Catherine Kyobutungi (born 1972) is a Ugandan epidemiologist who currently serves as the Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Center(APHRC)[2][3] and a Joep Lange Chair at the University of Amsterdam.[4][5] She was elected to the African Academy of Sciences in 2018.[6]
Catherine Kyobutungi | |
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![]() Catherine Kyobutungi by Billy Miaron | |
Born | |
Nationality | Ugandan |
Alma mater | Makerere University Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (master's degree in community health) (doctoral degree in epidemiology ) |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | Mbarara University of Science and Technology |
Thesis | Ethnic German Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union: Mortality from External Causes and Cancers[1] (2008) |
Early life and education
editKyobutungi was born in 1972 in Gulu in Uganda.[7] She started her medical course at Makerere University in 1990.[8] After graduating in 1996 she worked as a medical officer at Rushere Community Hospital.[9] Kyobutungi moved from clinical medicine to public health because she felt she could save more lives by correcting the African healthcare system.[10] She earned a master's degree in community health and a doctoral degree in epidemiology from the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg in 2002.[8] Her doctoral research was based in the Department of Tropical Hygiene and Public Health supervised by Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Heiko Becher.[7][11] In 2006 Kyobutungi joined the African Population and Health Research Center as a postdoctoral fellow, and was eventually selected as the Head of the Challenges and Systems research program.[9][12] After graduating Kyobutungi began to teach at the Mbarara University of Science and Technology.[9]
Research and career
editIn October 2017, Kyobutungi was made the Director of Research at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC).[13][14] In this capacity she evaluated maternal health and well being challenges in African cities.[12][15] Kyobutungi looked to strengthen governance in local health services, as well as providing training, infrastructure and equipment.[16] Whilst African researchers in these local health centers can generate large amounts of useful health data, they often do no have the capacities to analyse it.[17] Kyobutungi has described unused African research data as being like a hippo, "at the moment we can only see and access a very small amount – like the ears of a hippo in water – but we know there is a huge potential lying just below the surface".[17]
She was made of Executive Director of the APHRC in 2017.[18] Here her work has considered the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease, prevalence of diabetes in poor urban communities and ways to prevent cardiovascular diseases in Nairobi slums.[13][19] She was the inaugural Chair of the Kenya Epidemiological Association. Kyobutungi has made efforts to improve girls' access to education, including the development of community resources and trained mentors.[20]
In 2019 Kyobutungi was announced as the Joep Lange Chair, a position in which she investigates non-communicable diseases in African countries.[8] Non-communicable diseases are rising in African countries, and current healthcare systems are not equipped to treat populations affected by them.[8] The focus of foreign money and training to date has been on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, which means that simple medical tests such as measuring blood pressure often get overlooked.[8] Kyobutungi supported health workers to visit local communities with blood pressure cuffs to monitor for hypertension.[21] She found that to encourage patient and doctor participation she had to include an economic incentive, offering 100 schillings for every screened patient who visits the clinic.[21] Alongside establishing a research program investigating the management of chronic diseases and ways to strengthen healthcare systems, Kyobutungi is exploring the role of digital technology in connecting patients with their healthcare systems.[8] She has studied the influence of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on tobacco legislation in Sub-Saharan Africa.[22]
Kyobutungi serves on the council of the United States International University Africa.[23] She also serves as director of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA), an organisation which looks to rebuild and strengthen the capacity of African universities.[24][25] She was elected to the African Academy of Sciences in 2018.[9][26]
Since 2019, Kyobutungi has been a member of the Lancet–SIGHT Commission on Peaceful Societies Through Health and Gender Equality, chaired by Tarja Halonen.[27]
Other activities
edit- Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH), Member of the Board[28]
References
edit- ^ Kyobutungi, Catherine (2008). Ethnic German immigrants from the former Soviet Union mortality from external causes and cancers. Lang. ISBN 978-3-631-56563-6. OL 25091965M.
- ^ "APHRC Homepage". APHRC. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ "APHRC'S NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – Dr Catherine Kyobutungi". indepth-network.org. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ Institute, Joep Lange. "Catherine Kyobutungi appointed as Joep Lange Chair". Joep Lange Institute. Archived from the original on 2020-03-31. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ "Catherine Kyobutungi". United Nations University. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
- ^ "Kyobutungi Catherine". aasciences.africa. Archived from the original on 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ a b Kyobutungi, Catherine. "Mortality from cancers and external causes of death among Aussiedler in Germany 1990- 2002 – an epidemiological cohort study" (PDF). University of Heidelberg. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Catherine Kyobutungi appointed as Joep Lange Chair". Joep Lange Institute. Archived from the original on 2020-03-31. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ a b c d "Kyobutungi Catherine". aasciences.ac.ke. Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ "Webinar Report: Building connections and developing research in Sub-Saharan Africa". eLife. 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ "Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi". indepth-network.org. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ a b "APHRC's Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi Speaks to National Public Radio". Audioboom. Sep 15, 2014. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ a b "Catherine Kyobutungi, PhD". aphrc.org. Archived from the original on 2020-03-31. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ "APHRC'S New Executive Director – Dr Catherine Kyobutungi". indepth-network.org. Indepth Network. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
- ^ "Well-being in African cities". urbanage.lsecities.net. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ Kyobutungi, Catherine. "Maternal health in the context of poor urban settlements: Nairobi case study" (PDF). Wilson Center. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ a b "Workshop on how to expand research data sharing". WHO. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ Berman, Philippa (2017-10-28). "Catherine Kyobutungi: leading African health research capacity". The Lancet. 390 (10106): 1942. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32672-7. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 29115223. S2CID 205988436.
- ^ Catherine Kyobutungi - Monitoring the Health Needs of Urban Slums, retrieved 2019-10-02
- ^ "Spotlight: Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi". January 31, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-10-02. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ a b Gregory Warner (September 14, 2014). "Africans Are Introduced To The Blood Pressure Cuff". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ Wisdom, Jennifer P.; Juma, Pamela; Mwagomba, Beatrice; Ndinda, Catherine; Mapa-Tassou, Clarisse; Assah, Felix; Nkhata, Misheck; Mohamed, Shukri F.; Oladimeji, Oladepo; Oladunni, Opeyemi; Oluwasanu, Mojisola (2018-08-15). "Influence of the WHO framework convention on tobacco control on tobacco legislation and policies in sub-Saharan Africa". BMC Public Health. 18 (1): 954. doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5827-5. ISSN 1471-2458. PMC 6117626. PMID 30168395.
- ^ Website, USIU-Africa. "Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi - University Council Member". USIU-Africa Website. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ "Secretariat". Consortium for Advanced Research & Training in Africa. Archived from the original on 2021-10-16. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ "CARTA hosts DFID Deputy Director Research and Evidence Division » Consortium for Advanced Research & Training in Africadate=2017-11-10". Consortium for Advanced Research & Training in Africa. Archived from the original on 2019-10-02.
- ^ "Yale, African Academy of Sciences host symposium on university research". YaleNews. 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ Commissioners Archived 2021-05-11 at the Wayback Machine Lancet–SIGHT Commission on Peaceful Societies Through Health and Gender Equality.
- ^ Board Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH).