In March 2026, an ICARS delegation travelled to Kampala, Uganda, to participate in the official launch of an ICARS-supported project titled ‘Infection Prevention and Control and Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis Stewardship to Reduce Surgical Site Infections and Optimise Antibiotic Use During Surgeries in Regional Referral Hospitals in Uganda’.
The launch took place at the Ministry of Health, with other institutions and organisations represented, including Makerere University Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI). During the event, ICARS representatives Pem Chuki (Science Advisor for AMS and IPC) and Jonathan Mayito (Science Advisor for AMR Mitigation) provided context about ICARS and our approach to preventing AMR. Following this, the project team highlighted the key focus of the project, linking it to existing strategies set by the Ministry to address AMR.
ICARS advisors introduced ICARS, its principles, and its approach to funding and technical support to LMICs in addressing the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) challenge. The Director General was very much aware of ICARS as he was part of the co-development process, and was briefed about the other projects in Uganda. The project team, led by the Principal Investigator (PI), highlighted the details of the project, how it aligned with the ministry’s strategies to address AMR, and how it was to be implemented, emphasising the Intervention and Implementation Research (IIR) approach.
Following the launch, Dr Harriet Akello, Principal Pharmacist at Uganda’s Ministry of Health, praised the project, stating;
“This new collaboration and partnership present a new era of preventing or mitigating antimicrobial resistance by using an integrated approach for IPC and antimicrobial stewardship. We are optimistic that the lessons learned from this project will help Uganda make better decisions and policies for antimicrobial resistance.”
About the project
The project will test a practical, evidence-based approach to reducing surgical site infections and improving antibiotic use during surgeries in three Ugandan regional referral hospitals: Arua, Jinja, and Kabale.
The study will combine two interventions: a package of infection prevention and control (IPC) measures (such as hand hygiene, aseptic technique, and environmental cleaning) and hospital-specific guidelines for antibiotic use during surgeries.
Before the interventions are introduced, the team will assess each hospital’s current infection rates, resistance patterns, and the behavioural and system-level barriers to good practice.
The project draws on expertise in clinical research, behavioural science, microbiology, and health economics to understand effectiveness, feasibility, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of the infection prevention and stewardship interventions.
At the end of the study, the teams hope to reduce surgical site infections among patients, improve adherence to infection prevention and control practices, and optimise the use of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP).
Next steps
Following the project’s conclusion, the findings will be used to generate policy briefs, implementation toolkits, and a costed roadmap for scale-up nationally. The team hopes to use the evidence from the project to inform updates to national IPC and SAP guidelines, contributing to Uganda’s broader AMR containment strategy.
Find out more about the project.
