HIRI

Observe. Research. Innovate. Deliver.

A Catalyst for an Actualised Healthy Society

Health Informatics Research and Innovation (HIRI), anchored at Makerere University, turns raw health data into scalable software innovations, peer-reviewed discoveries and real-time policy decisions, connecting these computing solutions to the communities they serve.

See our research Get to know us

4

Research themes

Prof. Josephine Nabukenya
Prof. Esther Buregyeya
Dr. Henry Kajumbula
Dr. Francis Bbosa
Dr. Mercy Amiyo
Achilles Kiwanuka
Ivan Kimuli
Marvin Ggaliwango

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Connecting to

46M+ people in Uganda & beyond

HI Research & Innovation Solutions

Connecting Health Informatics to 46+ Million People

From interoperability and data architecture to translational genomics and health AI, digital health surveillance and software engineering, HIRI's four research and innovation themes turn evidence into the systems and decisions that improve health at national scale.

Explore projects Partner with us

4

Research themes

Prof. Josephine Nabukenya
Prof. Esther Buregyeya
Dr. Henry Kajumbula
Dr. Francis Bbosa
Dr. Mercy Amiyo
Achilles Kiwanuka
Ivan Kimuli
Marvin Ggaliwango

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Anchored at

Makerere University

Co-Designed With Communities

Building Health Solutions With the People They Serve

HIRI builds the evidence with the people who'll use it — co-designing health informatics solutions alongside policymakers, clinicians, and the community, and staying engaged until each system is actually delivering better care on the ground.

See our impact Get involved

4

Research themes

Prof. Josephine Nabukenya
Prof. Esther Buregyeya
Dr. Henry Kajumbula
Dr. Francis Bbosa
Dr. Mercy Amiyo
Achilles Kiwanuka
Ivan Kimuli
Marvin Ggaliwango

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Co-designed with

Communities, clinicians & policymakers

Observe Research Innovate Deliver Health Informatics Data Science AI & ML Surveillance Evidence-Informed Policy
Observe Research Innovate Deliver Health Informatics Data Science AI & ML Surveillance Evidence-Informed Policy

About HIRI

Uganda’s health data and computational research hub, anchored at Makerere University

HIRI incubates postgraduate health informatics and health data science research, provides computational research support to the Ministry of Health and National and Regional Referral Hospitals, and acts as the downstream computational partner to Uganda’s health research institutions, turning evidence into systems, tools, and decisions that improve outcomes for 46+ million people in Uganda and beyond.

Anchored at Makerere University

Uganda's flagship research university

Prof. Josephine Nabukenya
Dr. Francis Bbosa
Prof. Esther Buregyeya
Dr. Henry Kajumbula

46M+

HIRI at a glance

4

Research themes

  • Multi-disciplinary research portfolio

From interoperability and genomics to surveillance, software and evaluation, four themes covering the full HI value chain.

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  • Evidence-Informed Policy
  • Scientific Excellence
  • Data-Driven Discovery
  • Trusted Partnerships

Explore HIRI

From who we are to what we deliver — your starting points

HIRI's site is a hub. Pick a starting point to explore our people and purpose, our research themes and active projects, our latest updates, or the outputs of our work — publications, data, toolkits, software, briefs, and reports.

Who We Are

Our people, partners, and purpose

What We Do

Four research and innovation themes and active projects

News & Events

Updates, announcements, and gatherings

Resource Library

Publications, data, toolkits, software, briefs, and reports

HIRIWant to partner, collaborate, or get involved? Get in touch.

Prof. Josephine Nabukenya
Dr. Mercy Amiyo
Prof. Esther Buregyeya
Dr. Henry Kajumbula

A growing network of partners

Why HIRI

Anchored at Makerere University. Driven by evidence. Built for national impact.

HIRI sits at the intersection of clinical medicine, biomedical sciences, public health, and global health — co-designing with users, building capacity, and integrating change management across every project so research turns into the systems and decisions that move outcomes.

National Reach

Research for 46M+ people in Uganda that informs policy at scale

Co-designed with Users

Built in partnership with policymakers, clinicians, and communities

Get in touch

What We Do

Four research and innovation themes, turning evidence into outcomes

HIRI's portfolio spans the full health informatics value chain: from interoperability and data architecture to genomics, health AI, surveillance, software and evaluation. Each project is anchored at Makerere University and co-designed with the people who'll use it.

Explore projects

46M+

People our work aims to reach

Health informatics research and innovation, connecting solutions to communities across Uganda and beyond.

Interoperability and Data Architecture

Secure, open-source data exchange, standards and data governance linking public, private and faith-based health systems.

Translational Genomics and Health AI

Genomics and machine learning for phenotypic prediction, antibiotic resistance, viral mutation paths and patient outcomes.

Digital Health Surveillance, Clinical and Field Informatics

Clinical records, field data, GIS and climate data to predict, detect and trace infectious disease outbreaks.

