Golden Jubilee: 50 years of veterinary degree training at Makerere University

It was first established in Lyon, France in 1761, by Claude Bourgelat who, as an overachiever, opened a second one in Alfort, France just four years later (in 1765). This was the genesis of formal veterinary training institutions. In Uganda, it happened 161 years later (in 1922).

When - the later to be named - Makerere University (MAK) started as Uganda Technical College in 1922, veterinary science was one of the few courses. Just like in Bourgelat's veterinary training schools of the 1760s, the training in Uganda started humbly. It is reported that it started as an in-service training institution for the colonial government’s department of veterinary services. With the need for broader and higher-level skills, the training programmes progressively expanded to today’s rich five-year Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM) programme covering a wide range of courses.

The first intake of BVM students in a university in Uganda happened in 1971, almost 50 years after the beginning of veterinary training in Uganda. This year, 2021, therefore, marks 50 years of BVM training in Makerere (Uganda). Before then, most East African BVM students took their training from Kabete in Kenya and were awarded degrees from the University of East Africa. A few went to the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries. Universities in the three East African Community member countries then were strengthened strategically to complement each other in training the region’s workforce in various professional disciplines. University students moved freely across borders to take their respective professional courses. With time, individual member States progressively built capacity to conduct training in all professional disciplines relevant to their respective development agendas.

Fast forward. Uganda established the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and started admissions into the BVM programme in 1971, a year after the establishment of Makerere. The following eminent persons, among others, took a step of faith and enrolled in a new school as pioneer students of BVM training in Uganda: Dr Lonzy Ojok (Professor Emeritus, Makerere, former Board member, NEMA), Dr Margaret Saimo (Principal Investigator of the government-funded anti-tick vaccine project at Mak), Dr John Nuwagaba (Pastor and chairman of the Uganda Veterinary Board), Dr Nyeko Pen-Mogi (former Vice-Chancellor, Gulu University), Dr Jaxon Nakasala-Situma (RIP, sitting Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine when the Silver Jubilee was celebrated). Training progressed very well despite some yet to be fully completed facilities.

An estimated average of 45 veterinary graduates have been produced by Makerere every year since 1975, several research and innovation outputs generated and excellent service to the community through service-learning activities, partnerships and consultancy engagements. The veterinary graduates produced provide solutions in the areas of animal welfare, animal production, food security, food safety, public health and environmental health. The training curriculum is deeply rooted in the World Organisation for Animal Health’s Day 1 competency for veterinary graduates. This gives graduates of veterinary medicine from Makerere a firm foundation of competencies required to provide professional services in any country in the world. The malleability of veterinarians grants them the necessary ability to adjust to the unique technological, socio-cultural, language, legal and environmental systems in the country in question. It is not surprising therefore to find Makerere veterinary graduates working in various countries in many capacities ranging from 'core veterinary practice' to the more liberal research arena. As they excel in foreign lands, they should also excel back home despite the relatively less sophisticated technological support, low purchasing power of the community, some significantly disruptive policies and incoherent policy implementation processes! Makerere-trained veterinarians soldier on for God and our country.

This article was published in the New Vision Newspaper (online) of 8th December 2021. I am heavily indebted to them.