Class 22 (2023-2025)
Kenneth Kabagame, Uganda
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – School of Global Public Health
Global Health | Monitoring and Evaluation of Public Health Programs | Migration and Health | Public Health Leadership | Maternal and Child Health
Kenneth holds a Bachelor of Arts from Makerere University Kampala, Uganda. He is the Founding Executive Director of the National Organization for People Living with Hepatitis B (NOPLHB) the only patient-driven non-governmental organization advocating for the rights of Hepatitis B patients in Uganda. He is also the founder of the Africa Hepatitis Initiative (AHI). He serves as a member of the Hepatitis Technical Working Committee of the Ministry of Health Uganda, Past Executive Board Member for the African Region at the World Hepatitis Alliance. Additionally, he sits on several international committees and boards for international organizations such as The Hepatitis Fund, Medicines Patent Pool, Global Community Advisory Board for Hepatitis B Foundation, among others.
Kenneth has participated in high level consultation stakeholder meetings on viral hepatitis with WHO, CDC Africa, and the African Union. He was one of the judges during the WHO Hepatitis testing contest that resulted in the development of Hepatitis B and C testing guidelines. He organized the 2019 African Hepatitis Summit held in Kampala that brought over 600 regional and global leaders working on viral hepatitis for a high-level meeting that led to the Egyptian support towards the treatment of hepatitis C patients in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Kenneth engages stakeholders at all levels from ministries of health to everyday persons from communities. His experience has offered him an opportunity to understand how a disease such as hepatitis affects persons and communities. Kenneth can identify issues of concern and effectively bring these issues to the table for policy, program planning and communications. His understanding of the complexity of issues faced by hepatitis B patients guides his ability to simplify complex concepts so that they are readily understood in oral and written messages by persons in all stages of society.
Kenneth’s leadership of the special initiatives has set him apart as one who values service above self. Kenneth has 10 years’ experience in patient advocacy, a component he has used to bring peace within impacted families and communities.