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Esther Uwimaana grew up in Kisoro in the far south-western part of Uganda; she was a rural girl, the second born of nine children.   

Uwimaana knew she had passion to look after sick people, even though there was no medical specialist she could look up to.

“I was always fascinated by the potential that science holds in facilitating humans to solve everyday challenges,” reveals Uwimaana.

When she got to high school, Uwimaana developed interest in biology. “I was always fascinated by how our body defended itself against microorganisms, pathogens,” she reveals of how she was so enthralled by the subject.

Uwimaana during lectures mused over how microorganisms overpower the immune system and cause disease or sickness.  “I was always wondering how the body is able to protect itself; this curiosity attracted me to science.”

Now Uwimana has emerged as a winner and recipient of the prestigious Women in Science Sub-Saharan Africa Young Talent Award by L’Oréal and UNESCO.

For 25 years since 1998, the L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science partnership has empowered women scientists to achieve scientific excellence and participate equally in solving the challenges facing humanity during their thesis or post-doctoral studies.

For Uwimaana, who is pursuing a PhD in molecular biology at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences in South Africa, where she is a fulltime student, her work with a group of other researchers, focuses on developing an effective vaccine for tuberculosis (TB), as part of the collective efforts to address tropical diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa. Uwimaana focused on Uganda.

On November 9, in Kasane, Botswana, Uwimaana was among the 30 winners at the 14th L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science, Young Talents, Sub-Saharan Africa Awards, that included 25 PhD candidates and five post-doctoral researchers awarded at the annual ceremony graced by the President of Bostwana, Mokgweetsi Masisi.

TB is caused by a bacterium called mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain but not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick, reports indicate.

“For my PhD project, I am looking at the potential of mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens or proteins that cause the immune system to produce antibodies against it, as a potential vaccine against tuberculosis.

“It involves priming human immune cells with mycobacterial proteins and peptides, followed by challenging the human cells with bacteria and observing whether these cells kill the bacteria. 

“My interest in TB vaccine is sparked by the high burden of TB in Sub Sahara Africa and Uganda. We all know that Uganda is one of the high TB burdened countries,” says Uwimaana.

The only licensed TB vaccine, the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, was developed more than 100 years ago.

“Much as in Uganda we get the BCG vaccine as infants, when we grow up, we are susceptible to mycobacterium tuberculosis. People are still getting TB why? Because the vaccine is not effective in adults,” says Uwimaana.

“The only licensed vaccine is BCG, that’s what we have in our clinics and hospitals, and that’s what we administer.”

Just like Uwimaana, other experts equally state that the BCG vaccine is largely ineffective in adolescents and adults who are most at risk of developing and transmitting the disease.

It’s for this reason that Uwimaana and her group of researchers are on a journey to find a more effective vaccine against TB.

“There are other candidate vaccines that are in clinical trials and have not been approved. But, we do not know if they will be effective enough or not effective, so we decided to get involved and discover more vaccines.”

The unsettling burden

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world's deadliest infectious killers and a growing challenge in Uganda with each day, close to 240 people falling ill with TB and approximately 30 losing their lives, says the World Health Organisation (WHO).    

It says more than half of TB-related deaths are among people living with HIV, yet it is preventable and curable. Uganda is one of the world's 30 high-burden countries for TB as well as TB and HIV co-infection.

Each year, approximately 91,000 people in Uganda get TB, translating to about 240 people daily. Of the 91,000, a total 32% are HIV-infected.

Also, two out of every 100 people with TB have drug-resistant TB that is not cured by first-line drugs, and approximately 30 people die from TB every day, and more than half of TB-related deaths are among people living with HIV.

In addition, approximately 15% of TB cases in Uganda are children aged below 14 years.

To address the country's TB burden, the Ministry of Health developed a robust TB and Leprosy Strategic Plan 2020/2021 to 2024/2025, which emphasizes patient care among other interventions.

What is being done

Uganda recommends early case detection and treatment as a key strategy to control TB disease.

Consequently, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with partners, implements priority interventions at health facilities and communities to improve TB screening, case detection, and treatment.

