Makerere School of Public Health urges govt to fund research

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Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) has asked the Government of Uganda to support its laboratory department to improve environmental health research.

The Dean of Makerere University School of Public Health, Prof. Rhodah Wanyenze, said despite the significant progress made, the laboratory department remains inadequately funded.

“We want to do more research, but our capacity for the laboratory is limited,” Prof. Wanyenze said.

She made the remarks when the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Hon. Eng. Jonard Asimwe Akiiki, visited Makerere University School of Public Health as part of his wider engagement at Makerere University on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at the MakSPH Auditorium at the university's main campus.

The visit aimed to examine how the university's research, innovation and emerging technologies contribute to Uganda's growth and development agenda.

Asiimwe also engaged university leaders on the relevance of their work to public policy and national development.

In attendance were the Dean of Makerere University School of Public Health, Prof. Rhodah Wanyenze, Makerere University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Makerere University staff, researchers and innovators.

Asiimwe urged researchers and innovators to identify a focused portfolio of high-potential innovations that can reach certification, licensing, procurement or investment within defined timelines.

He also called for the establishment of a structured university-industry exchange model so that knowledge and experience can flow in both directions.

Asiimwe further told the researchers to agree on sustainable access, staffing, maintenance and business models for strategic laboratories and common-user facilities.

Additionally, the university should strengthen commercialisation and its functions so that innovators receive coordinated support in intellectual property, regulation, standards, business modelling, investment and market access. 

Asiimwe also urged academia to develop a competitive plan to position the Makerere University Museum as a national attraction, an educational asset and a source of institutional revenue.

As part of the visit, the minister toured an exhibition of selected research and innovations.