Awardee spotlight
Last year, the Ramani Fund supported Dr. Jonathan Nsamba, a Ugandan public health researcher focused on non-communicable diseases among children and adolescents. His work addresses a growing challenge in low-income countries: the long-term cardiovascular risk faced by young people living with Type 1 Diabetes. Building on national progress in improving access to insulin, Dr. Nsamba’s project tests a structured lifestyle support program combining physical activity guidance and nutrition support for adolescents in Uganda.
Designed specifically for resource-constrained health systems, the intervention emphasizes culturally appropriate, low-cost, and scalable approaches that can be implemented within existing public health infrastructure. Early insights from the study show that many adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes are less physically active than expected, often due to fear of hypoglycaemia, yet both participants and health workers have demonstrated strong enthusiasm for structured lifestyle support.
Ramani Fund’s grant enabled essential equipment purchases and fieldwork operations, transforming the project from concept to implementation. Reflecting on the award, Dr. Nsamba shared that the funding affirmed the value of context-specific research led from Uganda.
This month, Ramani Fund will open its next call for proposals, continuing its commitment to supporting early-career researchers developing locally relevant, measurable, and feasible solutions in low-income settings. The team is looking for proposals that rigorously test the interplay of medicine, technology, and behavioral economics to improve health outcomes.
