Chris Baryomunsi (born 9 December 1969) is a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

n physician,

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

specialist, demographer, and politician. He is the Minister for ICT and National Guidance in the

Cabinet of Uganda There are 32 Cabinet ministers and 50 Ministers of State in the Cabinet of Uganda (2021 to 2026). According to Section 111 of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda, as amended in 2005, "There shall be a Cabinet which shall consist of the President, t ...

. He was appointed to that position in 2021. From 1 March 2015 until 6 June 2016, he served as State Minister of Health for General Duties. Baryomunsi is the elected

member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Kinkizi County East and a member of Uganda's ruling party, the

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement ( sw, Harakati za Upinzani za Kitaifa; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla ...

Early life and education

Baryomunsi was born in Murama Village, Nyakishenyi, Rukungiri District, to the late Aloysius Mpungirehe and the late Rosaria Kamayangi. In 1971, when Chris was two years old, his parents migrated to Kayungwe, Rugyeyo in present-day Kanungu District. Baryomunsi attended Kayungwe Primary School for his primary education and St. Paul's Seminary, Kabale for his O-Level and A-Level education. He was admitted to

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

, the largest public university in Uganda, to study human medicine. In 1995, he graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree. In 1997, he was awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in

demography Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and Population dynamics, dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups ...

, and in 1998 he received a Master of Arts in demography, all from Makerere. In 2003, he received the Postgraduate Diploma in

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

Management from the University of Brighton. In 2016, he obtained a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

Public Health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

majoring in Maternal Health from

Atlantic International University Atlantic International University, Inc. (AIU) is an unaccredited private for-profit distance learning university based in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was founded in December 1998 as Atlantic University, Inc.

, USA.

Medical career

From 1995 until 1998, he worked as a

medical officer A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the ...

at Mulago Hospital. From 1999 to 2002, he worked as a reproductive health adviser for

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (English: ''German Agency for International Cooperation GmbH''), often simply shortened to GIZ, is the main German development agency. It is headquartered in Bonn and Eschb ...

. He later worked as a reproductive health adviser for

UNFPA The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies ...

between 2002 and 2006. He also worked as a lecturer at Makerere University between 2000 and 2006.

Political career

Baryomunsi began his political career in high school, where he served as the elected minister for education at St. Paul's Seminary from 1988 to 1990. While at Makerere University in the early 1990s, he was the finance secretary for the Federation of African Medical Students' Association and the secretary for finance for the Makerere University Medical Students’ Association. In 2005, he was appointed as a United Nations Population Fund HIV/AIDS Advisor for

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

. He turned down the job so that he could contest in the 2006 Ugandan parliamentary election. He ran as the NRM political party candidate for the Kinkiizi County East constituency in Kanungu District and was elected to Parliament. He was also elected president of the African Parliamentarians Forum on Population and Development. While in Parliament, he served on the Social Services Committee and has served on the Health and HIV/AIDS Committees to date. He also has served as a Parliamentary Commissioner for NRM in the Parliament of Uganda from June 2011 to April 2014. On 1 March 2015, he was appointed as State Minister of Health for General Duties. On 6 June 2016, he was appointed State Minister for Housing.

Other considerations

He is known to be an independent thinker, who is not afraid to disagree with his party when it diverts "from pro-people issues". Previously, he has served in the following capacities: * Vice chairperson of HIV/AIDS and Health Committees, in the Parliament * Chairman of the board of directors of the AIDS Information Centre * Technical advisor on HIV and AIDS, GTZ * Programme advisor, United Nations Population Fund * Member of the Parliamentary Budget Committee * President of the African Parliamentarians Forum on Population and Development * President, Rotary Club of Kabarole

Personal details

Mukiga Kiga people, or ''Abakiga'' ("people of the mountains"), are a Bantu ethnic group native to south western Uganda and northern Rwanda. History Pre-colonial period The Kiga people are believed to have originated in Rwanda as mentioned in one of ...

by ethnicity, he was born and raised in a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

family. His father converted to Catholicism in the early 1950s, despite having been raised in a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

household. Baryomunsi is married to Fosca Twebaze and they have two children.

Articles, Interviews & Publications

SAHARA-J: Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS

Uganda Draws Back from the AIDS Brink

Chris Baryomunsi (Uganda), Habitat III, 4th Plenary meeting

References

External links

Website of the Parliament of UgandaWebsite of the Federation of African Medical Students' Associations: The FAMSA NetworkWebsite of Makerere University Medical Students Association (MUMSA)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baryomunsi, Chris Living people 1969 births Members of the Parliament of Uganda National Resistance Movement politicians People from Kanungu District Makerere University alumni Alumni of the University of Brighton People from Western Region, Uganda Government ministers of Uganda Ugandan public health doctors HIV/AIDS activists 21st-century Ugandan politicians