Digital Innovation, Software Engineering and Evaluation

Software for the Ministry, National and Regional Referral Hospitals, community health workers and village health teams, with cost-effectiveness evidence for policy- and decision-making.

Featured Projects

Active research portfolio with national reach

See all projects
NIAMR

NIAMR — A national interoperable digital platform for AMR surveillance — improving One Health antimicrobial resistance management across Uganda.

NIHS - Costing

NIHS - Costing — Cost-effectiveness study of a sustainable interoperable digital health data platform for national scaling in Uganda.

ADAPT - AMR Community App

ADAPT - AMR Community App — African One Health network building capacity for communicable disease prevention across sub-Saharan Africa.

Prof. Josephine Nabukenya
Dr. Agnes Semwanga
Prof. Esther Buregyeya
Dr. Henry Kajumbula
Africano Byamugisha

Trusted by partners

Funders, institutions, and ministries — co-designing with HIRI across health systems.

How HIRI works

From evidence to impact — our research-to-delivery pathway

Observe. Research. Innovate. Deliver. Every HIRI project follows the same arc: identify the gap, build the evidence with the people who'll use it, and translate the results into the systems, policies, and practice that improve health outcomes.

Step 01

Observe

Identify the gap — in clinics, labs, communities, and the data — that real-world health systems are facing.

Step 02

Research & Innovate

Build the evidence with the people who'll use it — co-designing solutions with policymakers, clinicians, and the community.

Step 03

Deliver

Translate the evidence into the systems, policies, and practice that improve health outcomes at scale.

Ways to engage

Bring your work, your team, or your mission to HIRI

HIRI welcomes funders, institutional partners, researchers, fellows, and the public. Whether you want to co-fund a project, join a research team, or contribute to community-facing work, there's a way in.

Get in touch

Partner with HIRI

Open/year-round

For institutions, investment partners, and collaborators ready to co-design and co-fund national-scale health informatics work.

Become a partner
  • Funder partnerships
  • Implementation partners
  • Academic collaboration
  • Co-design with end-users

Join HIRI

Open/calls

For researchers, fellows, students, and trainees who want to contribute to HIRI's portfolio or build a career in health informatics.

See opportunities
  • Research fellowships
  • PhD opportunities
  • Training programmes
  • Internships & volunteer roles

Frequently Asked Questions

What people often ask about HIRI

Quick answers about who we are, where we work, how we're funded, and how you can join, partner, or use our outputs.

Ask a question

HIRI is Health Informatics Research and Innovation, anchored at Makerere University. We turn raw health data into scalable software innovations, peer-reviewed discoveries and real-time policy decisions, connecting these computing solutions to the communities they serve.

HIRI is anchored at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. We work across clinical medicine, biomedical sciences, public health, and global health — and partner with institutions across Africa, Europe, and North America.

HIRI's portfolio is funded by a mix of international and national funders, including the UK NIHR, the US NIH (Fogarty), the German BMFTR, NORAD/NorHED, UKRI/MRC, and the Government of Uganda (through MakRIF). See our Partners & Funders page for the full list.

Yes. HIRI welcomes funders, academic and implementation partners, and community organisations. See the Partner with HIRI section above, or contact us directly with a proposal.

All HIRI outputs — publications, datasets, toolkits, software, policy briefs, and reports — are catalogued in the Resource Library. Most are open-access; some require a short request form. Browse from the menu above.

Voices from our work

Partners, researchers, and policymakers on HIRI's impact

HIRI's research has shaped how we think about digital health data at the national level — turning evidence into the systems and standards that actually move forward.

Ministry of Health partner

Implementation collaborator

Working with HIRI has been about more than papers. They co-design with us, train our teams, and stay engaged until the platform is actually delivering for clinicians on the ground.

Academic partner

Senior researcher, Makerere University

What stands out about HIRI is the discipline of evidence — every recommendation traces back to data we can interrogate. That's what makes their work credible at the policy table.

Funder representative

Global health policy & systems research

Latest from HIRI

Events, news & announcements, and blogs from across our work

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Events

Workshops, seminars, launches and conferences from HIRI and its projects.

All events
NIAMR Project Launch & First National CEI Engagement

5 Jun 2026

NIAMR Project Launch & First National CEI Engagement

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News & announcements

Milestones, partnerships and updates from across the HIRI portfolio.

All news
Uganda launches NIAMR to unite the fight against drug-resistant infections

5 Jun 2026

Uganda launches NIAMR to unite the fight against drug-resistant infections

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Prof. Josephine Nabukenya visits the University of Sheffield

22 Aug 2018

Prof. Josephine Nabukenya visits the University of Sheffield

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MoH launches Makerere HIRG at its eHealth Policy & Strategy Dissemination Donors' Conference

14 Jun 2018

MoH launches Makerere HIRG at its eHealth Policy & Strategy Dissemination Donors' Conference

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Blogs

Perspectives and reflections from our researchers and community.

All blogs

No blog posts yet — visit the page.