The Inter-University Programme aims at strengthening inter-university collaboration and training in child-focused research skills. Under this program, AfriChild takes on mid-level child-focused researchers from seven universities in Uganda and equips them with skills in child-focused research methods, grant acquisition, and publication. The seven Universities the Centre works with are Makerere University, Kyambogo University, Nsamizi Training Institute, Uganda Martyrs University, Uganda Christian University, Gulu University, and Muni University.

The GST-S study is a pilot trial implemented by AfriChild and Raising voices with support from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The aim of this pilot study is to learn more about how the Good Schools Toolkit works in secondary schools following the successful implementation of GST-P in 42 primary schools in Uganda. The study will be implemented 8 secondary schools in Kampala and Wakiso districts.

The AfriChild Centre is running a research fellowship with Together For Girls that focuses on strengthening individual and institutional in-country research capacity to generate and utilize evidence for policy and programming for prevention and improved response to violence against children.The focus of the research examines sexual violence and its effects on education, mental health, and HIV infection among females in Uganda using findings from the Uganda Violence Against Children Survey (VACs) data.

Data collection and analysis for this study were completed in January 2021 attesting to the Centre’s capacity to deliver on research undertakings. Project close out activities were conducted. Report writing and manuscript development is ongoing.

to map the available evidence on the contribution of fathers to care work in the country.The scoping review was conducted to map the evidence on the role of fathers in child care in Uganda. The goal of this research was to inform policymakers, researchers and practitioners regarding the extent and implications of men’s involvement in direct childcare work, and to highlight opportunities for improving research knowledge with policy and programme recommendations in terms of fatherhood as entry point for improved social outcomes in Uganda.This study was launched in a successful virtual event in June 2021. The report is the first of its kind in the country places Uganda with South Africa and Tanzania as the only other African countries that have so far released this report. AfriChild led all components of producing the report with wide stakeholder participation.

The AfriChild Centre is conducting an impact evaluation of the “empowering communities to protect children” intervention implemented by ChildFund for a period of three years in two sub counties, Matidi and Lagoro, in Kitgum District, Northern Uganda. The evaluation is funded by the Evaluation Fund.The project goal was to promote violence-free communities by addressing protection needs of 3,000 children in two sub counties in Kitgum. The project utilised a community-based approach to preventing violence against children, promoting increased investment in the child protection sector and access to improved child protection services.AfriChild completed qualitative and quantitative data collection and held engagements with policy makers to support integration of research findings into government programmes targeting children. The Centre also held community feedback sessions with community members to share the findings of study as part of the dissemination strategy.To support research uptake in government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), a reference group comprising of officials from Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Ministry of Education and Sports, Ministry of Health, Uganda Police Forces, Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Child Fund International, National Children’s Authority and the National Child Protection Working Group was constituted and held meetings to participate in the research process.

AfriChild successfully attracted additional funding to conduct a baseline study on taking the Good Schools Toolkit to scale. Although this study was severely impacted by the closure of schools as a result of the second wave of the Covid-19, it demonstrates the increased capacity of the Centre to attract, manage and implement multiple research projects concurrently.

The AfriChild Centre is partnering with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to explore how global narratives of child protection and perspectives of honour affect child wellbeing. This is part of a multi-country study taking place in Uganda, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa. AfriChild is leading the Uganda study. This study advances current scholarship on two topics related to honour: 1) honour as a factor in sustaining violence against children, and 2) honour as a factor contributing to child well-being through children’s social relationships (with family, peers, and community). This research agenda is informed by both a systematic scoping review of the literature on honour-related violence and children, and by a meeting held in Washington DC in November 2019. In this meeting a group of academics, researchers, funders and activists gathered to reflect on the links between honour and child protection, and how investigating these links can improve child protection programs and policies. In this study, AfriChild is using an innovative youth participatory approach to enhance children’s meaningful participation in research. The youth are actively involved as peer researchers and the Centre uses other participatory methods to enhance the research experience.

The study tests gender measures in violence against children surveys. AfriChild is conducting this study in partnership with Together for Girls and the University of California San Diego (UCSD). AfriChild was identified as a partner for this study owing to the central role the Centre played in the Uganda VACS process and the capacity to implement violence against children related research.

AfriChild in partnership with the Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network are testing out a tool that aims at enhancing child participation in research and programming particularly in humanitarian settings,The tool was developed to respond to the emerging need to engage children as partners in Child Protection during Covid-19. AfriChild is piloting this tool with children in research in Uganda to generate more evidence on its efficacy in promoting meaningful child participation.

