Peter Waiswa is the visionary founder of One Village At A Time (OVAAT), a community-led model for sustainable rural transformation in Uganda.
He was born in Naigobya Village, Luuka District in Eastern Uganda, and his experiences growing up in a rural community shaped his lifelong commitment to improving health, education, and well‑being for underserved populations
Throughout his career , Prof Waiswa has dedicated his career to creating innovative solutions that empower villages to take charge of their own development.
Under his leadership, OVAAT has established a replicable framework for integrated rural development, starting with Early Childhood Development & Education (ECD&E) and expanding into education, healthcare, livelihoods, environmental restoration, and social well-being. Peter’s approach emphasizes participatory planning, local ownership, and long-term impact, ensuring that communities themselves drive change.
Peter has collaborated extensively with local leaders, government agencies, NGOs, universities, and diaspora partners to design and implement evidence-based, culturally grounded interventions. His work has positioned Naigobya Village as OVAAT’s pioneer site and Centre of Excellence, demonstrating how holistic, community-led programs can be scaled to other villages across Uganda and beyond.
Prof. Waiswa trained in medicine at Mbarara University and holds a Master of Public Health from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He earned a joint PhD and later a postdoctoral fellowship through Makerere University and the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, giving him deep expertise in health systems, implementation research, and evidence‑driven development practice.
He currently serves as Associate Professor of Health Policy, Planning and Management at the Makerere University School of Public Health and is a visiting researcher at Karolinska Institutet. Over decades, Prof. Waiswa has contributed to major public health initiatives, including maternal, newborn and child health research, policy design, and deployment of evidence‑based interventions that have shaped health outcomes nationally and internationally. He has also led or co‑led studies and programs that inform global health policy and practice.
He is the founder and leader of the Makerere University Centre of Excellence for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, a premier research and practice hub based at Makerere University’s School of Public Health in Uganda, with a focus on strengthening health systems and improving maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes.
He also leads the INDEPTH Network Maternal, Newborn & Child Health Working Group, and serves as team lead at the Centre of Excellence he established, contributing to policy, research, and practical interventions at national, regional, and global levels.
Prof. Waiswa also serves on numerous boards and advisory bodies at local, national, regional, and international levels. He chairs the Busoga Health Forum, sits on the Uganda National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group (NITAG), and is involved with global advisory groups including WHO, UNICEF, Every Woman Every Child (EWEC), and the Lancet Commission on Evidence-Based Implementation in Global Health.
