-hosted these same stakeholders on the Ugandan side of the border with the Kitgum RDC. He continues to monitor and support the project both directly and indirectly.

Hon. David Remson Otto

Commissioner - Magwi County, South Sudan

Hon. Otto is the host of COMPASS project activities implemented by LWF in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria State, South Sudan. COMPASS is an acronym for “Cross-border Opportunities for Migration, Peace and Self Sustenance.

Hon Otto is a passionate and inspirational advocate for development, education, peace and security among others. On the COMPASS project he works in collaboration with his Ugandan government counterparts in Lamwo District Local Government and Kitgum District Local Government to ensure cross-border peace, security and development. On 21st February 2023 he invited and hosted a high level delegation to the signing of a cross-border peace agreement with intention to harness the gains anticipated in implementing the COMPASS project in Uganda and South Sudan.  The delegation comprised of government representatives from Uganda (Office of the Prime Minister, officials from Palabek Refugee settlement, RDCs for Kitgum and Lamwo districts), the Commissioner for Budhi County in South Sudan; other stakeholders from South Sudan and Uganda including CHASE-i.

In April 2023 these same stakeholders were hosted in Kitgum – Uganda with several activities including training and capacity building for cross-border migration management, peace, security and development.

Peter Lujana

CDSS – South Sudan

Peter Lujana is the Executive Director of Community Development Support Services (CDSS). CDSS is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) located in Chukudum, Budi County, Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan.

CDSS is one of the three implementing partners (IPs) on the novel project “Cross-border Opportunities for Migration, Peace and Self Sustenance (COMPASS)” . On the COMPASS project, CDSS is implementing several interventions in livelihoods, protection and health on the South Sudan side of the border, alongside LWF – South Sudan. This project started in 2022 and is funded by the European Union (EU) / United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)  through funding provided by the Lives in Dignity (LiD) Grant Facility.

The COMPASS project is supported by CHASE-i, Makerere University, as the Research and Learning partner.

Charles Ogeno

LWF – Uganda (Lamwo Sub-Program Office, Palabek Refugee Settlement)

Charles Ogeno is the Research and Innovation Coordinator on the “Cross-border Opportunities for Migration, Peace and Self Sustenance (COMPASS)”  project. He is the technical liaison between CHASE-i and LWF – Uganda on COMPASS.

Charles holds a BA in Public Administration and Management from Uganda Christian University and an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics (LSE)’s Programme for Africa Leadership (PfAL). He has worked in different humanitarian settings in various capacity including as a Play Therapist for the AVSI Foundation in Rwamwanja and Palabek Refugee Settlements. Before that he worked as Programme Coordination and Development Manager with The Reconciliation Project from 2010-2020.