A Momentous Meeting with The Founder Director of the MOD Public Health Foundation, Uganda

Interviewer:

What is that moment that spurred this idea called MOD Public Health Foundation, Uganda into a service product?

Samuel Waliggo:

There was passion, a dream to contribute to the well-being of society, a call to heal communities, and a vision to end HIV and Cancer.

I can confidently say that MOD Public Health Foundation, Uganda which began her work in 2017, comes from my experience of working with Kitovu Mobile AIDS Organisation as a Critical and Long-Term Care Provider for people who did not need hospitalisation for 10 years.

We worked with programme participants who were living with HIV and Cancer-related diseases, e.g., Cervical cancer and Kaposi Sarcoma.

We covered the greater Masaka Region which included: Kalangala, Masaka, Ssembabule, Bukomansimbi, Lyantonde, Rakai, Gomba, and other districts. We had what we called Viable grassroots-based communities and the venues were church verandahs, tree shades,  mostly mango trees. We had a reach of over 150 Small to Medium scale groups of about 100-450 members whom we assessed and provided interventions ranging from psychosocial to economic support.

Interviewer:

It must have been both a learning and fulfilling moment for you. So, tell us how did this lead to other transitions?

Samuel Waliggo:

Having been trained at Nursing Schools and other institutions of Higher Learning, I realized so many events that linked classroom knowledge to life-changing ones. The element of community health enabled me to advance most of my aspirations such as having the agency to assess vulnerabilities, reduce risks, treat to heal, and work under minimal supervision while caring for people most of whom were able to be rehabilitated and thrive. Many are still alive today.

Interviewer:

What timeline are we talking of?

Samuel Waliggo:

We are talking about 2007-2017. I am glad that I was part of the activists, advocates, health workers, and change agents who contributed to the end of HIV suffering. You see when we say end to HIV, we forget that people suffered intensely from Opportunistic Infections, Cryptococcus meningitis, and considerable weight loss not to mention traumatizing stigma. We worked so hard to debunk myths, encouraged communities to take medications, and provided critical support for people to consider positive decisions to engage in health-seeking practices.

Interviewer:

Please continue with the motivations that brought about the MOD Public Health Foundation, Uganda.

Samuel Waliggo

I asked myself, “What kind of activity can I do to continue psycho-social-cultural-behavioral-economic transformation?” I had experienced different modes of transformation and resilience despite the visible or felt pain. Kitovu Mobile had established reliable routines in the communities we served and this brought back faith in many people. HIV and other diseases that affect large populations are mentally traumatic too.

The limitations that people experienced due to HIV or being bedridden due to cancer, were addressed following communities of practice (COP), Community-led Monitoring (CLM), and Public-Private Mix (PPM) principles. I witnessed people sharing resources such as food, clothes, companionship, hours of exchange visits, and building communities of resilience that continued to provide food or housing and putting appropriate resources for many.

 I saw our work on TV, heard it over the radio, and read it in the news. I personally penned articles too. I was introduced to reading articles, journals, and breakthrough materials in development, health, and social sciences. We worked with people from Makerere Schools of Medicine and Public Health, the Medical Research Council (MRC), The Institute Disease Insitute (IDI), and The AIDS Services Organisation (TASO), Uganda Cares, Ministry of Health (MOH) in conducting early warning indicators Surveys, Strengthening Quality Improvement Initiatives in health facilities, and debunking HIV related stigma. I saw what it meant to conduct Clinical Trials which translated curiosities or knowledge from University laboratories into community services.

Interviewer:

Thank you for pointing out the phases in which your work as an individual and as a team made an impact in communities and on yourself. Tell us, what did this all mean to you?

Samuel Waliggo:

Well, other than merely getting subsistence, the system guaranteed my agency and supported me as a health worker. I can say I benefitted in many other ways.

Interviewer:

What are those? Pray tell!

Samuel Waliggo:

I gained soft skills such as articulation, cogency, cognizance, reasoning, and formulation of health-promoting narratives. I became so good that I was given tasks and delivered them under little or no supervision from my senior colleagues. It was around this time in 2011 that I got a scholarship from Irish aid to study and complete an MPH programme run by several Universities in Ireland. The universities that provided this programme were: the University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland; the University of Dublin in Ireland; the University of Limerick; the University of Galloway and the International University of Ireland. Later I got a chance to visit the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (LSTMH) too. By the time I completed the MPH programme I had consolidated my years of practice, principles, and knowledge in Public Health. It was my a-ha moment!

Interviewer:

Tell us what you mean by the a-ha moment?

Samuel Waliggo:

I wrote a capstone paper and in it, I centered Public Health Principles into an intervention that I thought would contribute to better life outcomes for people in Uganda, Africa, and the world at large. The central question was “How does one model a Public Health Center of Excellence?”

My immediate answer to it was “Public Health research must be translated into interventions.” Right now, we design Public Health products and services which are translated into interventions. We share all our reports via our social media platforms. We hope to work with such big Organisations like Medical Research Council (MRC), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PEPFAR, and NIH. We also want to work with universities whereby they can send their students for exposure to Community Health Work in African settings.

Interviewer:

What is the grassroots-based understanding of “Public Health?”

 

Samuel Waliggo:

You have put a question before me that I have always asked myself and I am going to give you answers that still blow my mind. I am sure the answers may blow yours too.

According to many, Public Health is about enforcing hygiene, supervising toilet coverage, promoting food handling, and giving building permits! Unfortunately, and sadly, people are describing Public Health wrongly. It is like saying the thumb represents the entire palm.

Public Health is a public good. Public Health in its entirety is everything that prevents diseases; prolongs life; and promotes health. A road that is built with wide corners, streetlamps that light at night, visible signposts, and having pit -stops at regular milestones is an example of Public Health. I could give many other examples.

Interviewer:

I am sure you can, but we are winding up. Tell us your theory of change?

Samuel Waliggo:

My theory of change will involve networking, building a large referral system and structure, and catalyzing agency and self-determination forces to leverage our position to resonate with the international aspirations of Public Health. We see ourselves enhancing participation by communities in health-seeking practices, causing connectivity and linkage to services that promote population-wide quality life outcomes.

Founders of MOD Public Health FOundation: Samuel Waligo, MPH and Honest Waliggo