African health sciences
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African health sciences · Aug 2022
Developing capacity for implementation and evaluation of vaccine trials in Uganda: Perspective of the Makerere University Walter Reed Project.
Infectious diseases and neglected tropical diseases continue to be a major challenge in resource limited settings, causing significant morbidity and mortality. Although vaccines are a key biomedical prevention tool, resource limited settings often lack the infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and skilled human resource to conduct vaccine clinical trials. To address this gap, the Makerere University Walter Reed Project (MUWRP) was established and has contributed to vaccine research in Uganda and globally. ⋯ Academia, through establishment of appropriate partnerships can contribute to the identification of solutions to complex public health challenges.
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African health sciences · Aug 2022
ReviewSupport for the response to COVID-19 in Uganda: contribution of the global health security program at Makerere University's Infectious Diseases Institute.
Outbreaks are occurring at increasing frequency and they require multisectoral and multi-stakeholder involvement for optimal response. The Global Health Security Agenda is a framework that governments and other stakeholders can use to strengthen countries' capacities to prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks but there are few examples of academic programs using this approach. ⋯ The IDI Global Health Security program provides a model that can be used by institutions to deliberately develop capacities relevant to outbreak preparedness and response.
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African health sciences · Aug 2022
Makerere's contribution to the development of a high impact HIV research population-based cohort in the Rakai Region, Uganda.
Longitudinal population-based cohort studies can provide critical insights on temporal, spatial and sociodemographic changes in health status and health determinants that are not obtained by other study designs. However, establishing and maintaining such a cohort study can be challenging and expensive. Here, we describe the role of Makerere University in the development and conduct of such a cohort. We chronicle the first academia-led reports of HIV in East Africa; how this led to initiation of the Rakai Community Cohort Study in 1988, the first and oldest HIV cohort in sub-Saharan Africa; its impact on HIV prevention, care and treatment; how the cohort has been maintained; and opportunities, challenges, and future directions including non-communicable diseases.
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African health sciences · Aug 2022
Tracing Makerere University's 100 years' contribution to lung science/medicine.
Dear Editor, African Health Sciences Journal, This year, 2022, Makerere University will be celebrating 100 years of existence. As current lung science/medicine experts, we felt it as important to trace the University's contribution to lung science and medicine. In this letter, we trace and describe some of the early work done by Makerere University/Mulago Hospital affiliated scientists, identify prominent players in lung science over the 100 years, and present the university's scholarly contribution to this field, as available in online databases. We include both Makerere University and Mulago Hospital affiliated scientists, because for many years, staff of these two institutions have worked together in teaching, research and patient care.
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African health sciences · Aug 2022
Twenty years of Prevention of Mother to Child HIV Transmission: research to implementation at a national referral hospital in Uganda.
Over 90% of new paediatric HIV infections are acquired through mother to child transmission. Prevention of mother to child HIV transmission (PMTCT) research in sub-Saharan Africa informed WHO guidelines which enabled implementation of PMTCT programs globally. ⋯ Perinatal HIV prevention clinical trials conducted at MU-JHU provided evidence to inform WHO PMTCT guidelines. MNRH program evaluation demonstrated the significant decline in MTCT rates over the last two decades.