“Each one of us comes in with a value add to the Innovation Pipeline for the benefit of the vulnerable communities” Prof. William Bazeyo, Dean Makerere University School of Public Health and RAN Chief of Party/Lab Director
On 22nd July 2015 the Eastern Africa Resilience Innovation Lab (EA RILab) inducted the Innovation Advisory Board Members. Members constitute dignitaries from Government, the Academia and Private Sector who will play a key role in steering the RI Lab’s activities with a focus to push forth Innovation for the benefit of the vulnerable.
The main purpose of the Board will be to provide strategic advice on sourcing, incubating, testing, application and scaling of innovations.
“The RI Labs will depend on you as the Board to give high level guidance and strategic direction” remarked Prof. William Bazeyo, Dean Makerere University School of Public Health and RAN Chief of Party/Lab Director.
When these disasters happen, women with their children suffer most. Issues of HIV and AIDS, poverty, floods, landslides among others hit women and children more. How can we change our country using Innovation, Public Health and bring everyone on board? How we can bring more females in One Health, added Prof. Bazeyo as he welcomed the Innovation Advisory Board Members.
He further informed the meeting participants that during the first year, RAN carried out community consultations with target communities to understand Resilience, what makes communities vulnerable to shocks and stresses and how do they cope? In the 2nd Year, the RAN Team identified innovations to be supported through the RAN Innovation Acceleration Program (RIAP). He highlighted that this was the time for the Innovation Advisory Board to have joined in and help to connect these Innovations to the Private Sector for Scale. It is therefore paramount that we all joined efforts and work quickly together to catch up with any lost time.
Can we institutionalize innovations in our Universities? Can we have Universities as Centers of Innovation? He noted that Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Makerere University Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Finance and Administration and the RAN Patron is at the helm of Makerere University and greatly supports Innovation. Prof. Nawangwe has been supporting RAN activities and is ready to work with the Innovation Advisory Board to push forth Innovation to address communities’ most pressing challenges.
The Board also received a synopsis of the RAN network/structure and a detailed layout of the EA RILab including highlights on the work done as per the 3 RAN core objectives (achievements, challenges, and next steps).
It was also during this meeting that the EA RILab Innovation Advisory Board elected the Chairperson of the Board as Mr. Richard Apire, Chairman Electricity Regulatory Authority and Former Board Chairman of UMEME and the Deputy Board Chairperson as Mrs. Rosette Bamwine, Head Agricultural Credit Facility – Finance Function at Bank of Uganda. “Thank you for the trust bestowed upon us as the Innovation Advisory Board and we are committed to transforming the communities using innovation”, remarked Mrs. Bamwine.
To mark the climax of this meeting, all joined in a tour of the Exhibition showcasing all projects currently under incubation in the EA Resilience Innovation Lab.
Below are some of the innovations that were exhibited.
