Why Uganda’s first female neurosurgeon wanted to be a teller

April 8 is the World Neurosurgeons Day. The day is also the birthday of Harvey Cushing (born 1869), the pioneer of brain surgery and the first exclusive neurosurgeon. To mark the day, Pauline Luba profiles Uganda’s first female neurosurgeon, Juliet Sekabunga Nalwanga. 

It is the bundles of cash that tellers hold which first fascinated Juliet Sekabunga Nalwanga while still a child. As such, she wanted to be a bank teller, so she could also hold bundles of cash. 

However, this desire quickly changed as Nalwanga grew and realised that that money did not actually belong to the tellers like she had earlier imagined.

She thus started feeling the urge to save human life, instead, and opted for a career in medicine. In 2018, Nalwanga became a neurosurgeon, a specialist who treats conditions impacting the brain and the spinal cord.

The 41-year-old was Uganda’s first female neurosurgeon, a feat that earned her global recognition in a field where specialists are rare. 

She is fully aware that the 12 neurosurgeons currently serving Uganda’s more than 45 million people are inadequate. 

The World Health Organisation recommends one neurosurgeon for every 100,000 people. As such, she has joined a team of people training more professionals in the field, as well as mentoring surgical trainees. 

Nalwanga has taught medical students at Makerere University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Kampala International University, as well Uganda Christian University. 

The last born of 10 siblings says she had inspiration within her family for the career choice. Her maternal aunt, who she says was a great encourager and at one time paid her school fees, was a physician. 

Nalwanga’s father, Prof. Sekabunga, was a respected academic and a well-known paediatric surgeon at Mulago Hospital decades ago.

Nalwanga possesses a Master of Medicine in Surgery from Mbarara University of Science and Technology, and a Fellowship in Neurosurgery of the College of Surgeons East, Central and Southern Africa. 

She also has a Fellowship in Paediatric Neurosurgery from The Hospital for Sick Children, which is part of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine, where she spent a year-long training.

The main reason for the late entry of women into neurosurgery in Uganda, according to Nalwanga, is nature. 

“Women operate on a biological clock. It makes it difficult to go after things that take a long time, such as medical school,” she says, adding, “there is a point, though, when one can get courage to be different and go after what they want, regardless of that clock.” 

To Nalwanga, neurosurgery is often a matter of an emergency. However, she says the challenge of shortage of resources may hamper the timely provision of many interventions. 

The issue of affordability of the services is another challenge that many patients face, which Nalwanga says directly affects any timely assistance for those with neurological challenges.

On days when either work has not gone well, or Nalwanga has met stressful conditions, she says she finds solace in spending time with her 14-year-old son, Paul Isaiah Majwega. But that is only if he is available. 

Majwega is a student at Ndejje Senior Secondary School. 

When she is not working, chances are you will find Nalwanga exploring nature. Her life goal is to invent things that can aid with neurological challenges and enable people to lead normal lives.

This story was produced in partnership with Uganda Partners