APCA Personnel

Dr Luyirika joined APCA as the Executive Director in 2012. He holds a masters bachelor of medicine degree from Makerere University, a masters degree in Family Medicine from the Medical University of Southern Africa, and has conducted research focusing on issues around HIV among school-going teenagers. 

He holds, a postgraduate hours degree and a masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Stellenbosch's School of Public Management and Planning, with his research focusing on the national HIV/AIDS policy of South Africa. He also holds an HIV certificate from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.

Dr Luyirika started his career as a medical officer in rural Uganda at Kagando Hospital, near the Rwenzori Mountains on the border with the DRC.  He later moved to South Africa, where he worked at the Donald Fraser Hospital in Limpopo Province, after which he trained in Family Medicine at the Medical University of Southern Africa, where he was also appointed lecturer in the Department of Family Medicine.  Apart from practicing medicine in a hospital setting in South Africa, Dr Luyirika worked as a facilitator in the Rural Health Initiative of the South African Academy of Family Practice, where he trained multidisciplinary teams to care for HIV patients and to develop home care strategies and kits as well as community HIV prevention strategies.

Returning to Uganda in 2002, Dr Luyirika accepted the role of overseeing the health care programme run by Mildmay International, as a Clinical Director and after three years he became the overall Centre Director, and after another three years he became Mildmay International's Country Director.  In these roles, he has been actively involved in palliative care development both in Uganda and across Africa.

Dr Luyirika's vision for APCA's work in Africa is to see a strengthened evidence base for advocating for policy development and change for palliative care across the continent.  He also values knowledge and best practice sharing in the region to influence stakeholders to ensure the integration of palliative care into national health sector plans using available resources. He has also authored and co-authored a number of publications related to palliative care and HIV.

Eve is a Sir Halley Stewart palliative care training fellow and has a background in Economics with postgraduate training in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Palliative Care Policy and Rehabilitation. Eve holds a bachelors degree in Economics from Makerere University, an Msc in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Makerere University, and an Msc in Palliative Care Policy and Rehabilitation from King's College London. 

Eve has over ten years experience in health related research and her interests are in the following areas: epidemiology, health economics, evaluation of palliative care services, end of life care issues, quality of life and outcome measurements, pain and other symptoms pertaining to HIV and cancer.

Patricia joined APCA in 2007 as the Admin Officer and Personal Assistant to the Executive Director, providing admin and logistical support for the organization, a portfolio she held until 2020, when she was promoted to Administration Manager & Personal Assistant to the Executive Director. She also manages the human resource, procurement, board liaison, membership, and the Executive Director’s office. 

Patricia holds a Masters’ degree in Public Administration from Uganda Management Institute, a first degree in Public Administration and Management, and a diploma in Marketing. She is a member of the Human Resource Managers’ Association of Uganda. Patricia is passionate about her work which cuts across all departments within APCA. She values excellence, respect, professionalism, integrity and commitment. She is an enthusiastic learner and believes that with the changing global landscape there is always something new to learn to fit in and is therefore very keen on developing her skills.

Mable is an insightful financial professional with over a decade of experience in financial accounting, budgeting, forecasting and analysis. She is self-driven, results oriented with strong work ethic and commitment to integrity.

Mable joined APCA as a Finance Assistant in 2013. Her commitment to learning and attention to detail have seen her rise through the ranks.

She holds an MBA from Makerere University and is a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU)

Francis has over 20 years’ experience working for businesses, government and non-government organisations that depended heavily on ICT in ascending roles that span operational, tactical and strategic positions in information and communication technology. Francis has great experience in aligning ICT with the organisation’s strategic objectives.

Francis started his career as IT support engineer for Mantrac Uganda, a large Caterpillar dealer in several African countries with centralised main transactional servers where connectivity was core for the business operations done online. This is an operations role that ensures IT supports the business. After 3 years, he moved on to Infectious Diseases Institute starting as IT Specialist then becoming IT Manager for the centre of excellence Institute of Makerere University. The Institute had several remote sites and partnerships and the role was to ensure timely and secure access to the patient and research information for authorised users across different organisations and sites. After 3 years, Francis moved to Uganda AIDS commission, a government organisation that provides the overall coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the HIV/AIDS related activities in the country in order to harmonize response to HIV/AIDS as ICT consultant. This role involved setting systems including server installations from scratch, standard operating procedures and network guidelines. Francis is currently the ICT manager for African Palliative Care Association since 2009.

Francis has also been involved in the design and setting up information and communication systems for Uganda Cancer Institute, Lawsam Chemicals, Le Memorial Medical Services, Social Protection of Ministry of Gender, African Queen, Electricity Regulatory Authority and Tausi Décor.

