Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) has awarded its sixth round of seed grants during the end-of-year staff party and the School's 70th anniversary dinner on Friday, December 13, 2024.
The MakSPH Seed Grants program, managed by the Grants and Research Capacity Building Committee, supports junior faculty, research associates, and fellows in pursuing impactful public health research projects, strengthening capacity within the institution.
This year's focus areas included climate change and health, global health security, antimicrobial resistance, non-communicable diseases, and urban health. Since its inception, the program has funded over 20 projects, resulting in numerous scientific outputs such as peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.
Each awardee receives funding to support their research initiatives, with up to $5,000 (approximately 18 million Uganda Shillings) for research fellows and associates, and up to $10,000 for junior faculty. The awards were presented by Dr. David Musoke, Senior Lecturer and Chairperson of the Grants and Research Capacity Building Committee.
The 2024 Seed Grant recipients are:
- Irene Wanyana (Assistant Lecturer, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics):
Research Study: A scoping review of digital health applications for non-communicable diseases in Africa.
- Dr. Edward Buzigi (Lecturer, Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences):
Research Study: Policymaker-caregivers’ perceptions and socio-ecological determinants of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption during the complementary feeding period in Kampala City, Uganda.
- Michael Toskinz Wagaba (Research Associate, Department of Community Health & Behavioural Sciences):
Research Study: Investigating adaptive measures for addressing climate change-related food insecurity in refugee communities at Nakivale Refugee Settlement.
- Dr. Justine Namakula (Research Associate, Department of Health Policy, Planning, and Management):
Research Study: Exploration of patterns, frequency, health impacts, and intervention policy options for enhancing community resilience to floods in Kampala, Uganda.
Dr. Musoke remarked, “I am pleased to see yet another group of early-career researchers at the School of Public Health receive the seed grant awards. These grants have generated evidence on important public health topics and significantly contributed to the career growth of the researchers through knowledge translation and securing larger grants. I wish to thank the Office of the Dean for championing this initiative, as well as the members of the Grants and Research Capacity Building Committee for their continued support.”
The Seed Grants program reflects MakSPH's commitment to fostering a robust research community and addressing pressing public health challenges in Uganda and beyond. Launched in 2018, the program has spotlighted previously underexplored public health fields, with the first cohort of grantees awarded in 2019 and the second in 2020.
