Dr Olive Sentumbwe Mugisa is a wife and mother of four. A Doctor of Medicine with a master's degree in obstetrics and gynecology, Olive is an exceptional Ugandan woman who has worked hard to achieve her career goals.

Born and raised in the small village of Mawanda, in Kampala, she always dreamed of becoming a health practitioner. She began working as a physician in a Missionary hospital in Masaka district in 1984. Driven by her passion for improving maternal and child health in Uganda, she went for a postgraduate in obstetrics and gynecology at Makerere University and worked in Mulago National Hospital as a health specialist.
Driven by her spirit of leadership and her determination to fight for women's rights, Olive was president of the Uganda Women Doctors' Association. This platform enabled her to advocate for women’s health and to participate in the drafting of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development program of work.

With the need to strengthen the maternal health component in the country, she joined the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1997.
"Before joining WHO, I noticed that there was a gap in our health system. The maternal and infant mortality rate was high, with more than 500 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births", she said. "That's why I decided to work with WHO to engage in strategic discussions to improve maternal and child health across the country," she added.

As WHO's technical expert on reproductive, maternal, and newborn health in Uganda, Dr Olive supports the country in adopting evidence-based policy, norms, standards, and guidelines for the provision of quality Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) care. This included the 2018 Men's Involvement Strategy in SRHR/HIV/Tuberculosis (SRHR/HIV/TB), which aims to improve health outcomes across the country.
She also supports the Ministry of Health in designing and implementing community awareness programs. Through this program, she has been able to reach out to various civil society organizations working with young people and women.

Upon joining World Health Organization, Dr. Sentumbwe worked closely with Uganda’s Ministry of Health to pioneer the “Maama Kit”, a cost-effective intervention to reduce the infections associated with childbirth. Today, the Maama kit is a must-have for all mothers due for delivery and has also been adopted by other countries within the region.

She also led the WHO Making Pregnancy Safer initiative that addressed critical maternal health care gaps in Soroti district. This landmark initiative identified, and tackled Emergency Obstetric Care problems related to pregnancy, delivery, and post-delivery, including post-abortion care.

Today, Olive speaks of her achievements with great joy. "The maternal and infant mortality rate has fallen from 524 deaths per 100,000 births in 2000 to 189 deaths in 2022. This is good progress, but we need accelerated implementation to achieve the global target of less than 70 per 100,000 live births," she said.

Like many working women, her main challenge has been to reconcile family and professional life. However, her determination to achieve her goals and the support of her husband has enabled her to find a balance in her life. "My partner has been very supportive. When our children were young, we used to share the housework and nurturing children to reduce the workload," she said passionately.

On this International Women's Day, “I would like to encourage all leaders to ensure that women's capacities are enhanced to take greater steps forward in health development and leadership,” Olive also encourages women and girls to be ambitious, to know their rights, and work hard to realize their dreams.