Ugandan Colleagues Visit IGHS

Top row: Eva Muhanguzi, Andrew Ameny, and Edward Bichetero. Bottom row: Rikita Merai, Krysia Lindan, Lydia Itaagi, Evelyn Akello, and Laura Buback. (Photo courtesy of IGHS)

In July, IGHS hosted members of the Monitoring and Evaluation Technical Support (METS) Program from Uganda. METS is a five-year CDC-supported partnership between Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), UCSF, and the Health Information Systems Program Uganda. This initiative aims to strengthen Uganda’s capacity for HIV and tuberculosis programming through health systems strengthening, monitoring and evaluation, strategic information, disease surveillance, and health informatics systems. Global Programs Uganda staff work with the METS team to support project implementation.

UCSF Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Alison Comfort

Left to right are Alison Comfort (UCSF PI), Hadija Nalubwama (Research Manager Makerere University), Umar Senoga (Research Assistant), Sylivia Katusabe (Research Assistant), and Sherinah Nakalembe (Research Assistant)

Dr. Alison Comfort's work with Global Programs in Kampala, Uganda, has laid a strong foundation for advancing maternal health research through successful collaboration and streamlined coordination with local counterparts, including Makerere University. This collaboration has been pivotal in implementing groundbreaking studies such as the START ANC project, which aims to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes by encouraging earlier antenatal care (ANC) initiation.

In her current research, Comfort (along with Drs. Josaphat Byamugisha, Alison El Ayadi, and Cynthia Harper) is exploring how social networks—comprised of partners, family, and community members—can influence when pregnant women seek ANC. The START ANC study, involving 250 women at Kawempe National Referral Hospital, investigates how these networks can be leveraged to promote earlier ANC visits, with a focus on how HIV status may affect this dynamic. 

The strong support and coordination provided by the Global Programs Uganda team has enabled her to focus on research that has the potential to significantly impact maternal health outcomes in Uganda, further strengthening the relationship between her team and their local partners.

Comfort says, “It has been a pleasure to work with Peruth Kyomugisha on this project, and I look forward to our continued collaboration.”

Global Programs Board Chair George Rutherford, MD retires

George Rutherford, MD

George Rutherford, professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and director of the Prevention and Public Health Group, has been with UCSF since 1987 and has extensively researched the epidemiology and prevention of infectious and tropical diseases, focusing primarily on HIV and AIDS. His work has been funded mainly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

In 2021, Chancellor Hawgood appointed Rutherford as acting executive director of IGHS during Jaime Sepúlveda's sabbatical. During this time, Rutherford became UCSF’s key spokesperson on the COVID-19 pandemic, providing updates at weekly town halls with the Chancellor. In 2023, he served again as interim executive director when Sepúlveda stepped down from the role.

Rutherford will continue his research with some UCSF projects and maintain several of his consultancies. He will also remain as Chair of the Global Programs Board.