By Ben Musanje
21st Jan 2022
Uganda has lost another notable scientist Prof Christopher Nduggwa, Uganda’s senior pedia-trician and researcher on Sickle Cells who died this morning.
Nduggwa is eulogized as having endured staying in the country to work amidst difficulty declining lucrative opportunities to work abroad.
The 80-year old became head of the pedia-trics department at Makerere University shortly after President Idi Amin expelled foreigners from the country forcing his British colleagues at Mulago to leave. He had only started lecturing at the university in 1971.
According to Dr Richard Idro, the past President of the Uganda Medical Association who is his former student, apart from teaching them the details of pedia-trics, he taught them life lessons like humility, placing patients first and keeping appointments.
On her part, a renowned Pedia-trician Dr. Sabrina Kitaka says the professor is remembered for ensuring that masters students look beyond the usual with one of his favorite lessons being to ensure that they understand that a popular drug aspirin was a contraindication in children presenting with a viral infection.
Evelyn Mwesigwa, a sickle cell activist remembers him for giving his patients a lot of time to explain to him what they were battling which made their treatment outcomes better.
One of the wards at the Sickle Cell Clinic in Mulago has been named after him for his contribution in explaining and treating the strange painful disease that was killing and still kills over 80 per cent of sufferers before clocking five years of age. Prof. Ndugwa has done 70 research works in areas of maternal health, sickle cell anaemia and HIV.
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