Sarah Ssali

Sarah Ssali (born 1971) is a Ugandan social scientist, researcher, and Professor of Gender and Development Studies at Makerere University . She is currently the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) at Makerere University, becoming the second woman to hold this position in the university's history after Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza.

Early Life and education Ssali was born in Uganda. She holds a PhD in International Health Studies from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, a Master of Arts in Women's and Gender Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from Makerere University. Her work focuses on gender, health systems, public policy, and the political economy of health.

Through her career trajectory at Makerere, she served as a lecturer, senior lecturer, and Associate Professor before becoming a Professor of Gender Studies. . She has contributed to international collaborative research funded by institutions such the World Health Organisation,as well as serve on several governing and advisory boards. The appointment was confirmed by Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, who noted that she is the second woman to hold this position in the university’s 100-year history following, Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza. The report also noted that a petition concerning the process was submitted to the Inspectorate of Government.

Personal life During her PhD studies at Queen Margaret University between 1999 and 2003, Ssali balanced academic work while raising a young child and arriving in Scotland pregnant, as she recalled in an interview with QMU.

Selected publications Muttamba, W., Omongot, S., Najjingo, I., Nuwarinda, R., Buregyeya, E., Otmani del Barrio, M., Morgan, R., Kirenga, B., & Ssali, S. (2024). Using intersectional gender analysis to identify challenges in tuberculosis care at four health-care facilities in Uganda. *Infectious Diseases of Poverty*, 13(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-023-01171-3 Muttamba, W., Najjingo Omongot, I., Nuwarinda, R., Buregyeya, E., Del Barrio, M. O., Morgan, R., Kirenga, B., Ssali, S., et al. (2024). Using intersectional gender analysis to identify challenges in tuberculosis care at four health-care facilities in Uganda. Infectious Diseases of Poverty, 13(1). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10684070/ Ssali, S. N. (2016). Using life histories to explore gendered experiences of conflict in Gulu District, northern Uganda: Implications for post-conflict health reconstruction. South African Review of Sociology, 47(1), 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2015.1132634 Ssetaala, A., Nabawanuka, J., Mpendo, J., Nanvubya, A., Sigirenda, S., Ssekubugu, R., Kiwanuka, N., & Ssali, S. N. (2018). Recruitment and retention strategies for women in community-based HIV prevention studies in Kenya and Uganda. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6116483/ Tumwine, J. K., Achoki, R., … Ssali, S. N., et al. (2012). Monitoring and improving quality of care for children in resource-poor settings: the Uganda experience. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 97(3), 260–265. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3480882/ Ssali, S. N., Poland, F., & Seeley, J. (2013). Investigating social acceptability of biomedical HIV prevention: a qualitative study of views among communities and stakeholders in three African countries. BMC Public Health, 13, 119. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3826576/ Ssali, S. N. (2006). Revisiting choice: gender, culture and privatised health care in Uganda. Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity, 20(68), 42–53. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4066763