Rakai Health Sciences Program (RHSP)

This week, Rakai Health Science Program (RHSP) hosted a sensitization meeting with health care practitioners, aiming to extend our laboratory services to the communities in Kyotera, Rakai and neighboring districts. As a leading force in HIV research and public health interventions globally, we're committed to making top-tier healthcare accessible to all. During the consultation meeting, we explored collaboration opportunities with local health centers, clinics, and hospitals in Kyotera, Rakai, and beyond with a goal to deliver the highest quality diagnostic services that can truly make a difference. This CSR drive will ensure that our communities receive the best healthcare services at subsidized rates, while also significantly reducing expenses like transportation and accommodation needed to access similar services. Attendees were sensitized on proper sample management including the three examination processes, followed by an insightful tour of our laboratory. From routine blood tests to specialized disease diagnostics, RHSP lab services are here to support both clinical and research needs. For more information about our services contact us at [email protected]. You can also visit our website https://www.rhsp.org/ to learn more about our work.  #CommunityHealth #CSR #RHSP #PublicHealth

We are Hiring. ICT Officer: We're looking for a dedicated ICT Officer to maintain system efficiency, ensure data security, collaborate with service providers, develop SOPs, train staff, and evaluate new systems. Click here: https://lnkd.in/dteEi38n Accountant: If you have a bachelor's degree, ACCA/CPA, 1+ year of experience, excellent attention to detail and interpersonal skills, we want you. The responsibilities include ledger reconciliations, supporting audits, training subgrantees among others. Click here: https://lnkd.in/dY4ixnUv Visit our website to apply now and be part of our team. #JobOpportunity #Hiring #ICTJobs #AccountingJobs #JoinOurTeam

Excited to share that I am attending the International AIDS Society Conference! #IAS2024 Today, we delved into evidence-based approaches for an integrated and sustainable HIV response. The session covered critical insights on what we know, what works, key priorities, and existing knowledge gaps. It was enlightening to hear from esteemed speakers from WHO and ICAP, who provided valuable perspectives on the path forward. Looking forward to applying these insights to enhance our efforts in combating HIV. #IAS2024 #HIVResponse #EvidenceBased #Sustainability #WHO #ICAP #RHSP

Earlier this morning, Dr. Andrew Redd, Head of the International Virology Unit at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), presented two new projects exploring the HIV reservoir in Uganda during our weekly scientific presentation. The first project is a collaboration with researchers at the US Vaccine Research Center. It aims to learn more about why some cells infected with HIV survive for the lifetime of someone living with HIV, and what differences those infected cells have between people. The second project is a collaboration with scientists from the University of Melbourne in Australia to design a treatment using several cutting edge technologies that could target the HIV hiding in cells and turn it on in a way that allows for the body’s natural immune response to find the cell and destroy it. Both of these projects are part of the RHSP latency program which aims to find a cure for HIV.

We had a wonderful retreat with the #INSTEP study team at the Rakai Health Sciences Program (RHSP) last week. Our team is gearing up to test integrated strategies for HIV and STI testing, aiming to improve HIV prevention and reproductive and sexual health outcomes for girls and women in Uganda. To do this, we're launching a randomized trial (INSTEP) involving over 5,000 participants. A special thanks to Dr. Ronald Galiwango and Ms. Josephine Mpagazi, our co-leads and gracious hosts, for making this week so productive. If you're interested in our work, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Rakai Health Science Program in collaborations with The Johns Hopkins University is rolling out the Integrated Female Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing for HIV Epidemic Control through PrEP (INSTEP) study, a randomized trial to see if integrated STI testing can boost PrEP use among women in Africa. Ahead of the initiation of the study activities, the team has had in-depth discussion of the INSTEP study procedures and tools with the US Principal Investigator, Kate Grabowski. This process facilitated the study team to agree on the study procedures and tool content. While most STIs are asymptomatic, this study aims to increase the number of PrEP-eligible individuals especially women by adding diagnostic testing for STIs to current screening methods. By doing so, we hope to improve HIV prevention and influence policy decisions. Stay tuned for updates on this impactful project. #INSTEPStudy #RHSP #HIVPrevention #PrEP #STIAwareness.

