IOM is this week conducting an 8-day training of trainers workshop in Kampala for 20 Makerere University staff to pilot a 2-week certificate course in migration and health.

The course, which will target postgraduate students and senior government officials from key ministries, is expected to enable participants to gather, analyze, and disseminate the knowledge needed to conceptualize and implement health policies and programs related to migration and mobility in the Eastern Africa region.

“The migration and health course is the first multidisciplinary, university-based program in the region devoted to systematically studying the health consequences of local and international population movements and developing more effective strategies to address migration,” said IOM Uganda Chief of Mission Ali Abdi.

The certificate program will ultimately lead to the establishment of the Regional Centre for Migration and Health Studies in Makerere University’s School of Social Sciences. Makerere is one of the leading academic institutions in Eastern Africa and has carried out several research projects in partnership with IOM.