Women Academics From Uganda

"The placenta must invade the mother enough to access nourishment for the growing baby, yet not so much as to penetrate through the uterus"

"I would often see women who had had four or more Caesarean sections with no living child – they continued exposing themselves to the danger until they had a baby,’"

"But why would women of African descent suffer so much more from pre-eclampsia than other women? ‘There was an assumption in Africa that there was a socioeconomic reason, like poverty,’"

"Given how few trained mental health providers there are in Uganda, one-on-one therapy just wouldn't be practical, "So I had the idea to have a group therapy intervention."

"We were surprised because we had thought maybe people wouldn't want to come, or maybe they wouldn't want to be seen with each other due to stigma,But they actually wanted something like this — so badly."

"It’s no joke. These symptoms can become severe. If someone feels useless and hopeless, they feel they don’t need to take care of their families or their children."

"Placentation is a setting up of the territorial boundary between two genetically different individuals – the mother and her baby, who carries genes from the father. It needs to be in exactly the right place for both to survive and thrive.’"

"As a researcher, it is much more difficult to make a case as to why certain areas are worth addressing, when the global health community is focused largely on the few pet issues that are deemed worth funding and investigating"

"am affected by the dysfunction in the global health system whereby problems and their solutions are defined by ‘experts’, who don’t have any lived experiences and who have a poor understanding of the local context."

"The gratification from healing someone’s pain or saving a life of someone near death is indescribable. Having said that, Africa needs scientists, tens of thousands of scientists that can help in identifying the problems that cause ill health among the continent’s people, and lasting solutions to those problems."

"People eat either too many calories, or they eat things that have too much salt in them, or they eat things that have too much fat in them."

"A bigger problem is the value of research to society, especially to the communities from which the data is collected. Because research is conceptualized without input from African researchers and other stakeholders, it ends up being of academic value only, without taking into account how the results could help shape policy and practice."

"the way I teach is to always ask students questions as opposed to giving them information. I always challenge them to think. I noticed that the students in my firm did very well in my area. Some of them came back for postgraduate training in pediat"

"They say their patients don’t have those issues and don’t want you to screen them because they don't want it to be known that the patients they care for may have an alcohol problem or depression,”"

"Because of the high rates of maternal mortality, a coping mechanism among Ugandan women is to consider pregnancy as being about bravery and fortitude"

"I felt like we were accomplices in this war of sorts. People say we do not remember the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends. I did not want to accept that it was beyond hope.’"

"I liked the children and the mothers. Children are special. When they are unwell, they are sad. When they are better, they smile. They are very honest. I thought working in pediatrics would be satisfying"

"It’s been called the ‘silent killer’ because many women cannot feel the danger sign that their blood pressure is rising until it’s too late. Even when it is detected the only course of action is constant monitoring, and ultimately the only cure is delivery – sometimes at too early a stage for the baby to survive,’"

"But a deeper reason for becoming a lecturer was that as a resident I was involved in teaching medical students, and I loved it."

"They don’t need to take the medication. They have no motivation. That’s what the depression does. They couldn’t take care of themselves and could not go to work.”"

"Enjoy parenthood, don’t try to be a perfect parent, spend as much time as possible with your children because they change so fast during the first few years and two decades of their life, and you don’t want to miss many of those moments in helping to shape their values. My eldest son recognised his first elephant at the age of two, in the national park, not in a storybook. Let them follow their passion and be who they want to be and encourage them to be authentic, build their leadership qualities, and fulfill their potential in life. I am truly indebted to my mother, who on top of being a hands-on mother and grandmother, encouraged me to follow my dream to pursue a career with animals because she realised that from an early age, I hated to see them suffering, and even when being a Vet in Uganda was not a profession that paid well, and I am truly indebted to her for that. . Her advice to parents."

"Veterinary training enables you to impact many sectors if you would like to take up these amazing opportunities. It has been a truly interesting and rewarding journey for me to be able to make a difference in conservation, public health, tourism, and agriculture sectors through my training as a veterinarian. . Her advice to budding vets."

"Finally, happiness is…"

"It is important to choose a career based on something you truly care about because when the going gets tough, what keeps you going is your passion and purpose. I have found that you will never be able to please everyone all of the time, especially if you want to make a difference and change the world. When you work alone you go fast, when you work with others you go far; I have learnt the importance of teamwork, having a motivated team, and building partnerships with external stakeholders. As a founder of an NGO and social enterprise, I have also learnt to place values ahead of talent when hiring people. On a personal note, I have learnt how important it is to be an authentic leader, and strive to develop a healthy work/life balance. when asked what she wish to know before her career."

