Makerere secures sh5.5b research, innovation grant

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Makerere University's School of Public Health, through its arm of Resilient Africa Network (RAN), has been awarded a grant worth shillings 5.5 billion.

The money is supposed to finance the establishment of an observatory on education system resilience across Africa. The grant was obtained from the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX).

This aims to provide African countries with contextual research and evidence to strengthen the resilience of their education systems, explore stakeholders' practice and understanding of education system resilience, and better prepare for future disruptions.

Accordingly, the research is expected to focus on education systems concerning early childhood, primary and secondary education, and teacher training.

The Africa Regional Education Systems Resilience Observatory (ARESRO) is one of the six regional observatories awarded under the GPE KIX Observatory on Education System Resilience Initiative and the project will be implemented in collaboration with Link Community Development, Uganda and the Resilient Research Centre (RRC) at Dalhousie University, Canada.

In East Africa, Makerere University will lead research activities in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan, while University of Addis Ababa will lead the activities in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia.

Across West Africa, activities will be led by University of Ghana in Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Gambia; Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mauritania, Cabo Verde, and Guinea-Bissau; and Université des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines de Bamako in Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Togo.

In Central Africa, Université de Yaoundé will lead research activities in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Central Africa Republic, Congo, Sudan, and Sao Tome and Principe.

In Southern Africa, University of Zambia will lead the activities in Zambia, Eswatini, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Angola, while University of Malawi will lead activities in Malawi, Comoros, Madagascar, and Mozambique.

The ARESRO Project was virtually launched on February 25, 2025, and was attended by over 100 multidisciplinary participants, including university management teams, Uganda’s education ministry commissioners, education specialists, researchers, innovators, development partners and humanitarian/disasters preparedness professionals.

Prof. William Bazeyo, Chief of Party of ResilientAfrica Network, highlighted the critical need for resilient education systems, stating, “The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the vulnerability of education systems to unexpected shocks. By establishing ARESRO, we aim to provide real-time data and insights that will enable education systems to anticipate, adapt to, and recover from a wide range of disruptions”.

Bazeyo also acknowledged all the support from several developmental partners, including USAID Washington DC, USAID Mission in Uganda, the Rockefeller Foundation, Humanitarian Leadership Academy, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Government of the Republic of Uganda among others.

Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, the dean Makerere University School of Public Health, said: “ARESRO is about proactively anticipating, planning for, and adapting to various challenges to ensure continuity and quality education for all learners in Africa".

"We are happy that this project is being launched today and is going to add to generating evidence and innovations to strengthen our systems within the education sector, also incorporating issues related to overall preparedness, while additionally speaking to the response framework. For enabling this to happen or realization of this project, we would like to appreciate the support of all the actors," Wanyenze added.

Makerere University vice-chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe emphasized the significance of the ARESRO Project in advancing Makerere's vision of becoming a research-led and innovation-intensive institution.

“It is through such innovative projects that we can offer solutions to address the development challenges within our communities,” he said.

Nawangwe also appreciated the support from all partners, including the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange who are funding the ARESRO Project.

He noted that these contributions go a long way in strengthening the resilience of education systems in Africa. He also highlighted that IDRC is a longtime partner of Makerere University and the institution does not take this partnership for granted. 

“Such support has helped Makerere to be more relevant to the communities in which we live and serve” he added.