CHUSS hosts to The AfriChild Centre, is the largest of the nine Colleges of Makerere University, with five schools and one institute. The University is the lead public university in Uganda and one of the oldest on the African continent, having been established in 1922. It has a vibrant local, regional and international student community currently standing at approximately 40,000 while CHUSS has the largest student body of a total of 8,350 students. Close to 30% of the students are at graduate level. Her research and partnerships portfolio is very rich with groundbreaking work in fields like child protection, HIV&AIDS as well as policy impacting work.

https://www.childfund.org/ChildFund International is one of the oldest Non-Governmental Organizations in Uganda in operation since 1980 on development as well as emergency relief and disaster mitigation programs focusing on children. ChildFund is a global alliance for children driven by children’s inherent potential to thrive. ChildFund focuses on working with children throughout their life, from birth to young adulthood, as well as with families, local organizations and communities globally to create the environment children need to thrive

MoGLSD is the line Ministry responsible for championing the development and implementation of initiatives aimed at advancing knowledge and improving the effectiveness of responses targeting children in adversity. In the execution of its mandate, the Ministry works with multiple actors in the field of child protection providing support where possible and directly getting involved.

Columbia University, New York, is a world-renowned university in the United States of America. The University currently serves as the secretariat of the global Child CPC Learning Network—a constellation of over 250 agencies working in 32 countries on the development of an evidence base for efficacious child health and protection programming. The CPC Network works to strengthen and systematize childcare and protection in crisis settings through collaborative action of humanitarian agencies, local institutions, and academic partners.

The United Nations Children’s Fund is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. UNICEF aims to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination place in a child’s path. Together with the Government of Uganda (GOU) and partners, UNICEF works towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the objectives of the Uganda National Development Plan II (NDPII), and the planned outcomes of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework.

TPO Uganda is a national Ugandan Non-Governmental Organization that has been operating in Uganda since 1994. TPO-Uganda services are delivered through a community and family-oriented intervention model, which mainly focuses on identifying existing community support structures, traditional circles of support and systematically building their capacity to identify and participate in supporting the needs of: children in need of protection, survivors of gender-based violence, children and families infected and affected by HIV & AIDS; improving livelihoods of rural households and families whose socio-economic wellbeing has been incapacitated by conflict and/or any other disasters.

Timothy Opobo is the Executive Director of the AfriChild Centre based at Makerere University that convenes academics, policymakers, and practitioners to promote innovative research, nurture communities of learning, build the next generation of researchers, and contribute to policy and practice on the wellbeing of the African child. In this role, he provides strategic leadership, and coordinates the research and policy advocacy work.With experience of over 15 years, he has contributed significantly to influencing child wellbeing landscape in the region. He is a member of the national multisectoral task force on violence against children, and has served on several national committees including: the National steering committee on justice for children, national child protection working group, and the joining forces network.Mr. Opobo was instrumental in the inception of the AfriChild Centre serving as the interim Executive Director from March 2014 to December 2015, where he set up organisational structures and systems, and coordinated the National Violence Against Children Survey. He served as the Manager of Child Protection and Advocacy in ChildFund International Uganda, where he was also a member of the senior management team, and was also the focal person of the Africa region, within the organisation. He served as the Coordinator of the Global Child Protection in Crisis Network in Uganda (CPCN), a global learning mechanism to strengthen and systemize child protection in crisis-settings through the collaborative action of humanitarian agencies, local institutions, and academic partners. In the regional African Network for Prevention and Proterction Against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN), Mr Opobo was also the Research, Information and Policy Advocacy Manager in both Uganda and Liberia, providing technical and management leadership, and working closely with other advocacy agencies and governments to influence policy. His areas of focus are social research, project/program design, planning and management, policy advocacy, as well as networking with state and non-state agencies. Over the years, he has gained valuable experience in fundraising and dealing with donors including USAID, European Commission, Irish Aid, DFID, KOICA, BMZ, UNICEF, UNFPA as well as a number of foundations.He received his Social Work Degree from from Makerere University, Kampala and his master’s degree in Development Studies from the University College of Dublin. He also hold a Post Graduate Diploma in Leadership in Community Development from the Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute in Arusha, Tanzania. Mr. Opobo is a Global Research Fellow on Child Behaviarol Health in Sub-Saharan Africa, a graduate of the Future Leaders Program, Resource Alliance at Wolfsen College, Oxford University and a recipient of the MASHAV scholarship in Development of Children, Social-Emotional Support and Wellbeing, from Haifa University, Israel.

