The Science regulatory body in the country, Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) has conveyed together science professionals in scientific institutions in a bid to promote gender balance, equality and equity when conducting scientific research activities.

Under the umbrella association Gender Equity in Research Alliance (GERA) the members are recruited on voluntary basis with focal researchers in all Universities across the country.

UNSCT is teaming up with an international body International Network for Advancing Science and Policy (INASP) an international development charity organisation based Oxford UK working with a global network of partners to improve access, production and use of research information and knowledge, so that countries are equipped to solve their development challenges.

The Director INASP Dr Femi Nzegwu while addressing the scientists during a planning meeting in Kampala recently noted that GERA in the case of Uganda was started in 2018 as a community of national science professionals with the purposes of involving both male and female scientists in advocating for equal rights when doing their work

She noted that as the scientists are drafting their final objective to run GERA, they must put in mind that in order to achieve gender balance in their research activities this must go hand in hand with gender equity and equality.

Background of GERA

The Coordinator of GERA at UNCST Immaculate Nakamya explaining the background of the association said UNCST has been at the forefront since the year 2102 in ensuring gender mainstreaming is embedded as a key component in research activities conducted by scientists.

A case in point is in most cases science research projects which are conducted in specified period of time are usually led by male scientists with women deputizing as Project Investigators which trend Nakamya said must change.

At the moment scientists have appointed leaders in Universities in Eastern, Northern, Western and Cemtral regions to coordinate their members accordingly.

Nakamya contends that GERA membership at the moment is in Universities but it has been opened up to all science institutions such National Research Organistion (Naro) , Uganda Virus Research Institute and Medical Research Council (UVRI/MRC) Entebbe and other scientific Institutions across the country.

GERA activities

The director Eastern region Ronald Emonjong a lecturer at Busitema University noted that in coordinating scientists from universities in Eastern Uganda such as the Islamic University in Uganda  (IUIU) Mbale, Busoga University and Soroti University among others, the membership turn out has been so far so good.

His team has been coordinating zoom meetings during times of COVID-19 and they key point was to write research funding proposals as a group.  Once the money is availed the research work in a specific areas in done jointly.

“We came up with ideas such as universities when allocating budgets, must take into consideration gender issues serious and we particularly emphasized for the  period 2022- 2023 with women inclusion in all the research activities,” he noted.

Other universities in Northern Uganda include Muni University in Arua and Gulu University, in Western Uganda apparently t is Mbarara University of Science and technology and in Central most of the Universities such Makerere University, Kymbogo and a number of the private Universities have been captured.

The members are requested to join on voluntary basis with each region establishing its committee who will report their activities to the secretariat for further planning.

Usually UNCT receives science research funds from international development partners and once applicants are called to apply for such research funds, scientists do it individually. However GERA is encouraging them now to apply as a group in order to conduct well researched scientific initiatives in a bid to come up with comprehensive data.

Members present in meeting came up with a strategic plan which they will us in driving the agenda of gender equity and equality which most science instructions have been implementing but on individual university basis

The participants emphasized the aspect women related needs such as breast feeding rooms for female workers, clinics at work place to provide first aid in case of an uproot ailment and general for workplace management to consider women related needs to be taken as a priority.