TB treatment is available free of charge to all people with TB in Uganda.

TB preventive therapy is also freely available for people living with HIV and the contacts of confirmed TB patients.

Accountability for each TB patient started on treatment continues at facility and district level for further improvement of treatment success.

According to the Minister of State for Health in-charge of General Duties, Hanifa Kawooya Bangirana, 500,000 Ugandans have been saved with effective TB treatment since 2015.

She says through several collaborative actions, Uganda realized improvement in the treatment success rate from 72% in 2015 to 88% in 2022.

According to WHO, early detection of TB saves more lives because the disease is treatable and curable.

It says the duration of treatment for susceptible (uncomplicated form of TB) is between four to six months while the treatment for Drug Resistance TB lasts between nine to 12 months.

But for Uwimaana, the quest to eliminate TB entails contributing to the development of an effective vaccine to keep people in Uganda and across Africa safe and contribute to the fight against infectious diseases.

“We need to find more effective vaccines against TB,” emphasizes Uwimaana, a Makerere University graduate. Her group of scientists is bringing their efforts together to achieve a common goal of finding an effective TB vaccine.

“The whole group looks at the host pathogen (microorganism that causes, or can cause, disease) interaction, how our body interacts with pathogen and on my part I am looking at how we can use proteins from this pathogen, microorganisms, as vaccines to fight against the disease they actually cause.”

“My findings could be used to develop effective vaccines to keep people safe from tuberculosis and contribute to the fight against infectious diseases,” Uwimaana states.

Uwimaana’s efforts comes at a time when the empowerment of promising young women scientists has never been more crucial and global efforts in research are still lagging behind, says the awarding entities.

Scientists in Africa represent only 2.5% of the world’s researchers.

But in a world where social, political, economic and environmental crises are escalating every day, harnessing all scientific talents is now vital to ensuring a fairer, more sustainable future for the continent,” says the awarding institutions, L'Oréal and UNESCO.

For them, Uwimaana and other female scientists, represent a source of hope for the future of the world through their careers and relentless determination.

Lidia Brito, assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences at UNESCO, says young talents are the very future of science and they will continue reinforcing the pivotal role of women in science for a sustainable and inclusive future for all.

“Enabling women scientists to emerge in the public arena and be recognized for the quality of their work requires urgent action. It's everyone's responsibility - institutions, companies and civil society,” says Alexandra Palt, CEO of the Fondation L’Oréal.

“Neither Africa nor the world can successfully respond to the environmental, societal and health crises of our time by depriving itself of half of the humanity.”

What the award means for Uwimaana

It was during winter in South Africa that Uwimaana got news of her win. “When we get some sunshine during winter, we always go out to sunbath.

“I was standing outside with my friend when I saw a number from France calling me; I was really excited. Winning is an honour.

“I feel privileged – it is an amazing opportunity for me to inspire girls in my village, showing them that a career in science is possible,” she says.

Uwimaana says it’s hard to convince some African families that a girl deserves an education.

“In my village, a girl’s education is an option no matter how much you encourage her. If the parents do not take the initiative to give her a chance in education, there is nothing you can do.

“In my Village, they say; ‘She's a girl. She will get married.’ That means they do not have to take her to school, so education is an option and the girl has another option. She can always get married. Because of this, the opportunity will be given to the boy. They do not care about the girl,” says Uwimaana.

“The parents are convinced that education is not important for the girl but some have gone on to continue with the studies.”

A girl has to be able to convince her parents that she can study. If a girl can do that then she can choose to do sciences.

“I have to constantly talk to my cousins, tell them you need to have a career and it doesn't matter whether it’s in sciences or in another field. Start with the mindset that they need to have something for themselves, and need to empower themselves to stay in school.

“I tell them it doesn't matter whether at the end of the day you are going to get married, no one should push you into marriage,” says Uwimana.

The discussions with her cousins and girls in her village have helped. “They are improving; they value education now and they persist even when parents say ‘Stay home and get a husband to take care of you."

“Some persist until they finish high school, but thereafter, they are unable to continue. I can only inspire by trying to show them the advantages of going to school, speak to them, but again, the final decision is in the parents’ hands.”

