The 2nd Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Kimeza

Voices of the Indigenous Peoples in Uganda at the USAID Mission On January 30th, 2022, representatives of the Ik and Tepeth communities, together with a team from Makerere University – ResilientAfrica Network (RAN) and Gulu University Constituent College (GUCC), engaged with 23 United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Uganda Mission staff. This engagement took place...

Group Photo with TEF Participants

Tolerant Engagement Forums: Empirical Narratives of an Issue-Driven Researcher-Practitioner Partnership in Ethiopia

Mesele Mengsteab; David Dow; Jeremy Springman; Juan Tellez; Fitsum Hailu; & Sewareg Adamu Group Photo of Tolerant Engagement Forum Participants. Courtesy of Initiative for Peace and Development & Addis Ababa University, Our project, titled "Increasing Youth Engagement While Mitigating the Potential for Conflict in Ethiopia," was driven by youth-oriented issues. The first issue is that Ethiopia’s youth...

Data-Driven Decision Support for Improved Water Security in East Africa

Margaret W. Gitau, Victoria M. Garibay, Nicholas S. Kiggundu, James S. Kisekka, Victor Kongo, Bancy M. Mati, Daniel N. Moriasi, and Subira E. Munishi Photo: Nairobi River Pollution Credit: khyk54, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Wait! Yes, you. Stop for one moment and work with us on this one. Imagine a world without fresh water. Now...

USAID LASER PULSE Research for Development Learning Summit

The LASER PULSE consortium members (Purdue University, Indiana University, University of Notre Dame, Catholic Relief Services and Makerere University-ResilientAfrica Network) convened in Washington DC, for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) LASER PULSE Research for Development Learning Summit, Tuesday May, 2nd, 2023. The consortium members were joined by USAID officials, other partners and...

LASER PULSE Conducts University Research Engagement and Capacity Strengthening Workshop in Kampala, Uganda

On April 12-13, LASER PULSE convened university leaders and researchers from around sub-Saharan Africa in Kampala, Uganda, to continue their efforts towards strengthening capacity in research leadership and project management at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The workshop was attended by 11 sub-Saharan African countries, including DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan,...

Kizito Nishimwe

LASER PULSE Project Launches on Milk Value Chain in Rwanda

Dr. Lamin Kassama, Professor at Alabama A&M University, USA, and Principal Investigator of the new project on “The Impact of Traditional Practice on the Quality and Safety of Post-Production Handling in the Milk Value-Chain,” funded by USAID through LASER PULSE, traveled to Rwanda from March 11th – 18th, 2023 to launch project activities. The research...

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A joint effort toward understanding and mitigating air pollution in the South/Southeast Asia region

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP) from the Asian region have been increasing continuously due to rapid population growth and industrial activities. Specifically, the South and Southeast Asia (S/SEA) countries have a population of 2.36 billion, representing 30.66% of the world’s population in only 6.57% of the world’s land area. Population growth...

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Promoting Teacher and Student Social-Emotional Well Being in Uganda

Uganda is known for its cultural distinctiveness, strong traditions and hospitality. Children in Uganda comprise 55% of the total population, making it the country with the youngest population on the continent, with massive potential for growth. However, mental health needs are high in some Ugandan school communities. An estimated 45% of Ugandan primary school learners...

“We want to engage the private sector in development, but don’t know how”: Evidence-based Toolkit for Operationalizing Private Sector Engagement (PSE) at USAID

This post originally appeared in MarketLinks on February 27, 2023. Even though USAID MBIOs have identified the value of engaging the private sector in the development sector (even consulted USAID’s PSE policy and the PSE Opportunities Tool), the problem of ‘where to begin’ and ‘how to operationalize private sector engagement’ remains a challenge for both USAID and partners. Through...

A group of Indigenous people in Uganda working on community development with a USAID-supported researcher. / Makerere University-ResilientAfrica Network

The Power of Inclusion in Uganda

Around the world, USAID incorporates practices and policies into our programs to ensure that Indigenous peoples’ rights are upheld and their voices heard. Uganda is home to a rich diversity of Indigenous peoples — including the Benet, the Tepeth, the Batwa, the Ik, and the Basongora — and it is critically important to include their perspectives when...