Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka
Encyclopedia
Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka (born 8 January 1970) is a veterinarian
and founder of Conservation Through Public Health
, an organization dedicated to the coexistence of endangered mountain gorillas, other wildlife, humans, and livestock in Africa. She was Uganda's first woman to be the country's wildlife veterinary officer and was the star of the BBC documentary, Gladys the African Vet. In 2009 she won the Whitley Gold Award for her conservation work.
, Kalema-Zikusoka started a wildlife club at her school and organized trips to Queen Elizabeth National Park
.http://ctph.org/about_meet_staff_ctph.php, http://www.whitleyaward.org/display.php?id=150 Her professional studies began when she won a scholarship to study at the University of London
Royal Veterinary College.http://www.whitleyaward.org/display.php?id=150
.http://www.bigwavetv.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=20&cntnt01origid=58&cntnt01returnid=57 She was first woman to hold that position.http://www.whitleyaward.org/display.php?id=150 She pioneered the first wildlife translocations 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.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15338419
Following her demonstration of pathways for human diseases to harm or kill gorillas, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Lawrence Zikusoka, and Stephen Rubanga then founded Conservation Through Public Health
in order to improve both human and ecological health in Africa.http://ctph.org/about_meet_staff_ctph.php CTPH is a non-profit organization based in Uganda and the USA that conducts programs that protect gorillas and other wildlife from human and livestock disease risk; that reduce human and livestock diseases in the vicinity of wildlife; that increase the local use of family planning; and that use Information/Communication Technology both to help local development and to educate people about the environment.http://ctph.org/about_method_ctph.php Kalema-Zikusoka is the CEO of the organization.
and humanitarian
work. In 2009, she won the Whitley Gold Award, the top prize awarded in what has been considered the "Green Oscars".http://www.whitleyaward.org/display.php?id=150. In 2008, the San Diego Zoo
gave her its Conservation-in-Action Award.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/invite/zoonooz_article.pdf In 2007, Seed Magazine named her one of their eight Revolutionary Minds in Science.http://www.worldwildlife.org/efn/pdfs/efn%20news%20April%202008.pdf In 2006, Kalema-Zikusoka was elected to an Ashoka Fellowship
.http://www.ashoka.org/node/3965
Kalema-Zikusoka was profiled in the BBC documentary, Gladys the African Vet.http://www.bigwavetv.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=20&cntnt01origid=58&cntnt01returnid=57 She has also been featured in documentaries in National Geographic, Animal Planet, MNet and Uganda Television.http://ctph.org/about_meet_staff_ctph.php
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.
medetomidine-butorphanol- midazolam in patas monkeys (Erthyrocebus patas). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 34(1):47-52.
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
and founder of Conservation Through Public Health
Conservation Through Public Health
Conservation Through Public Health is a non-profit organization based in Uganda and the USA that conducts programs to protect gorillas and other wildlife from human and livestock disease risk; to reduce human and livestock diseases in the vicinity of wildlife; to increase the local use of family...
, an organization dedicated to the coexistence of endangered mountain gorillas, other wildlife, humans, and livestock in Africa. She was Uganda's first woman to be the country's wildlife veterinary officer and was the star of the BBC documentary, Gladys the African Vet. In 2009 she won the Whitley Gold Award for her conservation work.
Early life and studies
Interested in animals since the age of 12 while growing up in KampalaKampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
, Kalema-Zikusoka started a wildlife club at her school and organized trips to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park
-Location:The national park is located in western Uganda, spanning the districts of Kasese, Kamwenge, Bushenyi and Rukungiri. Its location is approximately , by road, southwest of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. The town of Kasese lies just outside the northeastern edge of the park,...
.http://ctph.org/about_meet_staff_ctph.php, http://www.whitleyaward.org/display.php?id=150 Her professional studies began when she won a scholarship to study at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
Royal Veterinary College.http://www.whitleyaward.org/display.php?id=150
Personal life
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.Professional accomplishments
When Kalema-Zikusoka was 25, she was appointed to be the veterinary officer for the Ugandan Wildlife Service, which later merged with Uganda's national parks to become the Uganda Wildlife AuthorityUganda Wildlife Authority
The Ugandan Wildlife Authority is one of the governing bodies that regulates wildlife conservation in Uganda.It was established in August 1996 by the Uganda Wildlife Statute, which merged the Uganda National Parks and the Game Department...
