ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É

"My experiences at ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É opened me to the world. I now have the ability to do much more than what I was able to do when I was still a general practitioner without the public health degree obtained from ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É."

Year graduated: 2021

What course(s) did you study at ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É and why did you choose that course?

MSc Public Health and Health Promotion. After nearly 5 years of clinical practice in various health facility settings including Mulago National Referral Hospital, and a health clinic in Palorinya refugee settlement, I realized that my expertise can only be felt by those who are either close to a health facility or those who can afford to travel the long distance to access medical services, yet the conditions they present with are ones that could have been prevented right at their community. With limited public health and health promotion knowledge, it became a personal challenge that I needed these skills in order to impact the health and wellbeing of rural communities with limited access to primary healthcare.

Why did you decide to study at ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É?

After lining up several UK universities to pursue public health, primarily, ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É had seamless application process, supportive and responsive admission teams who responds to queries at the earliest opportunity, and presence of alternative mechanism of assessing English language ability at no extra cost. Secondarily, the shared scholarships it offers in collaboration with the Commonwealth scholarship commission, and Windle Trust International, UK sealed my choice for the university.

What things did you enjoy most about studying at ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É?

So many things among them: Each student was assigned a personal tutor who provides individualized mentorship, well equipped library and availability of computers. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a laptop, the university computers come in handy. I vividly recall when my personal laptop crushed during my dissertation, it didn’t take a day for me to reorganize myself and shift my work to a university computer. Of course, I had backed up all my work in closure storage so accessing them elsewhere wasn’t a problem. The lecturers are very committed and responsive. Further, there was great diversity among the students, which makes learning interesting Environment: The university environment is green and conducive. Surrounded by the sea with beautiful beaches, it was very refreshing.

Has studying at ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É improved your job prospects?

Yes. It not only improved my job prospects, but I was able to partner with colleagues to set up a primary health care facility (Utatu Medical and Maternity Home) which offers wide range of services including A&E, outpatient, and inpatients treatment services in Adjumani district. We established this facility Three months after returning from the UK. Then just in 2021 alone in a span of Four months from June, I received 5 job offers including the one I am in to date.

Did you take part in the ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É Employability Award? If so, what skills did it give you?

I did not participate in the awards per se, but attended some few sessions which impacted hugely on my not only Job searching skills, but the soft skills that are almost inevitable in today Job market. I was able to get some part-time job opportunities while at ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É which improved my financial status despite being a student

Describe what you are doing/about to do (your career/study path to date) since leaving ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É and how your ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É studies helped lead to where you are now.

As a consultant with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, I supported, and support projects of the US CDC in South Sudan and Uganda up to date. The first project I supported in this role was an evaluation that assessed the impact of Covid-19 nutrition program adaptations on nutrition outcomes of children with acute malnutrition. This was multipronged research in all the states in South Sudan. I supported with among others providing technical support to in country implementing partners, managing relationship with nutrition programming stakeholders in South Sudan including the national and state ministries of health for the various states in South Sudan, overseeing data collection, research assistants, qualitative data collection, data analysis, and drafting manuscripts. Out of this project, I co-authored five peer reviewed articles on nutrition programming:

Lyles E, Banks S, Ramaswamy M, Ismail S, Leidman E, and Doocy S. (2023). Acute malnutrition recovery rates improve with COVID-19 adapted nutrition treatment protocols in South Sudan: a mixed methods study. BMC Nutrition. doi:

Alier KK, Tappis H, Ismail S, Doocy S. Impact of COVID-19 program adaptations on costs and cost-effectiveness of community management of acute malnutrition program in South Sudan. Public Health Nutr. 2023 Dec 14;27(1):e15.

Lyles E, Ismail S, Ramaswamy M, Drame A, Leidman E, Doocy S. Simplified treatment protocols improve recovery of children with severe acute malnutrition in South Sudan: results from a mixed methods study. J Health Popul Nutr. 2024; 43, 21. 

Doocy S, Ismail S, Lyles E, Altare C, Bauler S, Obali F, Atem D, Leidman E, The South Sudan MUAC Study Team. Caregiver Use of MUAC Tapes in South Sudan: A Three-Group Prospective Comparison. Front Nutr. 2024; 11. doi:

Doocy S, King S, Ismail S, Leidman E, Stobaugh H, The Action Against Hunger/US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Study Team. A Prospective Comparison of Standard and Modified Acute Malnutrition Treatment Protocols during COVID-19 in South Sudan. Nutrients. 2023;

Currently, I provide technical support to partners supporting the ministry of health in strengthening pan respiratory disease surveillance in the Kampala Metropolitan Area. I also find time for clinical practice over the weekends in the private clinic I co-founded. Further, I co-founded a public health consulting firm (https://jubasc.com/) which strives to bridge the gap between public health and research in South Sudan, a country with multiple outbreaks at a time, and limited human resources capacity for health. We also act as a bridge for international agencies that are interested in conducting research in South Sudan.

How did your experiences at ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É change your life?

My experiences at ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É opened me to the world. I now have the ability to do much more than what I was able to do when I was still a general practitioner without the public health degree obtained from ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É. It expanded my social network and now have contacts in several countries who have become so close to me. Academically, my research and public health skills greatly improved. Studying at ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É university has been one of the greatest if not the greatest decision I have ever made in my life.

Please sum up your experience at ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É in 1 sentence.

My experience at the university was quite a rich tapestry woven with unique experiences, vibrant learning, and lasting friendships from different countries. From the exotic campus in the small city to the diverse academic opportunities, and the supportive university and local community, ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É offered me the space to thrive and grow personally and academically. After ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É, my life is filled with fond memories, personal growth, and realization of my potential.