Makerere University College of Health Sciences

What Makerere University College of Health Sciences does

Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) is a public university college within Makerere University, the flagship national university of Uganda, located on Mulago Hill in Kampala. The institution traces its origins to the Albert Cook Medical Library (1924) and the formal establishment of the Faculty of Medicine in 1946, and in 2026 publicly marked 100 years of university medical training in East Africa. MakCHS operates five constituent schools — Medicine, Public Health, Biomedical Sciences, Health Sciences, and Dentistry — and delivers teaching, research, and clinical services through affiliated units including Makerere University Health Services, the Albert Cook Library, the Clinical Epidemiology Unit (est. 1989), the Grants and Contracts Office (est. 2011), and the NIH-supported Centralized Institutional Research and Innovation Management Office (CIRIMO). Clinical training is anchored at the adjacent Mulago Hospital, the country's national referral hospital.

The College's technology and research infrastructure centers on biomedical knowledge resources (the Albert Cook Library with access to PubMed, BMJ, BioMed Central, Science Direct, Springer, UpToDate, Web of Science, Wiley Online Library, and the Makerere Institutional Repository MakIR), advanced platforms such as the Olink Proteomics Platform launched in 2025, and institutional ethics oversight via multiple school-level Institutional Review Boards. Research administration is handled through CIRIMO and the Grants and Contracts Office, supporting pre- and post-award services for donor-funded projects. Community-based education, research, and service delivery are delivered through the COBERS program and MESAU consortium across Uganda.

MakCHS generates revenue through three primary streams: research grants and contracts from international donors (NIH, Rockefeller Foundation, INCLEN and global university partners), tuition and program fees from undergraduate, graduate, and PhD programs in the five schools (pricing not publicly disclosed), and clinical and teaching services through Makerere University Health Services and the Dental School and Hospital. Its go-to-market relies on direct academic enrollment, clinical placements at Mulago Hospital, nationwide COBERS community sites via MESAU, and global virtual/digital dissemination through webinars, online PhD defenses, and conference platforms. Funding dependencies and the Mulago-centric clinical model create concentration in both revenue and mission exposure.

Name

Makerere University College of Health Sciences

Legal name

Makerere University College of Health Sciences

Website

https://chs.mak.ac.ug

Company type

Public

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

MakCHS is a public university college within Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, comprising five health-sciences schools that deliver medical teaching, biomedical and clinical research, and community health services across the country. It serves students, faculty, and Ugandan communities through hospital-based training and donor-funded research partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education (Health Sciences)

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (6215)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical Schools (MD/DO Granting) (EDAHAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Schools of Nursing (EDAHAGAC), Dental Schools (EDAHAGAF), Health Administration & Health Policy Schools (MHA/MPH Policy) (EDAHAGAL), Allied Health & Rehabilitation Sciences Schools (PT/OT/SLP, etc.) (EDAHAGAH)

Keywords

• Health sciences education
• Medical training
• Clinical research
• Public health programs
• Biomedical sciences

Headquarters

HQ city

Kampala

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Contracts: The College receives donor-funded research and project grants, with the Grants and Contracts Office established in May 2011 to manage acquisition and administration of research awards. Focus areas include resource mobilisation, capacity building, and grants and contracts management.
2. Academic Programs: Revenue from undergraduate, graduate, and PhD programs across Medicine, Public Health, Biomedical Sciences, Health Sciences, and Dentistry schools.
3. Health Care Services: Clinical teaching spaces and health care services through Makerere University Health Services and Dental School and Hospital.

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Makerere University College of Health Sciences is a constituent college of Makerere University that delivers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral training in medicine, dentistry, public health, biomedical sciences, and allied health sciences through its five constituent schools. It is operationally integrated with Mulago National Referral Hospital for clinical teaching and houses multiple specialized research centers conducting work in infectious diseases, clinical epidemiology, immunology and proteomics, lung health, and behavioral and social sciences research.

