Fred Ssewamala, known as “Dr. Fred” at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work, has dedicated his career to supporting Ugandan youth affected by HIV/AIDS. He regularly returns to his birthplace, a small village north of Kampala, Uganda, where he addresses the challenges faced by children who have lost parents to HIV.
Ssewamala founded the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD) and has spent two decades developing support systems that combine mental health services, medication adherence programs, and economic empowerment initiatives. His work aims to improve outcomes for youth living with HIV who are orphaned.
His personal experience as an orphan—having lost his family during Uganda’s civil war—motivates his efforts. Raised by extended family and neighbors, Ssewamala credits their support for helping him escape poverty and pursue an academic path.
“I grew up an orphan; I grew up poor,” Ssewamala said. “When you are an orphan in Uganda, you are taken care of by the extended family. From a very early age, I wanted to support those in similar circumstances.”
In Masaka near Lake Victoria, where many children live with HIV in secrecy due to stigma, Ssewamala met with local staff and young people during a recent visit. He observed firsthand how some children skip medication because antiretroviral therapy requires food they cannot afford.
Ssewamala’s approach integrates microfinance principles from his doctoral research. At ICHAD’s field offices in Masaka and Kalisizo, families receive training in financial literacy and income-generating activities alongside health counseling. This strategy helps orphans remain in school and adhere to treatment regimens.
“As the old African proverb goes, ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ I have found that really to be the case,” said Ssewamala.
ICHAD employs nearly 100 staff members across dozens of communities. Its “Ssuubi” projects—which means “hope” in Luganda—have enabled 10,000 families to open matched savings accounts. The Amaka Amasanyufu manual is used in hundreds of schools and churches across Uganda and Kenya to support mental health among children with behavioral disorders.
Long-term studies such as Bridges to the Future provide matching funds for family savings while encouraging microbusinesses like poultry farming. These interventions have improved school performance and food security at dozens of primary schools. Suubi4Her focuses on teenage girls in secondary schools and has influenced international efforts like the DREAMS Partnership supported by organizations including the Gates Foundation and USAID.
Currently overseeing ten National Institutes of Health study trials, Ssewamala estimates that his work has directly benefited tens of thousands of children over twenty years. He draws on personal loss: at age three he lost his mother; at eleven he survived while soldiers killed much of his immediate family during political violence.
“Most people hear ‘orphan’ and think you are almost a street beggar,” he says. “I’ve outgrown that common concern. I feel blessed to do the work I do.”
Today Ssewamala is the Constance and Martin Silver Endowed Professor of Poverty Studies at NYU’s Silver School of Social Work, faculty director at its McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, and holds a joint appointment with NYU School of Medicine. Mary McKay described him as a pioneer in integrating financial support with mental health services for children living with HIV.
“When I talk to Ugandan orphans, and frankly all orphaned children across the poor sub Saharan African countries where I work, they are dreaming big,” Dr. Fred says. “They want to be professors, doctors, or lawyers. You can see it in their eyes that they have suubi. They need opportunities to realize their hopes and dreams.”
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