Uganda Public Health Fellowship Program Continues to Excel in its Grand Mission of Producing a Skilled Workforce
Author: Allan Komakech Institutional affiliation: Uganda Public Health Fellowship Program, Kampala, Uganda; Email: akomackech@musph.ac.ug, Tel: +256789185617
Since its inception in 2015, the field epidemiology training program has contributed immensely to the strengthening of Global Health Security through Africa’s first absolute post-master’s program.
The program, which is funded by the U.S Centres for Disease Control (US CDC) and supported by the Makerere University School of Public Health and the Ministry of Health (MoH), has stood out in its work, through its contribution to building a resilient and sustainable public health system in Uganda.
Under the program, fellows are trained to be leaders in outbreak investigations, research, scientific communication, and innovative solutions to solve public health problems.
At the recent FETP International Nights in July 2021, an annual flagship event for all field epidemiology training programs around the world to show the work done by FETPs, the program scooped the CDC Director’s Award for Excellence in Outbreak Investigation and Response.
This award recognizes the significant contributions towards public health responses to public health threats (natural or man-made disasters, disease outbreaks, and other health emergencies).
Many more awards have been won previously; below is a full list of all individual and program awards since 2015.
| No. | Award Title | Awarding Institution-Conference | Awarded Presentation | Awarded Individuals | Cohort Awarded | Year Awarded |
| 1 | Jeffrey P. Koplan Award for Excellence in Scientific Poster Presentation | EIS – International Night 2016 | Risk Factors for Podoconiosis: Kamwenge District, Uganda September 2015 | Christine Kihembo | 2015 | 2016 |
| 2 | 2nd runner best oral presentation | AFENET Conference in Abuja, Nigeria, 2016 | Exposure at Crowded Health Centers, Vaccine Failure and Failure to Vaccinate Facilitated Measles Transmission during an Outbreak in Kamwenge District, Western Uganda, April to August 2015 | Fred Nsubuga | 2015 | 2016 |
| 3 | Best Oral presenter | East African Health and Scientific Conference, Burundi, 2017 | Cholera outbreak caused by drinking lakeshore water contaminated by feces washed down from a hill-side residential area: Kaiso Village, Uganda | David Oguttu | 2015 | 2017 |
| 4 | 2nd runner best oral presentation | AFENET Conference in Maputo, Mozambique, 2018 | Burden of road traffic injuries in Kampala District, Uganda (2012 – 2016) | Claire Biribawa | 2017 | 2018 |
| 5 | 2017 CDC Director’s Award for Excellence in Outbreak Investigation and Response | EIS-2017 FETP International Nights | Abstract title not seen
|
PHFP | Not applicable | 2017 |
| 6 | Best Oral presenter | Uganda Society for Social Scientists Conference, 2019 | Cholera outbreak associated with drinking contaminated water from a Well – Kampala City, Uganda, January 2019 | Daniel Eurien | 2018 | 2019 |
| 7 | Best presenter | East Africa COVID19 Conference 2020 | Contact tracing and Community-Based Surveillance for Covid-19 Using Environmental Health Workers in Masindi District, Uganda | Bob O Omodan | 2020 | 2020 |
| 8 | 2021 CDC Director’s Award for Excellence in Outbreak Investigation and Response | EIS-2021 FETP International Nights | Uganda Public Health Fellowship Program’s Effective Contribution to COVID-19 Response in Uganda | PHFP | Not applicable | 2021 |
Acknowledgements
We appreciate the Uganda MoH for hosting the program and their technical guidance. We also appreciate the Makerere University School of Public Health for the technical and administrative guidance. We are grateful to the U.S CDC, the funders of the program. We also appreciate the technical guidance provided by the mentors from the various host institutions.
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