team details

Dr Simon Arunga is the Founding Chairman of Dr Arunga’s Eye Hospital, Uganda’s first indigenous private eye hospital. He qualified as an ophthalmologist in Uganda in 2014 and earned a PhD from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), UK, in 2020. He subsequently returned to Uganda to continue serving and advancing eye care in the country.

An accomplished clinician and eye surgeon, Dr Arunga pioneered the use of phacoemulsification technology for cataract surgery in Southwestern Uganda.

Dr Arunga plays an active leadership role in national, regional and global eye health. He currently serves as President of the College of Ophthalmology of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (COECSA) and as Lions Clubs International Foundation SightFirst Technical Advisor for Anglophone Africa.

He is also an academic and researcher, serving as a Senior Lecturer at Mbarara University of Science and Technology and an Assistant Professor at the International Centre for Eye Health, LSHTM. He has published more than 40 peer-reviewed papers, with particular interests in corneal disease, public eye health and artificial intelligence in eye care.

In recognition of his contributions to eye health, Dr Arunga was named an IAPB Eye Health Hero in 2019 and a Volk Eye Health Champion in 2020.