User:Dorothy256/sandbox

Sharifu Kiragga Tusuubira (January 4th, 1991) is one of Uganda's leading sickle cell advocates. He is a biomedical scientist best known for his role in starting the community sickle cell screening in Uganda.

Biography
Sharifu is born on January 4th, 1991 in Kampala to Ashadu Zizinga a health inspector and Ritah Bazanya a police officer. Sharifu received his bachelor’s degree in biomedical laboratory technology from Makerere University in 2012. He later went on to graduate with a master’s degree in biomedical laboratory science from the same University. He was the first Executive Director of the Uganda Sickle Cell Rescue Foundation (USCRF) a non-profit organization working to promote awareness, sensitization and fighting Sickle Cell Disease in Uganda (a position he held until July,2019). To date, Sharifu continues to advise on sickle cell advocacy and non profit leadership in Uganda. Sharifu is married to Sophia Nalubowa and they have two children.

Sickle Cell Advocacy
Sharifu Kiragga Tusuubira is a strong proponent for and an advocate of sickle cell and disability rights in Uganda. His advocacy started while at Makerere University, following a personal heartbreak moment where a lady he was in love with, rejected him because of sickle cell. This motivated Sharifu to get involved and change the status quo of how sickle cell was viewed.

For over 8 years, Sharifu has advocated for people living with sickle cell disease to have rights to independent thinking, participate freely in community activities or further agency and enjoy the same privileges like the ‘normal’ people in Uganda.

Living with sickle cell, Sharifu provides a firsthand narrative through his personal lived experiences to address issues of care, behaviour, stigma and discrimination among persons with sickle cell in different locales. Sharifu has reached over 60,150 people, set up 18 support networks and registered 20,153 across the Uganda. Across the region, Sharifu has played a key role in supporting sickle cell advocacy. Sharifu was instrumental in the launch of the East Africa Sickle Cell Alliance. He worked with the Pan African Sickle Cell Federation International to support grassroot initiatives and build membership across East and Central Africa. Sharifu is a 2017 Mandela Washington Fellow. He is also a  2018 Telemachus Fellow under the Global Thinkers Forum (UK). He is a recipient of the 2018 Clarke International University Most Outstanding community outreach award.

Career
Sharifu’s career started in 2009 at Makerere University, College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Resource and Biosecurity where he worked as a research assistant until 2010. He then moved onto to work as a laboratory technologist in the same university and department from 2010-2012.

In 2012, he worked at the Central Public Health Laboratories, Ministry of Health. In 2013, he took on the role of Executive Director for Uganda Sickle Cell Rescue Foundation, Kampala. In the same year, he also took on the role of assistant professor in the Institute of Allied Health Sciences at Clarke International University, Kampala.