However, if the parents didn’t go to school, it becomes really hard to convince them.

Uwimaana however says the increase in opportunities for women is gradually breaking societal norms.

“However, we still need to convince African families of the value of girls’ education, create more role models and enable women scientists to work free of inequality and discrimination,” she says.

A third time lucky, how persistence delivered

Group photo of winners. (Courtesy Photo)

Uwimaana says Stellenbosch University often held information sessions on available funding opportunities for PhD students.

“That is how I got to know about the award. We are always encouraged to apply,” she says of the university administration’s support.

But it had to take three applications for Uwimaana to emerge among the winners of the Women in Science, Sub-Saharan Africa, Young Talents Awards.

“This was my third time to vie for the award. There was a persistence I applied from my first year.”

In her first year, Uwimaana applied but was left out. She applied again in her second year, but she was unsuccessful. On the third attempt, she emerged a winner.

Uwimaana had to be persistent and improve her application. “This time I was announced among the winners. It was worth it.”

“The award is very competitive. I just had to keep improving myself and my application,” says Uwimaana.

She is only the second Ugandan woman to win the award.

The first Ugandan to win the Women in Science, Sub-Saharan Africa, Young Talents Awards was Agil Katumanyane, a PhD student at the University of Pretoria’s Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute.

She specialises in agricultural entomology and nematology, and her award-winning research focused on the potential for the biological control of white grubs in South Africa.

For Katumanyane, her interest in science began at an early age. Having been curious about everything on her family’s subsistence farm, her father encouraged her to study science to find answers to all her questions.

Uwimaana hopes more Ugandan girls can have an opportunity to study science from an early age and also hopes more female Ugandan PhD students can compete for the Women in Science, Sub-Saharan Africa, Young Talents Award and make use of opportunities that are available for African women in science.

Hope, desire for support and funding

Currently, Uwimana’s research that aims to find a more effective vaccine for TB for people in Uganda and Africa is funded by Germans.

However, Uwimaana would like to see the government of Uganda investing more in Ugandan research institutions.

“This would increase knowledge on TB, the prevalence, the increases in different areas so that we can know the status of our country and about such diseases. Government can help by funding research projects in different institutions in the country.

“In the end, I hope we can work with all other scientists to reduce the burden of TB on the African continent and Uganda,” she says.

Uwimaana says TB puts a burden on different sectors of government and communities.

This burden was confirmed by Third Deputy Prime Minister Lukia Nakadama, on March 24, 2023, as Uganda joined the rest of the world to commemorate International Tuberculosis (TB) Day, with a commitment from government and stakeholders to step up efforts to end the TB epidemic by 2030.

Nakadama, who graced the occasion in Butaleja district in eastern Uganda, under the theme, “Yes! We Can End TB” and the slogan, “What are you doing to end TB?” observed that TB-affected households experience out-of-pocket expenditure of up to 53% of their income.

Uwimaana says the funds invested in TB could be channeled to other sectors as well as efforts towards ending TB in Uganda and Africa, and it could reduce the number of death due to TB.

But how soon can we get this vaccine?

“I am not sure how close we are to getting a vaccine because there are several steps we need to take. From the laboratory, we need to go to animals then clinical tests with human beings to approval and licensing,” says Uwimaana.

About the award and Money awarded

Established in 2000, the national and regional L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Young Talents programs annually provide over 250 grants in more than 110 countries. Their aim is to empower women scientists to pursue their career, and more broadly to promote and highlight the crucial importance of women in science.

The 14th L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science, Young Talents, Sub-Saharan Africa Awards, this year had 30 winners; an increase of 10 awards compared to previous years.

The winners got research projects – grants of €10,000 (approximately sh41m) for PhD candidates and €15,000 (approximately sh61m) for post-doctoral researchers.

The L’Oréal Foundation also gave the Young Talents an opportunity of undertaking leadership training to foster their personal and professional development.

The 2023 Young Talents’ cohort will join a community of more than 200 African researchers supported and recognized since the creation of this regional programme in 2010.