"I see myself stepping down from being the CEO of our NGO and social enterprise and devoting more of my time on the Board, spending more time growing as a leader and mentoring my team, and others in my sector. I also see myself spending more time advocating for our approach to a wider audience in Africa and the rest of the world. I am humbled to be a finalist of the 2020 Tällberg Eliasson Global Leadership Prize because of our One Health approach to Conservation. . When she was asked "where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?""

"People poach because they’re hungry, they have no other alternative."

"The wildlife authority was established in an era of fences and fines in the ’50s."

"I am glad that the One Health approach is being seen as a viable approach to conservation, that’s great."

"As a medical student I remember being timid when no one was available to help me in the wards. As a resident I looked for these kinds of students, so I could give them an opportunity to learn. I was able to be there for them because I know that it can be a bit frightening if there's no one to help you."

"researchers and policymakers can, among other things, "interpret the data together, make sure the interpretation is appropriate, and tease out the actions they're going to take.""

"Even then I wanted standards to help us in assessing the students. I wanted all of us to have something look at as we examined the students to make our evaluations more objective. I tried to introduce new topics that I thought were more relevant. Most of what I suggested was out of instinct. I was always looking out for the students. At meetings I would speak up for the students."

"I realized that sometimes our curriculum committee didn't listen well enough to other people. If I had it to do over, I would have involved others more and showed them that I was listening to their concerns and addressing their concerns."

"I would like to expand our impact to other countries in Africa where gorillas are found and other parts of Uganda where gorillas are not found, working with local stakeholders. Something else I feel strongly about is to help increase the number of women leaders in conservation through my role on the leadership council of Women for the Environment – Africa, and leaders of color in conservation in my role as the Vice President of the African Primatological Society that is building African leadership in primate research and conservation."

"In addition, the fact that we are an independent research institution, rather than a government-run organisation, makes it harder to forge and maintain long-term relationships with policy makers, especially those in government."

"We teach them how to challenge negative thoughts. We call that unhelpful ways of thinking. We teach them to replace unhelpful ways of thinking with helpful ways of thinking.”"

"The reason why inequalities persist is because we pay lip service to equity. The sustainable development goals (SDG) framework and its various instruments have equity as a key feature. As a result, equity is prominent in global commitments and national health policy framework – but only on paper."

"“I told myself if I want to do good clinical research I need to be a good physician. And to be a good doctor meant I needed to go back for more training.”"

"With newfound confidence and honed public speaking skills, I have championed increased educational and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities."

"My efforts have yielded significant progress, including expanding affirmative action slots for disabled students at public universities, introducing a scholarship scheme for disabled students at Makerere University Business School, and securing employment for disabled individuals at MUBS."

"Through celebrating diverse experiences, the program can create welcoming environments where all young African leaders thrive. I am committed to ensuring no youth is left out of this transformative opportunity due to identity, ability or circumstances.”"

"Overcoming a speech and language disability, I have emerged as a powerful advocate for disability rights in Uganda. The YALI Fellowships transformed my life, nurturing my personal growth and empowering me to harness my strengths."

"had a mentorship programme in place,” she says, “but it wasn’t very strong or well publicized"

"Despite progress, youth with disabilities still face barriers to fully participating in society, including accessing education and leadership growth opportunities like YALI fellowships. From online applications lacking accessibility features to prohibitive technology costs, hurdles restrict inclusion at every step."

"We noticed a lot of women were lacking the soft skills, things like management, leadership, budgeting. In addition to those things, mentors talk about the different strategies they used to advance their career.”"

"“So we had senior women scientists speak to the junior women about the obstacles unique to women,” she says. “And that’s how I came to apply for the TDR grant.”"

"Once the university admits PWDs, it has the duty to give them accessible learning environment and put necessary modifications to facilitate their learning and each ones roles need to be defined."

"It is illegal to call the new leader Bishop before his installation."

"Every diocese has one Bishop, there is nothing like the outgoing and the new Bishop. The newly elected leader is still Rev. Can. Enos Kitto Kagodo until Bishop Ssebaggala hands the power to him."

"The School of Law continues to strive towards attaining the set outcomes of the law program in accordance with the Mission and Vision which is producing law graduates who are able to carry out legal research and give advice on applicable legal principles to Government departments, the private sector and individuals."

"The potential is evident on multiple other issues as well: an Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa brings together countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe, to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy across the continent and driving green industrialization."