Thank you Dr. Abbas Jessani for the collaboration and the opportunity to work together on these impactful projects. We’re thrilled that the community engagement sessions fostered meaningful discussions about oral health. The enthusiasm and commitment from all involved, including stakeholders, community leaders, healthcare providers, and members, are truly inspiring. We share the excitement about the next steps and are committed to making a lasting difference in oral health care.

Last week, the RHSP Data Management Team participated in a four-day training session on the DFdiscover Clinical Data Management System (CDMS). The training was conducted by Michael Holdsworth and Telsa de Lange from the Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology (OCICB), The National Institutes of Health (NIH). DFdiscover is an agile CDMS solution that supports data collection from multiple sources, including Electronic Data Capture (EDC) and paper. This will provide flexibility, quality, and speed in the daily tasks of collecting, verifying, and analyzing clinical data by the data team. During the training, the team also learned to develop mobile data collection solutions using DFcollect, which is part of the DFdiscover ecosystem. Additionally, the sessions included a review of Data Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Good Clinical Data Management Practices which ensure adherence to best industry practices.

On Friday, my partner Lynnet Nakidde and I saw the past few weeks of endless work come together for our Health Day in the rural Masaka, Uganda region. The day saw about 450 participants and offered services such as a blood drive, infectious disease testing, dental check ups, voluntary circumsicion, gender-based violence counselling, and the opportunity to make your own period pad. There were also health promotion booths on nutrition, personal hygiene, oral health, feminine hygiene, maternal health, family planning, infectious disease, non-communicable disease, mental health, one health, and WaSH. Big thank you to St. Jude Family Projects for hosting the event and being our largest sponsor! Also to their extension workers Bayinze Aliddeki Maurice (and others) and St. Jude students for their work in setting up the event and translating! Thank you to my fellow Global Health Systems students, Julia McGregor, BScH, Jana Masoud, Adeola Idowu, Selin Celik, Carly Smith, and Madelyn Roy, that came out to do health promotion, run booths, and answer questions. We could not have done it without you! I’d like to thank our partners for coming and lending their expertise including the Rakai Health Sciences Program (RHSP) for their GBV counselling, Dr. Floz Smile foundation for their dental services, the Uganda Blood Transfusion Services, and the Bukoto Health Clinic team for their doctors, midwife, nurse, and lab techs! Finally, I would like to thank our sponsors for believing in us and supporting the day: St. Jude Family Projects, Fort McMurray Oilsands Rotary Club, and Western University. Lynnet and I truly appreciate everyone’s support and participation to make this event everything it could be! We look forward to making this an annual event for ongoing community building and lasting impact!

Success! St. Jude Family Projects successfully hosted a free Health Day on July 12th, 2024, under the organization of myself and my partner Katie Runnalls, we registered an amazing turnout of over 400 participants. Our community members and local schools joined us for a day of education on health covering 10 essential health topics: - Nutrition and Hydration - Personal Hygiene - Oral Health - Feminine Hygiene and Menstruation (making of period pads) - Maternal Health and Early Childhood Care - Family Planning - Mental Health and Gender-Based Violence - Communicable and non-communicable diseases - One Health - Water and Sanitation Health professionals, including doctors, dentists, midwives, and Global Health Systems masters students from Western University, Canada, led interactive presentations and Q&A sessions. Additional services included HIV and Infectious Disease testing, voluntary circumcision, blood donation, and private counseling for gender-based violence. Thank you @ St Jude Family Projects, Rotary International, Rakai Health Sciences Program (RHSP), Bukoto Health Centre, Dr. Floz Smile Foundation, Western University and participants for making this event a resounding success! #HealthDay #CommunityFirst #StJudeFamilyProjects #HealthEducation #Wellness