The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) are celebrating five years of collaboration, during which they have successfully completed 46 projects, generating strategic information and policy outcomes to aid in informed decision-making.
Some of the partnership's major technical outputs include the National Immunization Strategy 2022-2026, which will serve as a guide for interventions aimed at increasing vaccination rates across the country, the Expanded Programme on Immunization Assessment, and the Uganda Noncommunicable Diseases Risk Factors STEPS Survey 2023, which will determine the prevalence of NCDs in Uganda.
Other products include the Midterm Review of the Five-Year National Pharmaceutical Services Strategic Plan 2021-2025, the KOICA Project baseline assessment and mid-term project evaluation, the Nutrition Quality of Service Delivery in the Rwenzori and West Nile Regions, and the Measles-Rubella coverage survey.
It's worth mentioning that the WHO granted the partnership an 80% satisfaction rating.
In 2019, WHO and MakSPH inked a memorandum of agreement to improve collaboration research projects in critical areas such as health system strengthening and infectious and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). By signing this agreement, they agreed to share information, fund research and training programmes, and increase networking among themselves. The partnership has produced a large amount of data, which will be useful to the Ministry of Health and the worldwide health community.
Speaking during the review committee, Dr. Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, the WHO Representative in Uganda, emphasized the importance of transitioning the engagement to a sustainable phase. "After five years of fruitful collaboration, we should begin working to make MakSPH a WHO Collaborating Centre. "This will ensure sustainability, including opening up opportunities for MakSPH and contributing to global health," he stated.
Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, Dean of MakSPH, commended WHO for trusting in the School's ability to do health research and expressed her enthusiasm for continuing the current relationship in the hopes that MakSPH will eventually become a WHO Collaborating Centre. She expressed optimism that the operational research findings would inform policy and decision-making in the global public health discussion. Using WHO's platform would allow us to advocate for the project's outcomes, which would ultimately influence policy and implementation.
WHO continues to lead and advocate worldwide efforts to ensure that everyone, everywhere, has an equitable opportunity to live a healthy life. Technical cooperation between WHO and MakSPH is expected to assist the shared goals of improving public service, strengthening capacity, and ensuring universal access to safe, efficient, and competitively priced research products.
Read more; https://www.afro.who.int/countries/uganda/news/who-and-makerere-school-…
