Makerere University

About: Makerere University is a education organization based out in Kampala, Uganda. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 7220 authors who have published 12405 publications receiving 366520 citations. The organization is also known as: Makerere University Kampala & MUK.

A value proposition: resource recovery from faecal sludge—can it be the driver for improved sanitation?

Abstract: There is currently a lack of access to affordable sanitation in urban areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. This study evaluated the potential for resource recovery from innovative faecal sludge treatment processes to generate a profit that could help sustain the sanitation service chain. A total of 242 interviews were conducted in Accra, Ghana; Dakar, Senegal; and Kampala, Uganda to compare markets in different cultural and regional contexts. Products identified to have potential market value include dry sludge as a fuel for combustion, biogas from anaerobic digestion, protein derived from sludge processing as animal feed, sludge as a component in building materials, and sludge as a soil conditioner. The market demand and potential revenue varied from city to city based on factors such as sludge characteristics, existing markets, local and regional industrial sectors, subsidies, and locally available materials. Use as a soil conditioner, which has been the most common end use of treated sludge, was not as profitable as other end uses. These findings should help policy and decision makers of sanitation service provision to design financially viable management systems based on resource recovery options.

Tuberculosis in household contacts of infectious cases in Kampala, Uganda.

Abstract: Tuberculosis remains a serious threat to public health, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. To determine the host and environmental factors responsible for tuberculosis in African households, the authors performed a prospective cohort study of 1,206 household contacts of 302 index cases with tuberculosis enrolled in Uganda between 1995 and 1999. All contacts were systematically evaluated for active tuberculosis and risk factors for active disease. Among the 1,206 household contacts, 76 secondary cases (6%) of tuberculosis were identified. Of these cases, 51 were identified in the baseline evaluation, and 25 developed during follow-up. Compared with index cases, secondary cases presented more often with minimal disease. The risk for secondary tuberculosis was greater among young children than adults (10% vs. 1.9%) and among human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive than -seronegative contacts (23% vs. 3.3%). Host risk factors could not be completely separated from the effects of environmental risk factors, suggesting that a household may represent a complex system of interacting risks for tuberculosis.

Firewood use in Bulamogi County, Uganda: species selection, harvesting and consumption patterns

Abstract: This study was carried out in Bulamogi, Uganda, with the main objective of determining preferred firewood species, their harvesting and consumption patterns. Data collected through household and key-informants interviews, using open- and close-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, showed that 48 plant species in 36 genera and 20 families are used as firewood. These plants have other uses as herbal medicines and in traditional cultural rites. There is almost total dependence on firewood for domestic cooking and small-scale industries. Firewood is used to fire bricks (55%), distil spirits (26%), cure fish (10%), cook food in restaurants (6%) and to produce charcoal (3%). Firewood for domestic use is collected mainly by women, and largely comprises of dead wood. The distances travelled to firewood collection areas are short and little time is spent. The harvesting of firewood for domestic use may have a lower direct impact on the native flora, than the harvesting of fuelwood for commercial use by small-scale industries and to make charcoal, which requires large amounts of wood that is often green. According to the community response, firewood is abundant but declining. This decline may be related to increasing demands generated by the growing human population of Bulamogi, and growing national need for charcoal. Cultural taboos that have hitherto played an important role in plant conservation appear to be weakening. There is limited trading of firewood in the community.