Top 40 under 40: Juliana Nantaba, 31, global health

Nov 19, 2020

She works in the governance for health and marketisation of health and supporting organisations in Europe and Africa.

Juliana Nantaba is the programme officer for Public Health Programme, under the Open Society Foundation (OSF).

OSF is an international organisation that works to build democracies by financially supporting civil society groups.

She works in the governance for health and marketisation of health and supporting organisations in Europe and Africa.

Her role entails analysing existing and emerging issues in the field of public health and facilitating partnerships. She is also a consultant to grantees and grant seekers.

The 31-year-old also has to build bridges, convene individuals and organisations, as well as act as an ambassador representing OSF's story, vision and values.

Her programme also provides grants to different organisations.

Nantaba believes that mind stimulating conversations have been the starting point for innovative projects and programmatic interventions that she has been part of.

"These conversations help me shift my focus from dominant narratives in order to explore and confront apparent topics," she explains.

Education background

Nantaba went to Hill Preparatory School, Sir Apollo Kaggwa Primary School and Nakivubo Primary School.

She attended Makerere College School for O and of laws from Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono in 2012 and a Master of Laws, specialising in global health law from Georgetown University Law Centre in the US in 2016, She also trained in health policy from the Institute of Tropical Medicine and University of Antwerp in Belgium.

In 2015, she was selected as a global health law scholar for Georgetown University Law Centre in Washington, US. based on her academic record, experience and had demonstrated interest in global health law and policy.

Scaling to success

In 2012, Nantaba started out her career as a legal research assistant at the Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD.

She became a programme officer within CEHURD's community empowerment programme until 2015, when she left to pursue her master's degree.

From January to November 2016, she worked as a graduate research assistant at the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law in Washington, US.

rom August 2017 to May 2019, Nantaba was teaching law at UCU. She also had stints at the African Medical Research Foundation headquarters in Kenya as a strategy researcher.

She also worked as an associate at the Global Healthcare Public Foundation and was part of a team of consultants with Children's Investment Fund Foundation.

"In June 2018, I started serving as a board secretary for Albinism Umbrella, a national organisation," she says.

Her role involved providing organisational, strategic and technical support, such as developing a strategic plan and assessing progress towards implementing organisation systems in line with board decisions. In June 2019, she was officially recruited.

Inspiring community

"People always refer to me for information and motivation to pursue unique legal careers. I advise them on what it means to make such a decision and what to expect," she says.

Role models

Nantaba wants to meet Dr. Margaret Chan, the former director general of the World Health Organisation.

"Chan confronted the first human outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in 1997 and defeated the spate of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong in 2003," she applauds.

She is also inspired by Justice Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, the first East African woman to attain a PhD in law, the first female professor of law in East Africa, as well as the first woman to be appointed deputy vice-chancellor of Makerere University.

Future

Nantaba wants to become a leading voice in public health law and policy and using it as a tool to respond to Africa's health systems challenges and health disparities. "I also hope to return to teaching and share the knowledge and experiences I would have gathered over the years," she envisions.

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