Founder Members

SECRETARY

Johnson Andinda

Johnson Andinda is a business management specialist, community health financing, health insurance development and advocacy champion.  Mr. Andinda has worked for over 22 years in both private and public entities including local government and civil society organizations in various capacities including Administrator, Advocacy officer, Cooperative Coordinator and Technical Advisor among others. Mr. Andinda has a Diploma and Bachelors in Business Administration and is finalizing his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) of Cooperative University of Kenya- Nairobi.

He is currently the Secretary General for Uganda Health Partners Cooperative, and works as the Chief of Party for the USAID HealthPartners CONNECT Girl’s center Activity (2018-2024) for in country leadership and team coordination. Served on same project as Deputy Chief of Party, Program Manager and Technical Advisor to provide strategic direction and support to care providers and cooperatives implementing Cooperative health Insurance. These roles enabled him to reach the most vulnerable communities to increase access to quality, affordable health care through member -owned health cooperatives. Johnson engages various stakeholders at different levels to increase demand for cooperative health insurance and develops tools and materials for building capacity of both health care provider staff and leaders in insurance management.

HealthPartners is the pioneer promoter of health cooperatives in Uganda and provides tools, capacity building and network development support for care providers to manage insurance partnerships directly but also in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Ministry of Trade Industry and Cooperatives in Uganda.

BOARD CHAIRPERSON

Dr. Alfred G. Okiria

MD Makerere University 2000, MPH Makerere University 2007, Makerere University School of Public Health Fellow 2010.

Public health specialist with a medical background and over 20 years of experience in health care delivery, reproductive maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH), family planning, HIV/TB, and Health Systems Strengthening. Has fourteen years of experience leading strategic programming in Uganda and South Sudan. Expertise in project management and implementation to increase access to healthcare and improve health equity and outcomes. Worked as project director and country lead for IntraHealth International South Sudan and Chief of Party for HealthPartners Uganda that Introduced health cooperative development work in Uganda. A founding member of  and currently Chairperson of the Uganda Health  Partners Cooperative(UHPC).

SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE

Diana Asiimwe

Diana Asiimwe is driving positive change in Ugandan health care. As a founding member of Uganda Health Partners Cooperative, her expertise spans from capacity building for healthcare providers to navigating the complexities of preparing and managing health insurance partnerships. Her experience as a counselor, coupled with her work in HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, and sexual and reproductive health projects, gives her a deep understanding of the sector’s challenges.

Diana believes access to health care can be achieved and that through collective action, together a new paradigm that supports and prioritizes health equity in Uganda can be established.

MEMBERS

Ivan Nimusiima

Ivan Nimusiima currently serves as Fleet Supervisor for HealthPartners Uganda, bringing over 15 years of experience in driving with significant 2 years at managerial level, my expertise is honoured. Prior to my pivotal role, I held the position of a driver showcasing my commitment to the organization’s operations success. My professional journey includes driving at Sheraton Kampala Hotel and Nsamizi Training Institute for Social Development where I contributed to the successful operations.

MEMBER

Jonah Kembabazi

VETTING COMMITTEE

Helen Ndikumwami

Helen is a capacity building expert, with over 15 years’ Non– governmental organization working experience in AFlateen/Aflatoun training, youth programing, radio presentation, maternal health advocacy, classroom teaching, political leadership and research. Worked with USAID, UKAID &GRAND CHALLENGES CANADA funded projects including Saving lives at birth (SLAB), Sustainable Outcomes for Children and Youth (SOCY) projects both in south western Uganda. IGAD/CEWARN field monitor in early warning and response mechanisms in Kigezi. Joined HealthPartners Uganda as a Provider Relations Officer, and is currently supporting Governance department as a Technical Advisor Member Relations. Her commitment in HPU with concentration mainly in the North, East and Central Uganda has strengthened capacity for TOTs, Cooperative Boards and health care providers to improved performance and increased membership, from 4,594 to 12,226 in the three regions for access to affordable quality health care in a period of two years.

MEMBER Advocacy Officer

Alex Nkulanga

Alex Nkulanga is a member of Uganda Health Partners Cooperative and currently serves as the Advocacy Officer for HealthPartners Uganda supporting the transition to Uganda Health Partners Cooperative. Alex brings over 9 years of experience in health promotion and advocacy for increased access to healthcare for all, social work, public health, child protection and wellness, mental health and cooperative health financing. Alex’s professional journey also includes; District Advocacy Officer role for Kisoro district where he contributed to the success of the Advocacy for better health project under Path Uganda, Cosultant-Mental health and advocacy for StrongMinds Uganda, and Advocacy officer for HealthPartners Uganda leading behavioral change communication. His experience is majorly in health promotion is all aspects of health.

