Estonian e-health curriculum to help reduce the digital health care divide in Uganda

Advanced digital health technologies are being increasingly utilised in everyday patient care and disease prevention. For the adoption of technologies to yield the expected results, current and future health care professionals must be prepared to adapt to the resulting changes. However, there remains a significant gap in Uganda between the demand for well-trained health informatics specialists and the limited training opportunities available.  

Estonian health technology solutions are among the world's best, and this project aims to strengthen Uganda's health care system. With funding from the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV), Tallinn University of Technology will collaborate with local stakeholders to update Makerere University's health informatics curriculum, provide mentoring and training to students and faculty, and introduce Estonian e-health solutions to health care informatic specialists in Uganda. 

"While Estonia is in the top of the world with its digital health solutions and TalTech has extensive experience teaching digital health at the master's level, I see this as a learning project as well. Uganda is moving forward at a good pace and in many ways, we are at the same starting position," said Doris Kaljuste, TalTech’s Digital Health master's programme director.  

Kaljuste pointed out the adoption of artificial intelligence and its impact on teaching. "We need to change our teaching methods and focus on how to make the best use of artificial intelligence. In this regard, we have the same starting point and both Ugandan and Estonian lecturers can learn together," she added.  

The enhanced master's programme will help bridge the digital divide in the country's health sector and ensure that graduates are well-prepared to support the development of eHealth technology in Uganda. 

“The Master of Health Informatics Programme has been running since 2016, and we are very proud of its contribution to promoting digital health in Uganda over the last nine years. Our partnership with TalTech creates a great opportunity to assess our programme against an internationally recognized curriculum,” said Irene Wanyana Ssali, the coordinator of the Master of Health Informatics Programme at Makerere University School of Public Health. “We have already identified several strong similarities between the two programmes but also picked up on unique areas where we can learn from each other, particularly in encouraging job creation and innovation among the students. Through this collaboration, we see the key role of partnerships in advancing digital health education in a fast-moving technological environment,” she added.  

"Uganda has created a roadmap for the digitalisation of the country, following the example of Estonia, which includes both digital services and skills. It is very meaningful that we can contribute to the implementation of the roadmap, specifically in the area of health, and, together with universities, combine our skills, e-services, and institutional cooperation. Makerere University is one of the most prestigious in Africa, and we are honoured to support cooperation in an area that affects the whole of society," said Katrin Winter, ESTDEV’s regional head for Africa. 

The project helps to fulfil the goal set in the Uganda National Health Information and Digital Health Strategy to strengthen health informatics capacity, including technical, statistical, analytical and data visualisation skills to support evidence-based decision-making. Estonia's experience, skills and knowledge in the field of e-health are extremely valuable in achieving this goal. 

The Tallinn University of Technology project received funding from ESTDEV's 2025 Call for Proposals for priority countries in Africa, one of the goals of which is to support the implementation of education reforms initiated in the target countries and to acquire future skills. 

Estonia's goal in Uganda is to contribute to the country's development plans, as outlined in Uganda's strategic document, "Vision 2040". Digitalisation is seen as one of the main catalysts for this vision, and in many ways, solutions are sought by looking to Estonia's experience in building an e-government. The priority areas of Estonian development cooperation in Uganda are the digital transformation, entrepreneurship and education.