Makerere University

Empiric tuberculosis treatment and 12-month mortality among sputum GeneXpert-negative adults living with HIV in Uganda in the era of widespread antiretroviral therapy: A prospective cohort study

Abstract Background In sub-Saharan Africa where both tuberculosis (TB) and HIV are prevalent, empiric TB treatment in people living with HIV (PLHIV) persists due to limited sensitivity of sputum-based TB tests. We evaluated mortality among molecular test-negative presumptive TB a...

Nutrient profiles and labelling practices of marketed packaged processed and ultra-processed foods in Uganda

The consumption of processed and ultra-processed foods is increasing globally and has been associated with an increased risk of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs), partly due to their adverse nutrient profiles. In Uganda, there is limited evidence on whether these prod...

Quality Assessment of Farmer-Managed Tropical Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Seeds in Uganda

Tropical pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.) is an underutilized, nutrient-dense vegetable crop with potential to enhance food and nutrition security and generate household income among farming communities. In Uganda, farmers primarily obtain pumpkin seed through informal seed systems, incl...

Food environments shaping small fish consumption among primary school-age children in Northern Uganda

Abstract Small fish are increasingly recognized as affordable, nutrient-rich animal-source foods, yet little is known about their consumption among primary school-age children, particularly within home and school food environments. This study applied Turner’s food environment fra...

Hidden Norms in Nested Radicals

This work develops a unified arithmetic–geometric framework for the exact denesting of nested radicals. Rather than treating radical identities as isolated symbolic coincidences, the paper interprets denesting as a structured power-membership problem in radical extensions. For an...

Participant perspectives on a person-centred care model for mobile individuals in HIV care from the SEARCH Dynamic Choice Treatment trial in rural Kenya and Uganda

Introduction Mobile populations experience difficulties maintaining antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and HIV care engagement. We sought to explore participant perceptions of a patient-centred model aimed at enhancing care engagement through ‘dynamic choice’ treatment servic...

The effect of armed conflict, climatic variations, and food insecurity on internally displaced populations in Somalia

Droughts and conflict-related crises have frequently affected Somali states over the past three decades. Analyzing the drivers of displacement during crisis can provide critical insights for governmental and humanitarian efforts aimed at mitigating these effects. The study aimed...

Exploring the female youth unemployment effects of globalization in South Africa using the standard ARDL approach

This study investigated the impact of globalization and its sub-dimensions on the female youth unemployment in South Africa for the period 1990–2022, using the standard ARDL approach. The findings show that in the short term, globalization significantly reduces female youth unemp...

Strengthening research administration in low-resource settings: assessment of knowledge gain from a research administration workshop at Makerere University, Uganda

Abstract Background This manuscript will focus on a research administration skills-building workshop as part of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) G11 grant for administrative development, “Expanded Strengthening of Makerere University’s Research Administration Capacity Progra...

Impact of Cash Transfers on Child Poverty Among School-aged Refugee Children: Evidence from Uganda

Abstract Cash transfers have increasingly become a popular method for delivering humanitarian assistance, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is limited evidence on the impact of cash transfers on multi-dimensional poverty among refugee children. We co...

Continued high mortality following diagnosis of HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma in East Africa in the “Treat All” antiretroviral therapy era ― 2021-2024

Abstract Background Stage at time of diagnosis and survival after diagnosis are critical parameters regarding control of any cancer in any geographical setting. In earlier research focusing on the initial years of the “Treat All” era (2016-2019), we found that HIV-associated Kapo...

Employee Perceptions of Human Resources Information Systems, Attitude, and Payroll Effectiveness in Uganda’s Public Service

Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) are central to payroll administration, yet payroll inefficiencies persist despite substantial investment in digital technologies. This study examined how employees’ perceptions of HRIS—perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use—and em...

Human resources training and development, value creation, and employee performance in the public service

This study examines the relationship between human resource training and development (HRTD), involving training (HRT) and employee development (EMD), and employee performance in Uganda’s public service, focusing on the mediating role of human resource value creation (HRVC), compr...

Spatial co-clustering of facility-recorded malaria and sickle cell disease admissions across health facility catchments in Uganda: a Bayesian shared-component disease mapping analysis

Malaria and sickle cell disease (SCD) remain major causes of morbidity and mortality in Uganda, yet their joint spatial organization across routine service geographies has rarely been examined. We assessed whether facility-recorded malaria and SCD admissions shared residual spati...

“They could …distance themselves from me claiming I still had Ebola”: experiences of Ebola virus disease survivors in Central Uganda

Ebola continues to be a great public health challenge in Uganda where it is vulnerable to future Ebola outbreaks. Survivors are likely to continue experiencing the after effects of Ebola during the recovery period. The study was conducted to explore experiences of Ebola survivors...

A spatio-temporal modelling of climate variability on respiratory disease morbidity in Kampala city, Uganda

Abstract Background : Climate change poses serious public health risks, particularly in rapidly growing urban areas. Similarly, the interaction between month and year was not statistically significant (edf = 0.75, p = 0.296), indicating a relatively stable seasonal pattern over t...

Reimagining research equity and beneficial community impact: reflections from the GSK Africa Open Lab inaugural cohort

Global health research continues to rely heavily on knowledge generated outside the regions that bear the greatest disease burden, reinforcing structural inequities in scientific leadership and innovation. The GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Africa Open Lab (AOL) was established to address...

A quantitative systematic review of governance practices and public trust in local governments across emerging and developing contexts

Declining public trust poses a critical challenge to local administrations; however, empirical evidence regarding its antecedents remains fragmented. This systematic literature review synthesizes quantitative evidence to evaluate the relationship between core governance practices...

Upstream policymaking in Africa: a case study analysis of the district to national alcohol sachet bans policy transfer in Uganda

Background High rates of heavy episodic drinking in Uganda have been linked to alcohol sachets due to their affordability and widespread availability. The Gulu district enacted a local sachet ban in 2016 which transferred to a national ban in 2019 to protect population health. Th...

Prediction of delayed postgraduate graduation using machine learning in Ugandan higher education

Abstract Delayed postgraduate graduation is a major challenge to higher education institutions in Uganda in terms of student progression, institutional planning and human capital development. Identifying students at risk of delayed completion early can inform timely academic inte...