Amna Luti

Ugandan public health pioneer who pioneered Ebola response strategies in East Africa

Dr. Amna Luti (1935-2011) was a visionary Ugandan epidemiologist whose groundbreaking work laid the foundation for modern disease control in sub-Saharan Africa. Born in Jinja during British colonial rule, she defied societal expectations by earning a medical degree from Makerere University in 1962, becoming one of Uganda's first female physicians.

Her career took a decisive turn during the 1967 smallpox outbreak when she developed community-based surveillance techniques that reduced transmission rates by 40%. These methods formed the basis of WHO's later global smallpox eradication campaign. In the 1970s, while working at the Uganda Virus Research Institute, Dr. Luti identified critical transmission patterns of viral hemorrhagic fevers, creating protocols later adapted for Ebola outbreaks.

Her seminal 1976 paper Community-Centered Epidemic Management (published in the WHO Bulletin) revolutionized outbreak response strategies. She established the first African disease tracking network linking 12 East African research centers, predating modern digital systems. During the 1979 Ebola outbreak in Sudan, her containment protocols saved thousands of lives and became the model for PPE guidelines still used today.

Dr. Luti's legacy endures through the Amna Luti Fellowship, training over 500 African epidemiologists annually. Her work in gender equity within healthcare - establishing maternity wards in rural clinics and training programs for female medics - directly contributed to Uganda's current 40% female healthcare workforce ratio.