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A New Pathway for Health Leadership Training: Building Capacity Among Health Facility Managers in Wakiso District, Uganda

From September 2025 to January 2026, the Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and Makerere University (MAK) partnership team, in collaboration with Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), received NHS England funding for the Strengthening Health Workforce Capacity Through Global Learning (SCALE) project.

Published in July 2026

Group photo at the SCALE project workshop with NTU-Mak partnership members, staff from NUH, a representative from the Uganda MoH and Wakiso District Health Managers team members.

Overview

The project took a blended approach, combining three webinars and a two-day in-person leadership workshop led by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS volunteers. The webinars covered dispute and conflict resolution (led by Rosy Pearson and Brendan Connolly, NUH NHS), giving and receiving feedback (led by Bushra Parlyo, NUH NHS), and talent management (led by Elizabeth Beaumont, NUH NHS). Building on the online sessions, an in-person workshop was held in Kampala, which brought together 51 health facility managers from Wakiso District, supported by the Ugandan Ministry of Health, Global Health Partnerships, Uganda, and UK volunteers from NTU, NUH, and the Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) project team. Training focused on leading oneself, the organisation, and others. Ms Suzan Nakalawa (MakSPH) joined the Global Capacity Building (GCB) SCALE event in Kampala and shared project achievements and SCALE progress.

Ms. Bonny Natukunda sharing insights on the impact of international partnerships in Ugandan communities

Ms Bonny Natukunda, sharing insights about the SCALE project at NTU

Impact

After the capacity-building workshops, the follow-up visits in Wakiso District showed that most health managers improved their leadership skills.  Project evaluation found that 77% and 87% of health managers significantly improved their leadership knowledge and skills, enhancing health care delivery in Uganda.

As part of the project's impact on health managers, Ms Bonny Natukunda, a team member of the Wakiso District Health Managers, visited the UK in January 2026 to share the knowledge and experience received from the project at NUH and NTU.

Next steps

The intervention reinforces district ownership of projects and ensures alignment with national systems. The training avoids creating parallel structures and instead strengthens leadership capacity within the existing Ugandan Ministry of Health and District Health Team frameworks. Wakiso District retains responsibility for oversight and implementation, while MakSPH and partners provide technical support in collaboration with the UK partners at NTU and NUH.

Highlights from the SCALE Project

Read more about the project on the NTU-MAK partnership research page and in the recent publication on Leadership and management competencies and practices among health managers in Wakiso District, Uganda.