The Covid-19 effects on society and our everyday lives are terribly disruptive. Like all other research institutions in Uganda and beyond, AMBSO has not been spared. The coronavirus and social-distancing measures have greatly impacted AMBSO’s research, especially the Field based Population Health Surveillance (PHS) survey. Nonetheless, on daily basis, AMSO is figuring out alternative scientific activities to remain productive, including the plan to pilot phone-call follow up interviews.

Currently, most of the AMBSO research officers are working from home, and other components of research that do not require person to person contact or those that even in the normal setting are not carried out in the field such as; data analysis, literature review, manuscript/abstract writing, proposal and progress report writing have been given priority during this period. Therefore, the time for the people involved in these activities have been profitably used.

All meetings, including discussion of proposals, are now taking place remotely. To enable working remotely, the key staff have been given access to existing meeting software (such as Zoom) so that they can smoothly run their activities offsite.