Projects in Uganda, Africa

BUILDING CAPACITY FOR HEALTH IN UGANDA

• Nursing Midwifery Education
• Specialist Research Training - Makerere
• Improving Survival of the Acutely Ill Child
• Supporting Problem Based Learning at Makerere

BRIGHTER SMILES ORAL HEALTH PROGRAM

ACUTE ILLNESS INITIATIVE:  MBARARA


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Makerere University Uganda/University of British Columbia Educational Partnership, Uganda, Africa

Over two years several meetings were held between key individuals in order to conduct careful joint planning of a potential partnership between the University of British Columbia and Makerere University, Uganda. In February 2007 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between these institutions with the Centre agreeing to take on the partnership as the coordinating body. In our partnership with Makerere University, we have joined with experts in the fields of women, family and community health to reflect the inextricable relation of these fields to child health.

This partnership is a multi-year program that will see the building of a series of initiatives; all of which were directed by the specific needs and opportunities defined by the leadership of Makerere University. We will focus on our commitment to work together with our colleagues at Makerere University to build health workers and health infrastructure, conduct research and implement programs that will improve health outcomes of children, women and communities in Uganda. Through this relationship over extended periods of time we will have a multiplicative impact.

The following initiatives are currently in active planning or have completed the initial phases:

• TRAINING:  1) Support for problem-based learning in the medical school, 2) nursing education development and midwifery training will focus on developing health care professionals through provision of training and support to both the practicing professionals and the next generation in a locally relevant and practical manner.
• INFRASTRUCTURE:  1) Development of a system of accreditation in health training programs & facilities and the 2) advancement of family practice leadership in Uganda will address health infrastructure, quality monitoring systems and leadership development.
• RESEARCH: 1) support for specialist training research projects at Makerere, 2) initiative to identify and improve survival for the acutely ill child at Mulago hospital. 
• COMMUNITY HEALTH: Brighter Smiles Africa builds community primary schools as a focal point for health promotion
• ASPIRE (Advances in Screening and Prevention of Reproductive Cancers): seeks to implement an innovative program which will decrease incidence and mortality of cervical cancer by improving access to, applying and evaluating innovative techniques to screening.

The first quarter of the year 2009 has witnessed planning sessions as the order of the day:

• Support to Residency Research project: 10 Residents submitted their research topics. Preparations are also underway for the next identified students in September 2009, conducted by Prof. David Wensley.

• The Family Medicine Uganda group consisting of Makerere, Mbarara, Gulu and Kampala International Universities, has held progressive talks through teleconferences with international friends   The University of British Columbia (UBC) have stimulated the production of a white paper presented to the Ministry of Health with the aim of recognizing the importance of family practice. The next stages of action are to develop guidelines on how to utilize the would be approved white paper.

• Brighter Smiles: A team of five students and Professor Andrew Macnab of UBC will be visiting Uganda at the Brighter Smiles community schools for the June 2009 trip. Discussions are under way for the program that will entail, clinical observations at Mulago Hospital, visiting the primary community schools in the outskirts of Kampala and sharing the experiences with selected Makerere dental students.

• Needs Assessment with the Pediatric Acute Care Unit Project: Discussions with the Ugandan team reveal that the Mulago Research and Ethics Board approved the project and the tools were developed. It is anticipated that the exercise will begin by the end of April 2009.

• Oxygen Delivery Project: As was suggested by the Ugandan Team, a proposal was submitted to be included in the Needs Assessment exercise so that the projects are handled at the same time. Considering the comprehensive nature of the Oxygen project, it would be of benefit to have someone from the UBC team to be a part of the whole exercise.

• The Nursing Ugandan team received a proposal from Cathy Ellis of the UBC Midwifery Department and two items were considered as beneficial to the development of Makerere, Masaka and local community nursing and midwifery. Cathy is expected in late May 2009 to conduct planning discussions with the Ugandan team to help facilitate the implementation of the Emergency Obstetrics and Leadership trainings due June 2009 and February 2010.

• March 2009 welcomed Kathy MacDougall’s visit to Uganda. She visited as a representative of CICH to update herself with all the projects on ground and to acquaint herself with the project team leaders: find out their progress and challenges and devise measure of how to address these challenges, and most importantly plan on the budgets required within this current financial year.