VETTING COMMITTEE

David Owere Onyango

David Owere Onyango is a team player, result-oriented, adaptable, leader, and team & relationship builder with over 10 years of experience in Project management, Community development, Environmental protection, communication, Education, and capacity building with a Master’s in Environment and Natural Resources from Makerere University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science Technology and Management from Kyambogo University, Certificate in Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. David has experience in lecturing at Kyambogo University under the Department of Environment for over 5 years. He worked as a health facility administrator and coordinator of cooperative health insurance at Noah’s Ark Health Center III for 4 years gaining experience in management and supervision of staff under his leadership. David has worked at HealthPartners Uganda in 3 different positions first as a Provider Relations officer, then as a Deputy Program Manager, and as a Program Manager bringing with him vast experience in project management, capacity building, Environmental protection, Community development, leadership, and training

BOARD MEMBER

Carolyne Natabona

 Holds a Master’s degree in Public Health (Health Promotion) and a Bachelor’s degree in social sciences with additional certificate trainings in Child Protection, Leadership and Management in Health, Participatory Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Community Engagement and HIV/AIDS Counseling. A public health promotion specialist, social worker, advocate and cooperative health promoter with 16 years’ experience in HIV/AIDS, community and health systems strengthening, project planning & management, health promotion and strengthening linkages and referrals, working with both international and national non-governmental organizations. Skilled in cooperative health management, partnership management, coordination, capacity building, facilitation, stakeholder engagement, child protection and community mobilization & engagement, project planning and management among others.She currently serves as Technical Advisor Governance for HealthPartners Uganda and previously served as a clinical and community operations coordinator (Karamoja cluster) & District Programs Officer with Intrahealth International, project Officer with Mildmay Uganda & Plan International and HIV/AIDS supervisor at Bwindi Community Hospital. Carolyne is a founding member and currently serves as a Board member of Uganda Health Partners Cooperative.

SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE

Vincent Ngabirano

Ngabirano Vincent is an ACCA qualified accountant with an MBA in addition to a BSc. Applied accounting and a bachelor of business administration. With over 16 years of work experience in financial management, accounting, auditing, administration, procurement and human resource management, Vincent’s professional journey includes roles with Nature Uganda, UNDP, Millennium Villages Project, URC/USAID RHITES-EC Project and currently the Chief Finance Officer at HPU/USAID Connect Girls Project.

BOARD MEMBER

Georginah Byanjeru

Georginah Byanjeru is a graduate teacher from Makerere University with over 20 years of working experience in the education field, private sector and in civil society organisations. Has served in different capacities including Class room teacher, deputy head teacher, Sales executive, administrator and provider relations officer.

Georginah currently works with CONNECT Girls Center project implemented by HealthPartners whose major aim is transitioning healthcare in Uganda making it client centered by empowering communities to demand and access quality health services through provider managed and community owned and funded cooperatives. As a provider relations officer, Georginah is majorly responsible for capacity building of health care providers, to prepare launch and manage insurance partnerships as well as use data to make decisions that lead to increased provider surplus and quality health services for the communities.

MEMBER

Charles Emesu

Mr. Emesu Charles is a seasoned professional with over a decade of experience in the non-government sector. He serves as a member of the UHPC Supervisory Committee and has implemented projects funded by major donors, including DFID, AUSAID, DANIDA, UNHCR, USAID, and the Global Fund. His expertise lies in risk and compliance, with a focus on donor regulations, fraud risk management, and fostering ethical and compliance cultures.

Mr. Emesu is passionate about building an organization’s capacity to adhere to contracted regulations, guidelines, and national laws from the outset. He understands that organizations are at different stages of growth and recognizes that a one-size-fits-all approach is not always effective in compliance. To address this, he specializes in designing and developing tailored tools and policies for risk and compliance. He mentors organizations to adopt these tools and policies at each stage of their growth, ensuring a smooth transition towards full compliance. His ultimate goal is to guide organizations on their journey to becoming fully compliant and risk-aware entities.

MEMBER

Sylivia Nampijja

Sylivia is a specialist in the field of monitoring and evaluation with over 10 years working experience and knowledge in data management, handling Cooperative health insurance financing data, HIV/AIDS/TB/HIV SMC, ART, EMTCT and EID project data funded by USAID, PEPFAR and CDC. She has also worked in Data management through capacity building, mentorships, and trainings/CMEs as well as developing data management systems, strategic work plans, logical frame works and designing data collection tools, with proved budgeting and accounting skills.  Sylivia has previously managed database, MOH HMIS tools MGT, Health-informatics, HIV quality improvement, MOH management tools, OVC HMIS Systems, PC hardware and maintenance, Networking, QGIS for developing Maps.

