Mary Ann Cooper’s journey from an emergency-room doctor to a global lightning-safety champion — and why Uganda became central to her mission?

What the report says

Watchdog Uganda profiles Dr. Mary Ann Cooper, an American emergency medicine specialist who became a long-time advocate for lightning injury prevention and safety education. The article says her work spans more than five decades and has taken her from hospital care in the United States to research, training and outreach in Africa, with Uganda emerging as a central focus of her mission.

The piece connects Cooper’s interest in lightning safety to deadly strikes in Ugandan schools, especially the June 28, 2011 incident at Runyanya Primary School in Kiryandongo, where lightning killed 18 children and injured 36 others, according to the report. It says the tragedy helped bring Cooper into closer contact with Ugandan researchers and advocates, including Richard Tushemereirwe, and contributed to the creation of the African Centres for Lightning Education Network (ACLENet). Cooper is described as ACLENet’s co-founder and managing director.

The report argues that Cooper’s broader contribution has been to translate scientific understanding into practical protection, including public education and lightning-protection systems for schools and communities. It cites Runyanya as an example: after protection was installed, parents reportedly regained confidence and enrolment later rose. The article also notes a wider challenge across Africa—many countries do not consistently record lightning deaths and injuries, making the scale of the problem harder to measure and address. In general terms, the piece presents lightning safety as both a public-health and education issue, especially in vulnerable school settings.