He is a holder of a Bachelor of Science degree from Barkatullah University, Madhya Pradesh in India and a Master of Science in Information Technology degree from Makerere University.

Wedzerai Chiyoka has more than 20 years working in the development sector and has held various positions in program management, marketing communications & public relations, material development and editing. Prior to joining the NGO sector, she worked in the private sector in customer care and product promotion positions.

She is a solid writer and communicator with previous experience in health education, SRHR, hospice and palliative care, gender mainstreaming and livelihoods programmes.

She has worked in East and Southern Africa for national and international development agencies, as well as local and national government departments in roles that include brand development & marketing, communications strategies to raise organizational profiles, partnership development and stakeholder communications/engagement, online campaigns for specific projects and resource mobilisation, exhibitions, and material development.  She is also competent in program documentation including dissemination to and mobilisation of diverse target groups through various media including electronic newsletters, blogs, and websites. She is well-versed in using social media platforms to segment, target and engage different audiences. She has also led development of new projects & packaging, and has worked with private sector in corporate social investment programmes to optimise company visibility, credibility and market share.

Prior to joining APCA, Wedzerai worked for Hands at Work in Africa (joint USAID/FHI360 programme), Voluntary Service Overseas, Pact Zimbabwe, and as an independent consultant. Her countries of experience include Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

She holds a BA in English and Communication Studies and an MSc in Strategic Management.

Imelda Imelda holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot Watt University, UK and a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance Major) from The University of Nairobi. She is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA-Kenya), and has also successfully completed her CFA Level 1. 

Imelda has over ten years experience in the Investments and Finance Ecosystem, having worked in Investment Banking, with different corporates and INGOs, including the Venture Capital and Private Equity space, structuring innovative finance solutions, raising non-dilutive capital, Impact and Catalytic capital finance, and is an active angel investor in Africa's early-stage capital ecosystem. 

She joined APCA in 2022, with her primary role being engaging the private and corporate sector to unlock funding and mutually beneficial partnerships, to further APCA's mission, ensure the sustainability of palliative care as a discipline, and the approach of comprehensive chronic care in Africa. 

Salim joined APCA in 2020 and his role at APCA involves supporting the finance and admin managers in their roles, i.e., from payments and reconciliations in finance department, to procurements and coordination in the administration department.

Salim’s background is in finance. He is currently working on completing his CPA course to become a fully-fledged accountant as it is his major professional goal. His other goal is true economic independence.

Salim values mutual respect and empathy as it allows you to understand others and act accordingly; and also firmly believes that our actions define who we are and where we are going. He is particularly proud to be working with APCA because palliative care not only improves the quality of life of patients and their families, reducing mental and physical distress and discomfort, but it also helps patients live longer and happier lives.

David joined APCA in 2020 with his primary responsibility being the management and coordination of the True Colours Trust Small Grants Project right from the onset of the application process until end of project implementation and reporting.

He also coordinates the Scholarship project for palliative care training for nurses and social workers for nurses and social workers in Africa that is supported by Global Partners in Care. David likes contributing to social causes whenever he can. He has trained in social sciences, law, project planning and management. Previously David worked with various development organizations involved in service delivery in areas of Karamonja, Eastern Uganda, Western Uganda and Northern Uganda and has been involved in social, health and human rights activities.

Before joining APCA,  Eugene RUSANGANWA was working with different non-governemental organizations in Rwanda  as an independent  consultant in project proposal development and monitoring and evaluation. He worked for CARE International for 15 years as a program manager for OVC program, project manager and psychosocial professional. He also worked for other international and national NGOs in Rwanda as project officer in socio-economic interventions such as International Rescue Committee (IRC) and ZOA Refugee Care. 

Eugene RUSANGANWA is Rwandese. His academic background is Economics with Education: Bachelors’ degree in Economics with Education, Msc Economics. He is a development Agent with 26 years of experience in working with orphans and vulnerable children and youth (OVCYs).  He has experience of over 10 years in program design and management in areas of:

1. Education (formal and informal education: primary and secondary education, literacy and numeracy, vocational training, early childhood development) 
2. Child protection
3. Psychosocial support; 
4. Gender equality  

Eugene joined APCA on August 1st, 2021 as a Program officer. His main roles and responsibilities include:

• Support the development and implementation of sustainable palliative care programmes in APCA member countries 
• Provide/source technical support to partners and coordinating the implementation of projects.
• Programme Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Communications

Eugene is married and a father of three kids (a boy and two girls). He has recently experienced what is exactly palliative care and the necessity of integrating it into the Universal Health Coverage when he was attending his 10 year old son who had blood cancer (AML) and who finally died. 
He likes reading and gardening.