Dr Aloysius Ssennyonjo (MBChB, MSc., PGDME, PhD) is a Senior Lecturer at Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH). He has been the Academic coordinator for the Master of Public Health Monitoring and Evaluation (MPME) since 2019. He boasts over 12 years of professional experience and a broad interest in critical appraisal and analysis of complex health systems, policy, and broader development challenges at global, national, and subnational levels. Dr Ssennyonjo is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work draws on public health, management science, political science, development studies, public administration and management, public policy, economics and organisation studies. As a member of the Collective for Political Determinants of Health, Aloysius is interested in the intersection of health, politics and development.
Dr Ssennyonjo’s teaching and research works span the following themes: health financing, policy evaluation, program design and management, African politics, geopolitics and global health diplomacy, decolonisation, political economy analysis, M&E, governance, multisectoral coordination, organisational development, universal health coverage (UHC), participatory M&E, system for health and evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM). Aloysius is passionate about non-conventional and innovative research and evaluation methodologies such as political economy analysis, critical realist-informed inquiry, realist evaluation, social network analysis, process tracing, contribution analysis, most significant change, outcome harvesting and theory-informed research and evaluation. He is the convener and founding Director of the Complexity and Innovative Research and Evaluation Methodologies (CIREM) Hub under the Department of Health Policy Planning and Management at MakSPH.
Aloysius is medical doctor, public (health) policy and systems specialist, development scientist, and M&E expert. He holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (Makerere University Kampala), an MSc. in Global Health and Public Policy (University of Edinburgh, UK), and a Postgraduate Diploma (first class) in Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) (Uganda Management Institute). Dr Ssennyonjo holds a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Antwerp, Belgium. His thesis title: Unpacking Intragovernmental Coordination: An Interdisciplinary exploration to advance a multisectoral approach to Universal Health Coverage in Uganda. Using Uganda as a case study, his PhD examined the interaction of government politics, bureaucratic systems and the political economy of multisectoral coordination for universal health coverage within African government systems.
Aloysius’ broader professional experience includes leading and coordinating several research and capacity-building projects in Uganda and beyond. He was the project manager of the European Union funded Supporting Policy Engagement for Evidence base Decision Making ( SPEED) for UHC project ( 2015-2020). He has consulted for several agencies, including the Ugandan Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation, Results for Development, the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research( AHPSR), Amref Health Uganda, Africa One Health University Network ( AFROHUN), Enabel, World Bank, IntraHealth Uganda, RTI International, UNFPA, Rutgers WPF, Uganda Catholic medical Bureau, ThinkWell Global and Cordaid. Dr Ssennyonjo is well grounded in the health policy developments in the East African region and Uganda as a member of technical committees and as a consultant providing technical assistance. For example, Aloysius has been an associate consultant for developing national policies such as the National Results-Based Financing Framework, the National Roadmap for Universal Health Coverage and the National Health Insurance Scheme. He has participated in several sector evaluations such as the Midterm Review (MTR) of the Health Financing Strategy (2015-24), MTR for the Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau (UCMB)’s Strategic Plan, Analysis of health financing reforms for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) program in Uganda and the Capitalisation of the Enabel Capacity Building projects in Rwenzori and West Nile. Dr Ssennyonjo has also conducted several health systems assessments, such as the public expenditure tracking survey at the subnational level (World Bank) and evaluation of the cross-programmatic efficiency in health (WHO). He has conducted several policy and programmatic baseline assessments and formative evaluations.
Dr Ssennyonjo is a member of several international professional associations and well-grounded in regional networks such as Health Systems Global, International Public Policy Association, African Health Economics and Policy Association, East Central Southern Africa- Health Community, Africa Evidence Network, Public Management Research Association and International Association for Critical Realism. He has served as a member of the Steering committee for the Center of Excellence for Sustainable Health (CESH). He was the President of the PhD Forum at MakSPH (2020-22), He previously served in several student leadership positions at Makerere University such as Member Students’ Guild Representative Council, Deputy Academic Affairs Minister and Students representative to the University Senate, Public Universities Joint Admissions Board (PUJAB), Graduation Committee and University Research, Administrative and Financial Reforms Committee. Aloysius served as the postgraduate student representative to University Library Committee and College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences' Quality Assurance Committee, and inaugural representative of the Graduate students in the School of Social and Political Science to the Students’ Council at the University of Edinburgh, UK.
Dr Ssennyonjo has received several academic awards, such as Best Student in Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE 2003) & Best Science Student in Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE 2005), Government of Uganda Undergraduate Scholarship (2006), Commonwealth Shared Scholarship (UK) (2012), and the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation (DGD) PhD Scholarship (at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp, Belgium- 2018).
Email: ssennyonjo@musph.ac.ug