Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka
Ugandan scientist
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Through Africa and United Nations Environment Programme
Kalema-Zikusoka was Uganda's first wildlife veterinary officer and featured in the BBC documentary Gladys the African Vet. In 2009, she won the Whitley Gold Award for her conservation work. In December 2021, she was proclaimed a United Nations Environment Programme's Champion of the Earth for Science and Innovation for her work with the One Health initiative.
Early life and education
While growing up in Kampala, Dr.Kalema-Zikusoka, at age 12, started a wildlife club at her school and organised trips to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Her professional studies began when she won a scholarship to study at the University of London Royal Veterinary College, graduating with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine. In 2003, she obtained a Master of Veterinary Medicine from North Carolina State University. She also holds a certificate in the management of non-profit organizations from Duke University. She earned a Master of Business Administration in 2016.
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Personal life
Dr.Kalema-Zikusoka is married to Lawrence Zikusoka, a technology entrepreneur and one of the co-founders of Conservation Through Public Health. They have two children.
She is the daughter of the late political leader and women's rights advocate Rhoda Kalema.
Professional accomplishments
In 1996, when Dr.Kalema-Zikusoka was 25, she was appointed the veterinary officer for the Ugandan Wildlife Service, which later merged with Uganda's national parks to become the Uganda Wildlife AuthorityShe was the first person to hold that position. At the time, Bwindi gorillas numbered about 300. By 2018, the count had grown to approximately 460, moving the mountain gorilla from critically endangered status to endangered. She pioneered the first wildlife translocation to restock Uganda's national parks following years of poaching during Uganda's civil wars.
As part of her veterinary research, she identified parasite transmission from humans to mountain gorillas as a significant risk factor for gorillas.
Following her demonstration of pathways for human diseases to harm or kill gorillas, Dr.Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Lawrence Zikusoka, and Stephen Rubanga founded Conservation Through Public Health in 2003 to improve both human and ecological health in Africa. CTPH is a non-profit organisation based in Uganda and the USA that conducts programs that protect gorillas and other wildlife from human and livestock disease risk; that increase the local use of family planning; and that improve communication technologies to boost local development and to educate people about the environment. Kalema-Zikusoka is the CEO of the organisation.
In 2015, CTPH established a program called Gorilla Conservation Coffee. Under this arrangement, the non-profit improves the livelihood of the surrounding community by assisting in getting international market prices for the community's Arabica coffee crop. With increased incomes, the community's illnesses and disease burden is reduced. Hence less disease is transferred to the resident gorillas. Also, a small fee is charged and retained by the farmers, whenever tourists traverse their gardens, when on gorilla treks through the community.
Books
- Walking with Gorillas: The Journey of an African Wildlife Vet, foreword by Dr. Jane Goodall
Awards and recognition
Dr.Kalema-Zikusoka has received a number of honours, awards, and other public recognition of her environmental and humanitarian work. In 2009, she won the Whitley Gold Award, the top prize awarded in what has been considered the "Green Oscars". In 2008, the San Diego Zoo gave her its Conservation-in-Action Award. In 2006, Kalema-Zikusoka was elected to an Ashoka Fellowship. In 2007, Seed Magazine named her one of their eight Revolutionary Minds in Science.
Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka was profiled in the BBC documentary Gladys the African Vet. She has also been featured in documentaries by National Geographic, Animal Planet, MNet and Uganda Television. She was chosen among nine international environmental leaders to write a letter to the next US president in Sierra Club magazine, November/December 2008 issue.
In 2018, Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka was awarded the EarthCare Award by the United States-based Sierra Club, in recognition of her "unique contribution to international environmental protection and conservation", as related to her work in environmental protection and co-existence between communities and mountain gorillas in Uganda. She received the award on 29 September 2018, at a ceremony held in Denver, Colorado, United States.
In December 2021, she was proclaimed the United Nations Environment Programme's Champion of the Earth for Science and Innovation.
In April 2022, Dr.Kalema-Zikusoka was awarded the Edinburgh Medal for her work improving the quality of life of people and wildlife to enable them to coexist in and around protected areas in Africa. She is a pioneer in community-led 'one health' approaches to conservation exploring and supporting the delicate interplay between humans and wildlife.
In November 2023, Dr.Kalema-Zikusoka was named to the BBC's 100 Women list as one of the world's inspiring and influential women.