Ugandan wildlife veterinarian Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka has transformed mountain gorilla conservation by demonstrating that protecting endangered wildlife depends on improving the well-being of neighboring communities. After a scabies outbreak nearly wiped out a gorilla family in 1996, she discovered the disease had spread indirectly from nearby villages, inspiring her to establish Conservation Through Public Health in 2003. The nonprofit has since reached more than 50,000 people through health education, sanitation, livestock management, and alternative livelihood programs, including Gorilla Conservation Coffee, which pays farmers above-market prices to discourage poaching. These combined efforts have helped Uganda’s mountain gorilla population grow by over 50%, contributing to the species’ reclassification from critically endangered to endangered. Tourism has also surged, bringing $31.7 million annually to the local economy and transforming livelihoods around the park.
CNN