Product overview

Makerere University College of Health Sciences is an academic institution comprising five schools (Medicine, Public Health, Health Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, and Dentistry) offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. The College provides research support through the Grants and Contracts Office, Clinical Epidemiology Unit, CIRIMO, and Institutional Review Boards. Clinical training and services are delivered through Makerere University Health Services. The Albert Cook Library serves as the primary resource center with e-resources and archival materials. The institution focuses on three core areas: Teaching, Research, and Services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate and postgraduate health sciences degree programs Accredited undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs in medicine, dentistry, public health, biomedical sciences, and allied health sciences, delivered to students enrolled at Makerere University College of Health Sciences.
• Doctoral training programs Doctoral (PhD) training programs in health sciences disciplines conducted through the college's constituent schools for advanced research students.
• Clinical training services at Mulago National Referral Hospital Hospital-based clinical training delivered in partnership with Mulago National Referral Hospital, providing medical and health sciences students with hands-on clinical experience on a national referral caseload.
• Grants and Contracts administration services Administration of externally funded research grants and contracts for investigators and partner institutions conducting health sciences research at MakCHS, managed by the Grants and Contracts Office.
• Albert Cook Library health sciences information services Library and information services providing open access to health sciences materials for MakCHS students, faculty, affiliated researchers, and the broader health community.
• Career fair and continuing professional development events Career fairs and continuing professional development events organized for MakCHS students and graduates to support transition into the health workforce and ongoing professional learning.
• MESAU consortium coordination and medical education capacity building Coordination of the Medical Education for Equitable Services for All Ugandans (MESAU) consortium, supporting medical education capacity building across partner institutions in Uganda.
• Research ethics review services (CIRIMO Institutional Review Board) Institutional Review Board (IRB) ethics review services for health sciences research conducted at or through MakCHS and its affiliated partners, including CIRIMO oversight.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• MESAU Consortium (Medical Education for Equitable Services to All Ugandans)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCountry-wide partnership of Busitema University, Gulu University, Kampala International University, Makerere University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology with Johns Hopkins University support to catalyze capacity and performance enhancements in medical education and research focused on nationwide service delivery.
• Johns Hopkins UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting MESAU consortium and various research collaborations including virtual guest lectures on Alzheimer's disease, joint research programs, and global health initiatives.
• Yale UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMakerere University - Yale University Collaboration focused on medical education and research partnerships.
• University of Pisa (Università di Pisa)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMakCHS - Università di Pisa Collaboration for academic and research exchange.
• Medical School of WisconsinmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMakerere University - Medical School of Wisconsin Collaboration for medical education and research.
• THRiVE (Training Health Researchers into Vocational Excellence)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch consortium with annual conferences and DELTA programs for training health researchers in vocational excellence.
• Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (IDRC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research program focusing on infectious diseases in Uganda.
• Rakai Health Sciences ProgrammajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research program in Rakai district focusing on health sciences research.
• MU-JHU Research CollaborationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMakerere University - Johns Hopkins University joint research collaboration.
• Makerere Joint AIDS ProgrammajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative program focused on AIDS research and intervention.
• Makerere University Center for Health Population Research (MUCHAP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity center focused on health population research.
• Makerere University Walter Reed ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research project with Walter Reed Project for health research.
• MUSPH-CDC Fellowship ProgrammajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFellowship program between Makerere University School of Public Health and CDC.
• Karolinska InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration with Karolinska Institute for medical research and education.
• University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMU-UCSF Research Collaboration for health research partnerships.
• University of MinnesotamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal health collaboration with University of Minnesota.
• Africa-Europe Cluster of Excellence in Translational ResearchmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrica-Europe Cluster of Excellence in Translational Research in Infection, Immunity and Inflammation under The Guild.
• International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerINCLEN supported the establishment of Makerere Clinical Epidemiology Unit in 1989.
• Global Health UgandaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner for global health research initiatives.
• Joint Clinical Research CentermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerADAPT collaborative program partner focusing on one health approaches.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• University of Nairobi College of Health Sciences: Kenya's flagship public medical and health sciences college with multiple schools (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, public health, nursing) and a comparable East African academic medical mission. Closest functional peer in scale and structure.
• University of Ghana School of Medicine and Dentistry: Ghana's flagship public medical and dental school with a comparable academic medical center model, including research and clinical training at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
• University of Ibadan College of Medicine: Nigeria's oldest medical school, offering comprehensive health sciences programs with established research collaborations. Comparable African peer in scale and breadth of medical training.
• Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences: Ethiopia's leading public health sciences college with schools of medicine, public health, pharmacy, and allied health. Operates with comparable East African academic medical center model and international research partnerships.
• Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) Faculty of Medicine: Ugandan public university and MESAU consortium member with medical and health sciences programs. Direct domestic peer in medical education delivery and a partnership institution within the MESAU network.
• Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS): Tanzania's primary public health sciences university, offering medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, public health, and allied health programs with similar research and clinical training structure as MakCHS.
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology School of Medicine and Dentistry: Ghanaian public university with medical, dental, and allied health sciences schools. Comparable West African peer in scope of health professions training and public-sector academic medical center model.

Others

• London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine: Global research-intensive institution focused on public health, clinical epidemiology, and tropical medicine. Comparable research and training mission in clinical epidemiology (a MakCHS specialty via CEU), though operating at significantly larger scale and with global footprint.

Broad incumbents

• University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Health Sciences: South African medical faculty with extensive research output and clinical training across multiple health disciplines. Larger and better-funded regional incumbent with comparable academic medical center structure.
• University of Cape Town Faculty of Health Sciences: Sub-Saharan Africa's most established and research-intensive medical faculty, offering comprehensive health sciences education and serving as a regional benchmark. Larger scale and more established global research standing than MakCHS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/makererechs
• Facebookfacebook.com/MakerereCHS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/makererechs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Makerere University College of Health Sciences