.http://www.bigwavetv.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=20&cntnt01origid=58&cntnt01returnid=57 She was first woman to hold that position.http://www.whitleyaward.org/display.php?id=150 She pioneered the first wildlife translocations 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.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15338419
Following her demonstration of pathways for human diseases to harm or kill gorillas, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Lawrence Zikusoka, and Stephen Rubanga then founded Conservation Through Public Health
Conservation Through Public Health
Conservation Through Public Health is a non-profit organization based in Uganda and the USA that conducts programs to protect gorillas and other wildlife from human and livestock disease risk; to reduce human and livestock diseases in the vicinity of wildlife; to increase the local use of family...
in order to improve both human and ecological health in Africa.http://ctph.org/about_meet_staff_ctph.php CTPH is a non-profit organization based in Uganda and the USA that conducts programs that protect gorillas and other wildlife from human and livestock disease risk; that reduce human and livestock diseases in the vicinity of wildlife; that increase the local use of family planning; and that use Information/Communication Technology both to help local development and to educate people about the environment.http://ctph.org/about_method_ctph.php Kalema-Zikusoka is the CEO of the organization.
Honors, Awards, and Other Recognitions
Kalema-Zikusoka has received a number of honors, awards, and other public recognitions of her environmentalEnvironmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
and humanitarian
Humanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
work. In 2009, she won the Whitley Gold Award, the top prize awarded in what has been considered the "Green Oscars".http://www.whitleyaward.org/display.php?id=150. In 2008, the San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...
gave her its Conservation-in-Action Award.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/invite/zoonooz_article.pdf In 2007, Seed Magazine named her one of their eight Revolutionary Minds in Science.http://www.worldwildlife.org/efn/pdfs/efn%20news%20April%202008.pdf In 2006, Kalema-Zikusoka was elected to an Ashoka Fellowship
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, VA, supporting the field of social entrepreneurship. Ashoka was founded by Bill Drayton in 1981 to identify and support leading social entrepreneurs through a Social Venture Capital approach with the goal of...
.http://www.ashoka.org/node/3965
Kalema-Zikusoka was profiled in the BBC documentary, Gladys the African Vet.http://www.bigwavetv.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=20&cntnt01origid=58&cntnt01returnid=57 She has also been featured in documentaries in National Geographic, Animal Planet, MNet and Uganda Television.http://ctph.org/about_meet_staff_ctph.php
She was chosen among nine international environmental leaders to write a letter to the next US President in Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
Magazine, November/December 2008 issue.
Selected publications
- Kalema G. 1994. Letter entitled “Veterinarians and Zoological Medicine” to the Veterinary Record. The Veterinary Record, 135 (1).
- Nizeyi J. B., Mwebe R, Nanteza A, Cranfield M.R, Kalema G.R.N.N., Graczyk T. 1999. Cryptosporidium sp. and Giardia sp. Infections in mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Journal Parasitology 85 (7). American Society of Parasitologists.
- Nizeye J. B., Innocent R. B., Erume J, Kalema G. R. N. N., Cranfield M. R. and Graczyk T. K. 2001. Campylobacteriosis, Salmonellosis, and Shigellosis in free-ranging human-habituated mountain gorillas in Uganda. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 37(2): 239-244.
- Graczyk T. K., DaSilva A. J., Cranfield M. R., Nizeye J. B., Kalema G. R and Pieniazek N. J. 2001. Cryptosporidium parvum genotype 2 infections in free-ranging mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) of the Bwindi Impenetrable National park, Uganda. Parasitology Research 87(5):368-70.
- Kalema-Zikusoka G, Kock R. A. , Macfie E. J. 2002. Scabies in free-ranging mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Veterinary Record 150(1):12-5.
- Kalema-Zikusoka G and Lowenstine L. 2001. Rectal prolapse in a free-ranging mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei): clinical presentation and surgical management. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 32(4):509-513.
- Kalema-Zikusoka G, Horne W. A., Levine J. and Loomis M. R. 2003. Comparison of the cardiopulmonary effects of medetomidine-butorphanol-ketamine and
medetomidine-butorphanol- midazolam in patas monkeys (Erthyrocebus patas). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 34(1):47-52.
- Kalema-Zikusoka G, Rothman JM, Fox MT. 2005. Intestinal parasites and bacteria of mountain gorillas ( Gorilla beringei beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Primates 46:59-63.
- Steven. O. Osofsky, Richard A. Kock, Michael D. Kock, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Richard Grahn, Tim Leyland, William. B. Karesh. 2005. Building support for Protected Ares using a One Health perspective In: Friends for Life, New partners in support of protected areas. Edited by Jeff McNeily. Published by IUCN, Species Survival Commission.
- Kalema-Zikusoka G, Bengis R, G., A. L. Michel and M. H. Woodford. 2005. A preliminary investigation of tuberculosis and other diseases in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 72:145-151.
- Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, and Lynne Gaffikin. 2008. Sharing the Forest, Protecting Gorillas and Helping Families in Uganda. Focus series, published by the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for International Scholars and USAID, Issue 17 October 2008.
- Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka. 2009. Lair of a Silverback. Wild Places. National Geographic Traveler, Issue October 2009.