Dennis Clements, Mike Merson and Geelea Seaford travelled to the Medical School at Makerere University to talk with the deans of the Medical School and the School of Public Health (photo). After an early morning discussion about possible areas of collaboration - nutrition research being high on their list - 2 lectures were given to the Medical Staff and separately to the medical students. They seemed to be well received and the question and answer period was lively and enjoyable. We ate in the medical student lounge - run by the medical students actually - it was pretty good although we weren't able to spend much time there. Dr. clements also visited the Nutrition Unit where children with malnutrition and kwashiorkor are admitted. The treatment protocols are intricate and they have a very high success rate. The children with HIV are of course the hardest to treat - see photo.
The evening began with the opening ceremony with speeches from prominent health authorities (the president of Uganda for some reason was a last minute cancellation but perhaps he will be at the closing ceremony). The speeches were interspersed with local music or vignettes describing the needs for more health care workers or the benefits to treatments provided. The reception afterward provided time for networking and the appointment schedules for the next few days filled quickly.
For dinner we travelled (less perilously this time) to a local restaurant to sample matoke a local starch made from green bananas - which they were out of but some of us braved goat and others a chicken curry made from a well-travelled bird. The vegetable dishes were voted the best - but then again meals are just an excuse for conversation - which was lively and entertaining. "When have you been the most frightened in your life?" - was the table game. Kevin Schulman arrived in the evening and with that we all prepared for the next day's events.
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