Mathew Amollo is a researcher and monitoring and evaluation specialist with over 12 years’ experience in the research and evaluations fields. Most of his work has been in the field of health (reproductive health and health services research); social research and education. Mathew has experience in evaluating public health programs in Uganda and internationally, notably he was lead evaluator of socio-economic program for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Lesotho, Ending Child marriages program in Western Tanzania. He has experience working with international Donors such as USAID through his past engagements with USAID Cross Boarder Initiative and USAID Maternal and Child Health program in 4k Districts implemented by ABT Associates among others. He has also worked on DFID grants through Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic development. In research, Mathew possesses vast experience in quasi experimental studies such as randomized control trials, panel surveys, cross-sectional studies, and process evaluations. His skills spread through project design, participatory MEL approaches, outcome monitoring and evaluations. He has enormous expertise in both quantitative and qualitative evaluative research approaches in evaluation design and data analysis (using SPSS, Nvivo, Atlas ti, SPSS, Stata), report writing and research/knowledge translation. At AfriChild, Mathew has been responsible for successful implementation of scaling up positive parenting practices project, an implementation science study conducted in Lira in Partnership with LACCODEF; He oversaw the successful implementation of the inter-university and PPURE First Cohort capacity building program. Mathew is currently the Research Manager for the Good School Tool Kit for Secondary Schools, a Co-principal Investigator AfriChild study on effects of COVID-19 on the Wellbeing of Children in Uganda and Co-Investigator for the Formative Research on the impact of Men’s Active Positive Presence on the Lives of Children.

Clare is a development researcher and Evaluation practitioner with a blend of competencies in research, program development, and monitoring and evaluation. In particular, Bangirana has focused on issues of vulnerable children, child protection for children in different contexts including street-connected children refugee children, and children in post-conflict settings. She has 15 years of expertise in research particularly leading, managing, and coordinating complex qualitative and quantitative research projects in Uganda and the East African Region. In addition to being involved in the Uganda VACS, other studies she has managed include; A qualitative study of risks and protective factors for violence against children in three regions of Uganda by AfriChild, Violence Against Children Outside Family Care; on the Streets and in Residential Care Institutions. She has also been involved in a systematic review on risk factors for Violence Against Children in Low and Middle-Income Countries, a UNHCR/Columbia University/TPO Uganda study on measuring the impact of child protection systems using a child protection index in two refugee settlements in Uganda as well as a host of other child-related research projects cutting across social protection, public health, and justice. She holds a Master’s degree and Post-Graduate Diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation as well as a bachelor’s degree in Development Studies.

Emmanuel Akuti is currently the Capacity Building Assistant at the AfriChild Centre. This role involves administrative, procurement and logistical support to the inter university training project specifically: administering of the Training Needs Assessment (TNA) for practitioners, organization of learning symposiums, managing small grants awards and identification of relevant potential funding opportunities. He is also in charge of routine ICT support at the Centre. Emmanuel is an IT professional with hands on experience in data entry, computer networking, troubleshooting, software installations and social media management. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology, CCNA (level IV and Google Digital Skills Certificate).

John is a community development worker holding a Bachelor’s degree in Adult and Community Education from Kyambogo University. He has over 8 years’ experience in carrying out quantitative and qualitative studies and has expertise in study tools development, training of study teams, data management and analysis. At AfriChild Centre, he has successfully coordinated research projects such as impact assessment for WASH interventions in schools and communities, The National Survey on Violence against Children (VAC) – Both Household and Street components, The Impact of men’s Active, Positive Presences in the lives of children in Uganda. He has also coordinated Community Based Child Protection Systems mapping in more than 8 Districts of Uganda in partnership with Colombia University and Child Fund International. He also vast experience in participatory research techniques such as free listing cartographic interviews, auto-photography and place perception. He supports qualitative data analysis for the Good Schools Toolkit Trial Pilot Study and The effect of COVID-19 on the Wellbeing of Children in Uganda. John is currently pursuing a Post-graduate Diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation at Uganda Management Institute.

Emily is a Monitoring, Evaluations and research practitioner, with several years of experience working with humanitarian, development and research institutions. She is the M&E focal person at the AfriChild Centre and also supports program implementation functions. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Monitoring and Evaluations and is currently finalizing a Master’s in Management Studies (specializing in Monitoring and Evaluation) from Uganda Management Institute. She is a Programs Assistant at AfriChild Centre.

