CHESA Fellow Spotlight: Richard Gamubaka

Dr. Richard Gamubaka is a third-year resident at the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and South Africa and his passion is pediatric surgery. He is currently practicing at the Mbale Regional Referral Hospital in Eastern Uganda, one of the largest hospitals in the area and serving nearly 14 districts. Dr. Gamubaka is seeking to enroll in a pediatric surgery fellowship, hoping to bring his expertise back to Mbale to improve the outcomes of the entire region. Within the Ugandan healthcare system, limited access to essential screenings, equipment, shortages of consumables, and financial constraints further hinder the delivery of optimal surgical care. Dr. Gamubaka and his colleagues often go above and beyond to provide necessary resources, even at personal cost, to ensure patients receive the treatment they require.

Dr. Gamubaka’s journey toward becoming a surgeon was deeply influenced by a personal tragedy when he lost a family member due to a lack of access to pediatric surgical care. This heartbreaking experience motivated him to pursue a career in surgery and address the challenges faced by patients in Uganda, especially those from rural areas. Since then, Dr. Gamubaka has envisioned himself taking a specialty in pediatric surgery and dedicating it to both the well-being of children as well as the advancement of surgical specialties throughout Uganda. 

After hearing about CHESA from a mentor of his, he was inspired to join CHESA as one of its fellows. CHESA fellows, he says, “reason things differently,” taking in their diverse global perspectives and applying them in their own research and practice. As a fellow, Dr. Gamubaka’s research project focuses on surgical skills among medical staff and interns at the Mbale Regional Referral Hospital. Receiving almost constant referrals from its neighboring hospitals, the Mbale Regional Referral Hospital occasionally feels overwhelmed with patients. Dr. Gamubaka noticed that many of these referrals were due to the inability of smaller hospitals and clinics to perform simple surgical procedures. In tandem with the lack of standby ambulances, this inability to tackle simple surgical procedures causes a delay that puts the patient at risk of further complications or even death. To combat this, Dr. Gamubaka has worked with CHESA to focus on the training of interns and medical officers, creating competency with simple procedures. Through their collective efforts, they were able to improve the survival rates of neonates, especially those with gastrointestinal complications. Dr. Gamubaka’s dedication and the positive results achieved in his work have further motivated him to continue providing quality training for interns and surgical care to patients in need.