• Group photo after Opening ceremony of the Regional Policy Dialogue on HWF in Accra Ghana todayGroup photo after Opening ceremony of the Regional Policy Dialogue on HWF in Accra Ghana today
  • Miami International Conference on the Future of Health Professionals Education ended as great success. With champions Chen Frenk Evans Fineberg Garcia and OmaswaMiami International Conference on the Future of Health Professionals Education ended as great success. With champions Chen Frenk Evans Fineberg Garcia and Omaswa
  • ACHEST and Board Memebers bid farewell Carol Natukunda the out-going Communication SpecialistACHEST and Board Memebers bid farewell Carol Natukunda the out-going Communication Specialist
  • ACHEST Staff take a photo during the send off of Imamura Mariko the JICA oficialACHEST Staff take a photo during the send off of Imamura Mariko the JICA oficial
  • Prof. Francis Omaswa with members of the Uganda Medical Association and medical interns after meeting President Museveni in June 2021.v1Prof. Francis Omaswa with members of the Uganda Medical Association and medical interns after meeting President Museveni in June 2021.v1
  • HEPI SYMPOSIUM Makerere2HEPI SYMPOSIUM Makerere2
  • ACHEST Staff pose for a group Photo after the first face-to-face meeting after COVID-19ACHEST Staff pose for a group Photo after the first face-to-face meeting after COVID-19
  • JICA 2 Agreement Assigning at ACHEST OfficesJICA 2 Agreement Assigning at ACHEST Offices
  • ACHEST Ministry of Health and Director Mulago hospital during the launch of the Intern Hand BookACHEST Ministry of Health and Director Mulago hospital during the launch of the Intern Hand Book
  • With AFREHEALTH and ECSAWith AFREHEALTH and ECSA
  • Group photo after the Opening ceremony of the Regional Policy Dialogue on HWF in Accra Ghana.
  • Miami International Conference on the Future of Health Professionals Education ended as a great success. With champions Chen Frenk Evans Fineberg Garcia and Omaswa.
  • ACHEST and Board Members bid farewell to Carol Natukunda the out-going Communication Specialist
  • ACHEST Staff take a photo during the send-off of Imamura Mariko the JICA official
  • Prof. Francis Omaswa with members of the Uganda Medical Association and medical interns after meeting President Museveni in June 2021.
  • HEPI SYMPOSIUM Makerere2
  • ACHEST Staff pose for a group photo after the first face-to-face meeting after COVID-19
  • JICA 2 Agreement Assigning at ACHEST Offices
  • ACHEST Ministry of Health and Director Mulago hospital during the launch of the Intern Hand Book
  • With AFREHEALTH and ECSA

Welcome to ACHEST

  1. ......

The African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST) is an initiative promoted by a network of African and international leaders in health and development. It is an independent Think Tank and a network.

There is now abundant evidence to show that past and current efforts at identifying and implementing solutions that are handed down from outside and are not rooted in the history and culture of Africa have faced some difficulties.

Ownership of these solutions by African countries and populations has repeatedly failed to take root and as the result such solutions have not achieved their full potential and, in some cases, they have done more harm than good.

At continental and country level, ACHEST aspires to strategically promote and advocate for the use of well grounded knowledge and evidence to strengthen professionals and build institutional capacity that will provide transformational leadership to African communities, countries and the world.

ACHEST applies constructive and targeted strategic communication at all levels to catalyze the needed behavior change that will result in stronger ownership and implementation capacity for proven interventions and better health for Africa's people.

To achieve this, ACHEST will forge strategic alliances and partnerships with individuals and organizations within Africa and around the world.

ACHEST in partnership with the Health Professionals Education Initiative(HEPI) at Makerere University College of Health Sciences and the Ministry of Health has launched a Handbook for Health Professions Interns in Uganda.ACHEST, Ministry of Health and Director Mulago hospital during the launch of the Intern Hand BookACHEST, Ministry of Health and Director Mulago hospital during the launch of the Intern Hand Book
The Handbook will be a guide to newly qualified professionals as they take the one-year mandatory internship at different hospitals and health facilities in Uganda. It addresses the key issues that graduates face as they transition from being students to fully-fledged professionals, from the expectations of internship to career growth and professional development, the role of professional associations, stress management, and global health perspectives. Other topics covered are: Joining the Public Service in Uganda, The Health System in Uganda, Quality Assurance in the Health Care, Practical experiences and life during an internship, and Nursing Competencies
This Handbook was officially launched on April 29, 2022, by the Director-General Health Services Ministry of Health. Dr. Henry Mwebesa, during the Induction Course for this year’s cohort of interns.
The event held at Mulago Women’s Specialized Hospital was also streamed online to enable all the interns to listen in from their different training sites across the country. This year, there is a total of 1,795 interns currently under training 1,795 (doctors 900, dentists 31, pharmacists 253, nurses 466, and Midwives 145).
Dr. Mwebesa stated: “The handbook addresses issues facing graduate professionals during the internship. It’s a good resource book for induction of our interns prior to internship training, and good reference material for them during the internship.”

He commended ACHEST and HEPI for working very closely with the Ministry of Health to develop the handbook.
Special appreciation was also conveyed to HEPI for funding the development process of the Handbook and the induction courses that have been held for the last 3 years.
These Courses were selected for global recognition in the Health workforce Resilience Awards hosted in 2020 by the Human Resources for Health 2030 Program.
Other speakers at this year’s Induction Course included ACHEST Executive Director Prof. Francis Omaswa, ACHEST Director Health Workforce Prof Elsie Kiguli-Malwadde, HEPI Principal Investigator Prof Sarah Kiguli, Commissioner Nursing Sr Beatrice Amuge, Commissioner Clinical Services Dr. Jackson Amone, Mulago Hospital Executive Director Dr. Rosemary Byanyima, Psychiatrist Dr. Raymond Odokonyero and a representative from the Uganda Medical Association Musa Lumumba.
The Outgoing President of the Federation of Medical Interns in Uganda Dr. Lillian Mary Nabwire also participated by describing her real-life experience of internship at Masaka Hospital, as well as different perspectives from her classmates at their internship placements.
It was an interactive session with interns freely talking about the challenges they were facing including issues on welfare and supervision, and the experts providing responses to queries raised.

A HANDBOOK FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONS INTERNS IN UGANDA
Compiled by Carol Natukunda, ACHEST Communications Specialist