Scaling science
that saves lives
Researching ways to improve care.
Scaling to save lives.
We believe it is possible for every Ugandan to have access to high quality healthcare. We know there is only one way to get there: by empowering and equipping health workers to do their job.
As one of the foremost Ugandan health research institutions, we discover solutions to healthcare problems throughout the country and advocate with Government, the WHO and other critical institutions to change policy.
Our Model
Health Workers First
The most important factor in patient outcomes is the health worker. Our research and policy advocacy aim to empower the frontline health worker with relevant knowledge, useful training, modern tools and uplifting work environments.
We call this the Health Worker First model. By centering the health worker, we can drive improvements in patient outcomes that scale across Uganda.
Program Highlights
Walimu conducts polio surveillance and immunization work
Tackling diseases like Polio doesn’t just help keep Uganda healthy — keeps the world safe from emerging and reemerging pathogens.
Smart Discharges saves the life of a child for a few hundred dollars
Evidence shows Smart Discharges, a program that links severely ill children to care after hospitalization, is highly cost-effective.
Walimu named Ugandan partner for USAID TB research program
USAID is funding up to $200 million to a consortium of groups to identify more effective methods for finding, treating, and preventing tuberculosis
World-class Ugandan Team
Our staff is 100% Ugandan.
We are doctors, nurses, allied health workers, social scientists and operations professionals with a single mission: to improve patient outcomes.
We are guided by our core values:
- Evidence drives our work
- Excellence in all we do
- Innovation in addressing local health problems
- Integrity in our dealings
- Partnership for greater reach and impact
Research at Walimu is supervised by a global group of scientists.
Principal investigators in our network design studies to test whether a particular intervention — for instance, a diagnostic test or a quality improvement program — successfully improves outcomes.
The Walimu team carries out these studies in close collaboration with our investigators.
Once we’ve found something that works, we work with our partners in government and the NGO sector to change policy and save lives
Support our work
That vast majority of our funding comes from research institutions. We rely on private donations to scale what we find works to save lives. Our major funders, such as the National Institutes of Health or WHO, rarely fund the critical activity of translating research into policy.
This makes your gift particularly high impact. For example, our research shows our Smart Discharges program saves the life of a child for as little as a few hundred dollars. Your donation can help this program scale across Uganda.