By Eddie Ssemakula
As a member of several Ministry of Health policy committees, once a member of the Global Fund national interventions, and similar country coordinating mechanisms representing civil society. Dr Lydia Mungherera has more to say about policy than anything else about Uganda’s health sector. She helped bring alot of knowledge to policy formulation in maternal health, HIV and AIDS among other working committees she has often been part of.
As one who sat on multiple organization boards, including one that developed policies on ARV treatment at the World Health Organization, it is no surprise that she was once approached as a commissioner at the Uganda AIDS Commission.
For years, Dr Lydia Mungherera has been a member of multiple local, regional and International Boards. She has served on the Ministry of Health Policy Advisory Committee for many years and currently Chairs other Technical working groups.
She says receiving the HIHA lifetime award validated her prior work, now that she is growing into a mentor, she is committed to moving forward in an area that desperately needs more mentors.
“This award has made me feel like I have so much more to offer. It also helps to know who else the ministry recognizes. It has inspired me to go forward and now I can provide the best I can to improve certain areas that require my expertise.”
The difficulty of bringing the major sectors together to discuss a single policy worries her. “In programming, many people are working in silos,” she says. However, there is a lot of opportunity, particularly with the people. who are quite experienced, we also have the chance to return many of our experts in diaspora home, and persuade those who need to return to private practice for the sake of the common good.”
She also notes an opportunity for research-based interventions, “This is the time for us to get together and discuss how we can have our data speak to each other and influence decision-making. “ she quips, there is also an opportunity for district-led interventions,” she continues.
“Districts can be the lead in bringing together everything that happens together in the district.” “Sometimes even the ministry is not in control of what happens in the District.”
“There is also a lot of opportunity for civil society to get involved in the working groups, as we try to harmonize efforts and direction, which civil society does best.” Mungherera explains, “Innovation can for example help us with non-communicable diseases”, she notes, “Working with the private sector too is an opportunity we need to optimize in this unified Uganda health system”
Mungherera has always been a community advocate and believes community health workers are key in working in all areas.
”Many are ageing with HIV, yet it is a critical area we should be emphasizing, especially with other challenges like mental health, Diabetes etc. ARVs tend to exhaust those who take them, and outreaches designed for them are necessary, that said, domestic funding needs to be mobilized .”
The main goal of HIHA’s work is to elevate voices like hers. Hopefully, this began with the lifetime award, yet even with a single acknowledgement, her goals of empowering the next generation can be accelerated!