VETTING COMMITTEE

Ms. Ruth Nanyonga

Ms. Ruth Nanyonga is a Monitoring, Evaluation and collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) expert with nearly 20 years of experience leading successful MEL teams; designing and implementing data collection, analysis, and management systems; and driving learnings toward successful project adaptations in Uganda. As the MEL Manager on the USAID CONNECT Girls Center activity, Ms. Nanyonga is responsible for delivering a full suite of MEL services for a project supporting 68 health facilities and implementing the CLA framework across all project interventions. Previously, Ms. Nanyonga was the MEL Director for the USAID Health Systems Strengthening Activity, in which capacity she led data collection, analysis, and reporting for the $37 million project; worked with over 30 staff as well as ministry counterparts to implement CLA principles; and led evaluations and special assessments. She has extensive experience developing and implementing Activity Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Plans and Data quality Assessments, is thoroughly familiar with data management platforms such as the DHIS2 and the USAID Development Information Solution, and is a member of national Private-Public Partnership for Health, Health Information Innovations and Research (HIIRE) and Community Health, Reproductive Maternal Neonatal Child and Adolescent Health and Monitoring and Evaluation technical working groups with the Ugandan MOH. Ms. Nanyonga holds an M.S. degree in population and reproductive health and a B.A. in adult and community development from Makerere University. She is fluent in English and Luganda

BOARD MEMBER

Sylivester Besigye

A finance professional with 6 years’ experience working with International Non-Government Organizations including USAID  on Projects such as Connect Girls Centre Project (CGC)  and Organizational Development Activity (ODA). I have strong knowledge of USAID rules and regulations on Procurement, Finance, Administration, Grants and Contract Management obtained both through training and working experience. I have the ability to plan and organize tasks with no supervision and I have achieved outstanding performance in assigned duties within short periods of time. Proficient in MS Office applications and QuickBooks

MEMBER

Richard Bariyo

Richard Bariyo is a founding member of Uganda Health Partners Cooperative and currently supports the transport department. Richard is a professional Water technician who acquired vast experience working with communities to ensure sustainable water supplies and has also worked with the local government office of Lugazi Town Council in the Education department supporting transport department before joining HealthPartners/Connect Project under the cooperative development program.

MEMBER

Nansikombi Rita Maria

Rita Maria Nansikombi is currently the Cooperative Governance Officer at HealthPartners Uganda whose primary role is to support the cooperative Board of Directors for effective management and general health cooperatives. She graduated with honors from Makerere university with a Bachelor’s degree in Community Psychology, which strengthened her passion of working with people to enhance their quality of life. As a former Community Service Monitoring officer that coordinated and supervised sociotherapy sessions, and Research Assistant, her earliest years of work exposed her to rural, multicultural settings  and post conflict situations, with refugees and vulnerable groups of people in Kyangwali and Yumbe Refugee settlements. She brings to the team her proactivity, tech-savvy skills and ability to flexibly adapt to new environments and demands, while aligning daily performance to project objectives or goals.

Rita has a keen interest in creativity, learning of new skills, giving hope and value addition, which naturally draws her to listening, performing and creating music and is part of a visual art company called Dormi Arts. All these allow for more collaboration with different communities and people. Outside work, she enjoys family, photography, nature and doing anything that makes the world a better place.

Racheal Kyomuhendo

Racheal Kyomuhendo is an accomplished social worker and human resources administrator who has honed her skills in various aspects of administration and project management. Her professional journey includes pivotal roles within administration and operations at Health Partners Uganda, Education Development Centre and Sekanyolya Systems Ltd whose responsibilities emphasize her expertise in office administration, logistical and procurement support, and staff management. Her program experience at PATH Uganda further showcase her commitment to community advocacy and capacity building. Additionally, her roles in research supervision with RTI International underscore her analytical skills and attention to detail.

Racheal holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Planning and Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Social Administration. She possesses strong leadership, communication, and team-building skills, making her a valuable asset in any organizational setting. Her multilingual capabilities in English, French, Runyakitara, and Luganda enhance her effectiveness in diverse environments. With a passion for learning and sharing knowledge, Racheal continues to contribute significantly to the social work and administrative fields, driven by her dedication to improving community welfare and organizational efficiency.

Ronald Pius Aroho

Ronald Aroho is an accomplished Certified financial and data analyst with over 8 years of experience in managing financial operations for international organizations. With significant roles at Health Partners Uganda, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and FHI 360, Ronald has showcased expertise in Financial Management, Financial Planning and Analysis, Financial Modelling, and regulatory compliance, overseeing projects funded by USAID, EU, UN, and LEGO. His strategic financial planning has consistently enhanced stability and efficiency across diverse programs. Ronald’s leadership and commitment to transparency have been pivotal in grant management and resource optimization, ensuring both financial integrity and operational success. His proven track record underscores his value as a strategic financial professional dedicated to driving organizational excellence in the humanitarian and development sector.