Margaret Mungherera

Margaret Mungherera (25 October 1957 – 4 February 2017) was a senior consultant psychiatrist and medical administrator in Uganda. She served as the president of the Uganda Medical Association re-elected five times and ultimately the World Medical Association from October 2013 until October 2014. She advocated for psychiatric services throughout Uganda, beyond the capital, to improve conditions for Uganda's health-care providers and to get doctors organized in African countries in general.

Margaret Mungherera
Born(1957-10-25)25 October 1957
Jinja, Uganda[1]
Died4 February 2017(2017-02-04) (aged 59)
Chennai, India
NationalityUgandan
Alma mater
Known forPresident of the World Medical Association from 2013 to 2014
SpouseRichard Mushanga
Scientific career
FieldsPsychiatry
Health administration

Early life and education

Margaret Mungherera was born in Jinja, Uganda.[2] Her father, a retired civil servant, traced his roots to the Butaleja District in the Eastern Region of Uganda. She was one of five siblings, three of whom became medical doctors.[3]

She attended Nakasero Primary School and Gayaza High School for her elementary and secondary education.[4] In 1977, she was admitted to Makerere University to study human medicine. She graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree. After one year of internship at the Mulago National Referral Hospital, she attended the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she obtained a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 1984. In 1992, she obtained a Master of Medicine in psychiatry from Makerere University. Her chosen field of concentration was forensic psychiatry.[3][5]

Career

From 1992 until 2000, she worked as a registrar at the Butabika National Referral Hospital, responsible for forensic services.[3]

Concerned about the lack of counselling and support services for rape survivors in Uganda, Mungherera founded the non-governmental organisation Hope after Rape in 1994.[2]

In 1999, she was elected President of the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) and was re-elected five more times.[2] From 2000 until 2003, she was a consultant psychiatrist at the Mulago National Referral Hospital and was responsible for forensic services. Since 2003, she had served as a senior consultant psychiatrist at the Mulago Hospital Complex, responsible for psychiatric emergency services. Since 2012, she had been the clinical head of the Directorate of Medical Services (Departments of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry) at the Mulago National Referral Hospital.[3]

From October 2013 until October 2014 she served as the first female president of the World Medical Association, elected as such by 50 national medical associations worldwide.[6][7]

In September 2014, she was the keynote speaker at the Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania General Assembly and 50th Council Meeting, Manila, the Philippines.[8]

In June 2015, after 31 years of continuous service, Mungherera retired from civil service, aged 57 .[9]

She died from colorectal cancer[10] in Chennai, India, on 4 February 2017, at the age of 59.[2]

Honour

In November 2012, Mungherera received an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy from Kampala International University in recognition of her "historical achievements."[11]

Bibliography

Academic works

See also

References
  1. Green, Andrew (2017). "Margaret Mungherera". The Lancet. 389 (10075): 1188. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30774-2. ISSN 0140-6736.
  2. Andrew Green (25 March 2017). "Obituary. Margaret Mungherera". The Lancet.
  3. WMA (2012). "Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Margaret Mungherera" (PDF). World Medical Association (WMA). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  4. Kenganzi, Grace (27 October 2012). "Dr Margaret Mungherera: Influence beyond borders". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  5. Musinguzi, Bamuturaki (3 January 2014). "Rejected By Britain, Ugandan Doctor Gets World Recognition". The Observer (Uganda). Kampala. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  6. Mungherera, Margaret (16 October 2014). "Building Africa's Healthcare Leadership Capacity: Tackling The Root Causes of Weak Healthcare Systems". The Economist. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  7. Vision Reporter (18 October 2012). "Mungherera new World Medical Association boss". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  8. MUNGHERERA, Margaret (1 August 2014). "The African Health Systems and the Information Society". Japan Medical Association Journal. 57 (4): 175–177. ISSN 1346-8650. PMC 4375251. PMID 26005604.
  9. Bwambale, Taddeo (7 July 2016). "Dr Mungherera retires from civil service". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  10. Rugunda, Ruhakana (16 February 2017). "Uganda: Dr Mungherera Is an Icon of Selfless Service". The Monitor (Kampala). Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  11. Timbiti, Watuwa (14 November 2012). "KIU to award Zziwa, Mungherera honourary doctorate". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
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