Maria Ndibalekera supports the AfriChild Centre work in two major arms. First as an Administrative Assistant an area in which she has proved herself a great player. Working together with the administration and finance departments, Maria ensures smooth running of the day today planned activities by timely provision of the required logistics and all the necessary administration support. On the other hand, Maria too is a key asset to the research component of the Centre. Drawing from her educational background and passion for social research, the Centre has provided a platform for her to grow in research knowledge and skills thus enriching her potential. Similarly, she too has participated in the implementation of several research studies at the Centre. She is a key player in seeking for ethical reviews for upcoming studies, a great asset in field preparations and an excellent mixed methods data collector who is well informed of the several child-focused methods. Her zeal and passion for research and children are tailored well with the Centre’s vision and mission. Maria holds a first class bachelors degree in Social Work and Social Administration from Makerere University and looks forward to a career in family and child social work.

Eunice supports the Finance and Administration team at AfriChild. She is CPA Level II student at The Institute Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU).

Linda Kairaba is a child focused researcher and social worker. She is passionate about childhood development, parenting and supporting families cope with problems in their daily lives.

Ivan is a dynamic Finance and Administration professional with more than 13 years of experience in a wide range of areas, including financial management and administration, grant management, accounting system development and assessments, internal control system setup, budget preparation and monitoring, risk analysis and management, and more. Ivan has previously held comparable positions with organizations such as Uganda Child Rights NGO Network for six years and Uganda Development Services, as well as SOS Children's Villages in other capacities.He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Ndejje University and a Uganda Diploma in Business Studies (UDBS) from Makerere University Business School (MUBS). Ivan is now pursuing his Master of Business Administration (MBA), as well as his CPA certification studies.

Mrs. Kakande is the head of the budget monitoring and accountability unit in Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. She holds a Master’s degree in Development Economics from the University of East Anglia in UK; Bachelors of Statistics from Makerere University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Feminist Development Economics from the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands. Kakande has lectured at Makerere University and served the government as a Social Infrastructure Economist and Social Policy Advisor.Her strengths pivot on poverty analysis; monitoring and evaluation; national budget processing and mainstreaming gender and equity issues into development projects.

Prof. Atuyambe is an associate professor at Makerere University’s School of Public Health. He holds a PhD in Public Health Sciences from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden; Master’s degree in Public Health and Bachelors of Arts.Dr. Atuyambe is the managing facilitator for an international course entitled Public Health in Complex Emergencies run annually by the School of Public Health together with International Rescue Committee, World Education Inc. USA. He is a trainer in qualitative research methods, data collection techniques and analysis.

Kyoyagala is the current National Program Officer for adolescents and youth at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFP). She holds two Masters Degrees in Public Health Leadership and Development Studies. She acquired the latter from the University of Leeds in UK. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and Social Administration from Makerere University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management of Community Based HIV Programs from Galille College in Israel.Kyoyagala is an experienced program management specialist with vast skills in coordinating program planning and program monitoring and evaluation.

Gakiza is a senior legal counsel with Capital Law Partners and Advocates. She holds a Masters in Business Administration; Post-Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice and Bachelor of Laws. Her specialties are as a corporate lawyer with broad experience in banking and finance, business strategy, contracts and commercial transactions, and negotiations of contracts, among others.Gakiza also has experience in governance and regulatory compliance for both corporate firms and NGOs. She has been at the senior management level for over 14 years and gained an appreciation for business, risk, operations, management, and strategy.

Kamani currently works as an independent consultant. She holds a Master’s Degree in Peace and Justice Studies and a Bachelors of Arts. She is a social development, gender equality and governance specialist. Under her forte are 40 years of work experience in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

Veteran reseacher in child health and demography, educationist and practitioner, brings experience working with leading international research institutions, senior mentor and trainer

Senior researcher specialized in demography, worked with international development agencies, experienced mentor and trainer

Senior educationist, the management scientist, experienced child-focused researcher, and trainer Brings expertise working with the academic institutions globally.

Seasoned reseacher in child health and anthropology, educationist and practitioner, brings experience working with leading national and international research institutions, senior mentor and trainer

Research consultant specializing in participatory, qualitative research with women and children. This work has focused on vulnerable women and children in multiple contexts such as child carers, children living with HIV and AIDS, ECD, children and violence

Veteran reseacher in child health and demography, educationist and practitioner, brings experience working with leading international research institutions, senior mentor and trainer

Senior educationist specialized in psychology, passionate in research ethics, senior mentor and trainer

Veteran reseacher in child health and demography, educationist and practitioner, brings experience working with leading international research institutions, senior mentor and trainer

Child development expert, seasoned researcher and educationist with experience in mentorship and training