Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka (born 8 January 1970) is a Ugandan veterinarian and founder of Conservation Through Public Health, an organisation dedicated to the coexistence of endangered mountain gorillas, other wildlife, humans, and livestock in Africa.[1]
Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka
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| Alma mater | Royal Veterinary College (Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine) North Carolina State University (Master of Veterinary Science) Duke University (Certificate in Non-Profit Management) Undisclosed University (MBA in Global Business and Sustainability) |
| Known for | Study of mountain gorillas, conservation |
| Awards | Whitley Awards (UK) (2009) EarthCare Award (US) (2018) UNEP Champions of the Earth (2021) Edinburgh Medal (UK) (2022) |
Kalema-Zikusoka was Uganda's first wildlife veterinary officer and was the star of the BBC documentary, Gladys the African Vet.[2] In 2009 she won the Whitley Gold Award for her conservation work.[3] 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.[4]
Interested in animals since the age of 12 while growing up in Kampala, Kalema-Zikusoka started a wildlife club at her school and organised trips to Queen Elizabeth National Park.[5] 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. Later, 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, obtained from Duke University. Her most recent academic achievement is a Master of Business Administration, obtained in 2016.[5][6]
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.[5]
In 1996, when 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 Authority. She was the first person to hold that position. At the time, Bwindi gorillas numbered about 300 whereas in 2018 a count of approximately 460 was sufficient to downgrade the mountain gorilla to endangered from critically endangered status.[7] She pioneered the first wildlife translocation to restock Uganda's national parks following years of poaching during Uganda's civil wars.[8]
As part of her veterinary research, she identified parasite transmission from humans to mountain gorillas as a significant risk factor for gorillas.[9]
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 to improve both human and ecological health in Africa.[5] 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 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. Kalema-Zikusoka is the CEO of the organisation.[5]
CTPH was founded in 2003. 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.[8]
Walking with Gorillas: The Journey of an African Wildlife Vet[10] The book's foreword is by Dr Jane Goodall.[7]
Kalema-Zikusoka has received a number of honours, awards, and other public recognitions 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".[3] In 2008, the San Diego Zoo gave her its Conservation-in-Action Award.[5] In 2006, Kalema-Zikusoka was elected to an Ashoka Fellowship.[11] In 2007, Seed Magazine named her one of their eight Revolutionary Minds in Science.[11]
Kalema-Zikusoka was profiled in the BBC documentary, Gladys the African Vet. She has also been featured in documentaries in 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.[11]
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 that was held in Denver, Colorado, in the United States.[12]
In December 2021 she was proclaimed the United Nations Environment Programme's Champion of the Earth for Science and Innovation.[13][14]
In April 2022, Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka was awarded the Edinburgh Medal 2022 Archived 31 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine 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, Kalema-Zikusoka was named to the BBC's 100 Women list.[15]