By Frank Kamuntu
Uganda’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), Hon Dr Monica Musenero Masanza is undoubtedly one of the few government officials to have contributed highly to the science and innovation industry in Uganda.
Previously a consultant with the World Health Organization on Epidemics, Dr Musenero, is also currently the Senior Presidential Advisor on Epidemics and was one of the few medics who played a key role in Uganda’s outstanding response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
On Thursday, 22nd August 2024, the minister will be holding her mega Thanksgiving ceremony at Petete Primary School in eastern Uganda’s Butebo District where she will express her profound gratitude for the gift of life, the support of loved ones, her years of dedicated service, and her numerous accomplishments.
The event will feature an exhibition showcasing various innovations from August 20th to 22nd, 2024, and on D-day, the President of Uganda, H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni will grace the function as the esteemed guest of honour.
But Who is Monica Musenero and Why Does She Deserve a Thanksgiving Ceremony
Born in 1967, Dr Musenero is a Ugandan veterinarian, microbiologist and epidemiologist, who serves as a consultant epidemiologist to the government of Uganda and serves as an advisor to the president of Uganda on epidemics and pandemics.
She previously served as the Principal Epidemiologist and Assistant Commissioner for Epidemiology and Surveillance in the Uganda Ministry of Health, and has also previously played leading roles in the control of Ebola epidemics in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the West African country of Sierra Leone.
Musenero’s Early Life & Education
Musenero was born in present-day Butebo District (formerly part of Pallisa District), in the Eastern Region of Uganda. She started school at Kodiri Primary School and later moved to Kalalaka Primary School where she sat her Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE).
She joined Bubulo Girls High School for her O-Level studies and completed A’Level at Nabumali High School. In 1987, Musenero graduated with a High School Diploma and would later enrol at Makerere University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine degree and later a Master of Public Health degree.
The Senior epidemiologist also holds a Master of Science degree in Microbiology and Immunology, awarded by Cornell University, in 1997.
Career and Experience
Musenero started her career at Makerere University in 1992 where she served as an Assistant Lecturer at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine where she first taught Veterinary Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biochemistry, but later switched to Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Biology after completing her Postgraduate studies in the USA.
In 2003, after her Master in Public Health (MPH) and specialising in Epidemic Control, Musenero joined the Uganda Ministry of Health first as a Fellow and later was appointed as an Epidemiologist and later as Principal Epidemiologist at the Ministry’s Epidemiology and Surveillance Division.
In 2008, she was employed by the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), as a Consultant Epidemiologist and Senior Program Officer, based in Kampala, Uganda and in 2011, she joined the SDS (Strengthening Decentralization for Sustainability) Project where she was Regional Director for Central Uganda, serving in that capacity until 2013.
In 2014 she responded to a request responded to a call to support the Ebola-affected countries and travelled to Sierra Leone where she served as a Consultant and later Field Coordinator for the World Health Organization, during the Ebola virus epidemic in Sierra Leone.
She served briefly as the Assistant Commissioner, of Epidemiology and Surveillance at the Ministry of Health in Uganda, in 2015, but was requested to return to Sierra Leone to continue supporting the Ebola response until 2017.
In 2018 and 2019 she served as a Consultant on Ebola Response in DRC and Rwanda.
In Uganda, Musenero has been at the frontline of the design and implementation of the highly successful Epidemic Preparedness and Response system and has been key in response to all the Ebola and Marburg outbreaks in the country since 2007.
In 2014, during the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, after she had retired from the Uganda Ministry of Health, Musenero was recalled to “offer technical advice in West Africa, because of her experience in handling Ebola”.
In early 2020, before Uganda recorded her first COVID-19 patient, Dr Musenero was appointed as a senior advisor to the president of Uganda, regarding the pandemic and with her expertise, she led a team of professionals and technocrats who planned strategy and advised the president on the way forward.
The Minister has been such a central figure in making the One Health movement a reality in Uganda and the African region. She introduced the first multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary team including Anthropologists and Sociologists, creating interventions that drastically contained Plague outbreaks in the country.
With all the above recognition and her endearing contribution to Uganda and the World at large, Musenero’s Thanksgiving ceremony is a deserving ceremony to celebrate her good deeds as she manoeuvres the dynamism in Uganda’s political trends.
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