By Pauline Luba
Mushin Nsubuga spent a large part of his childhood with his grandmother, who was a nursing assistant. During the day, the grandmother would vend bananas and then turn to hospital work for the night shift. As such, the hospital environment had a lot of influence on Nsubuga’s future. It’s no wonder that he became a doctor.
At the time, Nsubuga’s mother was operating several businesses to earn a living for the family. His father was in Libya, studying Islam.
Since Nsubuga’s grandmother professed the Christian faith, it is to the church that she took her grandson every Sunday, for worship at the Sunday school. No one, not even Nsubuga’s grandmother, ever imagined what that innocent act would have on Nsubuga, a Muslim, who eventually started professing the Christian faith.
Upon his father’s return from Libya, he sent his son away from home, protesting his change of faith.
“I was chased away from home for owning a Bible,” said Nsubuga, who is married, with four biological children, and another in the process of being adopted. “My father could not accept my new religion,”
Eventually, Nsubuga returned home, but a cold relationship with his father would continue, until he was 18 years. It was at that time that Nsubuga’s dad came to terms with his son’s new faith. To date, Nsubuga is a Christian. He thanks his now-deceased grandmother for taking him to Sunday school and deepening his relationship with Christ.
And it’s not just Christianity that remains engraved in Nsubuga. From what he witnessed at hospital, Nsubuga desired to be a health professional. Currently, he is a gynecologist and was early this year appointed the Executive Director of Save the Mothers East Africa.
Save the Mothers was created when Dr. Jean Chamberlain Froese, a Canadian obstetrician/ gynecologist, was confronted with mothers in need. As a volunteer with the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada and the Association of Obstetricians of Uganda, she discovered many of the causes of maternal death went far beyond medical barriers.
As a result, Dr. Froese worked with Ugandan colleagues — Dr. Florence Mirembe, Dr. Pius Okong, and Olive Sentumbwe- Mugisa — and founded Save the Mothers (STM). In 2005, STM launched its first program, Master of Public Health Leadership, at Uganda Christian University (UCU).
Nsubuga’s interest in maternal and child health, as well as the decision to specialize in obstetrics, came from his encounter with patients during his internships as a student. He says he witnessed some expectant women failing to buy delivery kits that they were expected to turn up with in hospital as they went into labor. Resources were so scarce at the hospital that women were often asked to buy gloves for the delivery of their babies, an option few could afford.
One day, Nsubuga remembers a woman walking into the health facility with no gloves, and no money. He says he and his colleagues raised funds to ensure a safe delivery for the woman.
Nsubuga delivered countless mothers of their babies while still in Gulu, and he says it broke his heart how much suffering some women had to go through at that time. This prompted him to specialize in obstetrics, to get a chance to permanently help expectant women as a profession.
He believes God’s grace even favoured him as he highly passed the obstetrics course without much challenge during his studies.
He attended Nakivubo Blue Primary School, Katikamu High School for O’level and Merryland High School for A’level. All the three schools are located in central Uganda. He then proceeded to Gulu University in northern Uganda for his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery and then for Master of Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Makerere University.
After his undergraduate studies, Nsubuga returned to Gulu, to work in Kiwoko Hospital. While there, he says he saw many women facing challenges, with some in financial distress and others dying. One specific one stuck in his mind — a 16-year-old girl who was trying to give birth, but lost her life.
Nsubuga’s Journey to UCU Save the Mothers
He initially didn’t think of joining Save the Mothers. However, after hearing about the search for a new executive director, he realized that to create a big impact in saving mothers, women and babies in the community, he would not be able to do it alone. One doctor can only save one patient at a time, but together with Save the Mothers, he believed that more could be done.
Nsubuga, who also works at C-Care Medical and International Diagnostic Centre in Kampala, applied for the position of Executive Director at Save the Mothers and got the job in February this year.
His task is to help the organization to stop mothers and children from dying through multidisciplinary training of individuals and to promote the safety of women in hospitals.
Currently, under his leadership, a stronger alumni network is being established, especially following the alumni meeting in May 2024, higher quality facilities are being provided to people in the postgraduate program and several projects are being implemented to help the organization realize its goals.
When not doing work at Save the Mothers, Nsubuga is working at C Care Medical and International Diagnostic Centre in Kampala.
