About us
About IFOTRODE
Connecting research, community care and prevention to address neglected tropical diseases in Uganda.
Who We Are
Innovations for Tropical Disease Elimination (IFOTRODE) works with underserved communities in Uganda to address neglected tropical diseases. We connect practical research with community detection, care and prevention for tungiasis, scabies, podoconiosis, trachoma, helminthiasis and leishmaniasis.
Our focus is on people who are often missed by routine health services. We work through Village Health Teams, frontline health workers and local partners to support care close to home.
Our Mission
To eliminate neglected tropical diseases through practical solutions that communities, health workers and government systems can use consistently and affordably.
Our Vision
Communities where people affected by neglected tropical diseases can access care close to home, live with dignity and participate fully in school, work and community life.
How We Work
Detect and care. We bring screening for skin neglected tropical diseases together during community contacts, with condition-specific care, self-care support and referral where needed.
Connect people, animals and prevention. Our tungiasis approach considers both people and affected domestic animals, alongside hygiene and household prevention measures. We distribute locally sourced soap, basins and slippers to affected people to support prevention and recovery.
Research and Lasting Access
Use evidence. We investigate disease distribution, risk factors and practical approaches to prevention and care. We apply and evaluate these approaches ourselves, confirming their effectiveness before sharing them with others to inform programmes and health services.
Build continuity. We work through existing local health structures and plan a regulated dimeticone procurement and distribution pathway to support treatment availability beyond individual projects.
Who We Serve
We focus on people in remote, low-income communities where distance from health facilities, limited water and hygiene supplies, and unreliable access to treatment make skin neglected tropical diseases difficult to prevent and manage.
Children, older people and people with disabilities can face particular barriers. Our approach supports mobility, dignity and participation in school, work and community life.
How We Measure Progress
We track disease prevalence and severity, people screened and treated, continuity of care and treatment availability. We also aim to understand changes in mobility, participation in school or work, stigma and quality of life.
For future expansion, monitoring will combine health outcomes with evidence on coverage, referrals and the reliability of treatment supplies.
Our Team
Dr. George Mukone
Dr. George Mukone has more than 30 years of experience working with resource-poor communities in Uganda. Before his retirement from the Ministry of Health, he led the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme and also headed the malaria and tungiasis control programmes. He played a key leadership role in Uganda’s Guinea worm eradication efforts and helped establish the Uganda National Ambulance Services. His research has included investigating deaths among people with very severe tungiasis and testing dimeticone treatment for the disease. He has also contributed to research on the geographical distribution, magnitude and pathogenesis of podoconiosis in Uganda.
Dr. Francis Mutebi
Dr. Francis Mutebi is a veterinary doctor associated with the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity at Makerere University. His research connects human and animal health through a One Health approach, with studies of tungiasis in Jinja and Bugiri districts and publications on veterinary and One Health partnerships. He has contributed to investigations of deaths among people and animals with very severe tungiasis and to studies testing dimeticone treatment in animals. His work also includes research on the magnitude, geographical distribution and pathogenesis of podoconiosis in Uganda.
Collaboration
Collaboration is central to our work. Our projects bring together communities, local government and academic institutions to connect research with practical action.
Our tungiasis elimination project in Napak demonstrates this approach. IFOTRODE and research partners worked with trained resident tungiasis health workers, Village Health Teams and local leaders to combine treatment of people and affected domestic animals with health promotion.
Working together
Donors, Partners and Collaborators
Our work connects academic institutions, health authorities, local governments and communities across Uganda. Napak is a major project location within this wider network of collaboration. Our donors, institutional partners and individual research collaborators include:
Funding Support
- Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS), Germany — financial support for the community-based tungiasis elimination project in Napak.
- Wellcome Trust, United Kingdom — grant support for mapping the geographical distribution and risk of podoconiosis in Uganda.
- Mrs. Gabriele Siemers von Loeper, Germany — support for the school gardens project in Napak.
Academic and Research Collaborations
- Makerere University School of Public Health
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University
- Prof. Hermann Feldmeier — Institute of Microbiology and Infection Immunology, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School
- London Applied & Spatial Epidemiology Research Group (LASER), London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Health, Community and Implementation Collaborations
- Uganda Ministry of Health — Vector-borne and Neglected Tropical Diseases Division
- German Doctors
- Eastern, Central and Southern Africa Group of Consultants (ECASA)
- Moroto Catholic Diocese
- Local governments across Uganda, including Napak District Local Government
This support and these collaborations span different projects and periods of IFOTRODE’s work.
Partner With IFOTRODE
We welcome conversations with donors, research institutions and implementation partners interested in expanding community-based neglected tropical disease prevention and care. Opportunities include integrated skin-NTD programmes, One Health tungiasis control, podoconiosis care, frontline-worker training and implementation monitoring.