Dr. Cissy Kityo, USAID Local Partner Leader, Receives Uganda’s Highest Civilian Award

A look back at 30 years of her work with the Joint Clinical Research Centre

When Dr. Cissy Kityo accepted Uganda’s Golden Jubilee Medal for Outstanding Service and Loyalty in May 2022 – considered the highest civilian award in Uganda – she made it clear that she was accepting the award not just for herself but on behalf of her entire organization, dedicating the recognition to the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC).?

"We feel honored to be recognized for the great contributions we have made in Uganda [to ending the HIV epidemic]. It takes a lot of outstanding achievements to be recognized by the head of state. This is a motivator to achieve even more and expand our scope of work to also address an HIV cure.”

It might seem an immense effort to “achieve even more.” When JCRC was established in 1991, the Centre was solely focused on responding to the HIV epidemic, which was at its peak in the country and the world at the time. Today, JCRC has an expanded mandate to focus not only on HIV/AIDS, but also on other health problems such as tuberculosis, sickle cell disease, cardiovascular diseases, and more recently COVID-19. Since 2003 when JCRC? was awarded its first grant, USAID has worked closely with the organization to help it grow, as well as support it to be more sustainable.

The award to Dr. Kityo (Uganda’s Golden Jubilee Medal was launched in 2012 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence from the United Kingdom) was also an acknowledgement of some notable achievements by the organization. It? pioneered the use of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) in sub-Saharan Africa in 1992 and was also the first organization to import generic ARVs in the region, making these lifesaving drugs an affordable option for all. The Centre was the site of one of the two case studies that informed the approval of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003.

JCRC received the first PEPFAR grant in the world in November 2003 to start the first public sector antiretroviral therapy (ART) program and scale it up countrywide. And over the past 30 years, JCRC has conducted over 100 research projects, which have translated into over 500 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and has undertaken landmark research trials that have shaped HIV policies and treatment guidelines worldwide.?

Dr. Kityo has seen first-hand these changes. She first joined the JCRC as a young clinician in 1992. All these years later, she continues to care for patients, in addition to her official duties as executive director.?

Since JCRC’s inception, staff has grown from about 400 to more than 1,300 team members today. Dr. Kityo and these dedicated staff are the reason that, from 2003 to 2010, more than 100,000 patients in Uganda were enrolled on ART.?

One of those patients is Muhwezi Eli, who has been on HIV medication since 2003 and is a peer educator for his community, encouraging people to go for HIV testing and treatment, and offering HIV counseling.?

“I have benefited from a lot of care from the health workers, counseling, and my hope and dignity [were] restored. I am energetic, and have been able to take my children to school and I have seen them grow,” he said.?

Another patient served by JCRC is Stella, a mother living with HIV who has three children who do not have the virus. On ART since 2008, Stella credits JCRC doctors, nurses, and counselors with the support and care she needed throughout her three pregnancies.?

Uganda has made significant progress towards the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets : 95% of those living with HIV are aware of their status, 90% of those aware of their HIV status are on ART, and 86% of those on ART are virally suppressed.

When asked for her advice to other USAID partners, not surprisingly Dr. Kityo was quick to offer help. She noted how organizations like hers – long-term USAID local partners – can support new ones to familiarize themselves with requirements and help them grow.?

She also noted the importance of being innovative in approaches: “Organizations need to have flexibility to accommodate change.”?

As a longstanding USAID local partner and one of the first PEPFAR local partners, JCRC is well-positioned to be a model to others as the Agency continues to advance its localization agenda .

Photo Captions in order of appearance:

Image of medalists with the President of Uganda 6th from the left. Dr. Cissy Kityo is 4th from the left. Credit: JCRC

Dr. Kityo after the pinning of the Medals.?Credit: JCRC

Aerial view of the JCRC Main Campus, set just off of the Kampala-Entebbe Road near the Lubowa suburb of Kampala, Uganda/ Credit: JCRC

Dr. Cissy Kityo Mutuluuza, Credit: Julius Kasujja