Sr Dr Miriam Duggan: A Life of Faith, Healing, and Humanity

Sr Dr Miriam Duggan

Ireland has lost one of its best-known missionaries with the recent death of Sr Dr Miriam Duggan at the age of 89 years. Notwithstanding her great age, Sr Miriam was ministering until earlier this year in Kariobangi which is one of the large slums in the Kenyan capitol Nairobi where she was delivering vocational training to teenage boys who had dropped out of the education system. Retirement is not something missionaries do… they continue their work whilst they are physically and mentally able.

Sr Miriam was born in Limerick in March 1936 into a devout Catholic family. In 1956, she joined the Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa, a decision that would shape the trajectory of her life. After completing her medical training in University College Cork, she went on to do post-graduate studies in obstetrics and gynaecology in Birmingham where she obtained MRCOG in 1969.

She felt a strong calling to serve in Africa, where the need for healthcare was urgent and resources scarce. Her first posting was in Uganda, a country she would come to love deeply and serve for over four decades. It was there that Sr Miriam's dual vocations as a nun and a doctor found their fullest expression.

She has left behind a unique legacy of compassion, courage, and tireless service. Her life's work spanned continents and decades, touching countless lives through her medical expertise, spiritual guidance, and unwavering commitment to the marginalised. From the dusty clinics of Uganda to university and other lecture halls, Sr Miriam embodied the rare fusion of science and faith, healing bodies and souls with equal grace.

Fighting HIV/AIDS with Compassion and Clarity

Sr Miriam arrived in Uganda during a time of profound crisis. The HIV/AIDS epidemic was ravaging communities, and misinformation, stigma, and fear were rampant. As a gynaecologist and obstetrician, she witnessed first-hand the devastating toll the virus was taking on women and children. But rather than retreat in despair, she responded with action.

She founded the Reach Out Mbuya Parish HIV/AIDS Initiative, a community-based programme that provided medical care, counselling, and education to those affected by the disease. Her approach was holistic: she treated patients medically while also addressing the social and spiritual wounds inflicted by the epidemic. Her work was groundbreaking - not only for its medical impact but for its emphasis on dignity, inclusion, and hope.

Sr Miriam was also instrumental in developing youth education programmes such as Youth Alive that focused on abstinence and behavioural change, and which spread to 21 African countries. These were controversial in secular circles but effective in reducing transmission rates. Her advocacy was rooted in her belief that prevention must be culturally sensitive and morally grounded.

Leadership and Influence

Beyond her clinical work, Sr Miriam was a mentor, educator, and leader. She served as the Medical Director of Nsambya Hospital in Kampala, one of Uganda's leading healthcare institutions. Under her leadership, the hospital expanded its services and became a centre of excellence in maternal health and infectious disease treatment. Her contributions were both clinical and systemic, reshaping how maternal care was delivered in resource-limited settings. She helped modernise maternity wards, improve surgical capabilities for emergency obstetric care, and train staff in best practices for safe deliveries.

She was deeply committed to capacity building, mentoring countless Ugandan doctors, nurses, and midwives. Her emphasis on ethical, compassionate care helped shape a generation of maternal health professionals who prioritised both clinical outcomes and patient dignity.

In the area of public health, Sr Miriam championed antenatal education programmes, ensuring that expectant mothers received vital information about nutrition, birth preparedness, and postpartum care. She advocated for community-based maternal health outreach, bringing services to rural areas where women often lacked access to hospitals.

She served as Congregational Leader in Ireland from 2001-2013, and as President of the Irish Missionary Union from 2008-2011.

HIV and Maternal Health Integration

During the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, she pioneered integrated care models that addressed both maternal health and HIV prevention. She ensured that pregnant women living with HIV received anti-retroviral therapy and counselling, significantly reducing mother-to-child transmission rates. She made a profound and lasting impact on maternal health in Uganda.

Her voice was respected not only because of her credentials but because of her lived experience - she had walked the walk, often in the most challenging conditions. She advised both governmental and international health bodies, helping shape maternal health policies that were culturally sensitive and evidence-based. She was a vocal advocate for women's health rights, emphasising the need for respectful maternity care and the reduction of maternal mortality.

Her work didn't just save lives - it transformed systems. Her legacy in maternal health is visible in the stronger institutions, better-trained professionals, and healthier mothers and babies across Uganda and beyond.

Public Recognition of Her Work

In 1982, Sr Miriam was admitted to Fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. In 1993, she was awarded Woman Doctor of the Year in Genoa, Italy, and in 2007 was conferred with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Ministry Honoris Causa by the College of Holy Cross in Worcester, USA. In 2012, she was awarded the Alumni Award of the Faculty of Medicine by University College Cork for outstanding work in obstetrics and gynaecology and HIV prevention and treatment.

In 2006, she was honoured by Harvard University, the Templeton Foundation and the Church of Uganda for pioneering behaviour-based HIV prevention.

Governments also granted her prestigious awards in recognition of her extraordinary contributions to medicine, humanitarian work, and global health, especially in her beloved Africa. She was honoured by the Parliament and President of Uganda in 2008 for her pivotal role in reducing HIV/AIDS infection rates from a staggering 26% down to 6.3% in certain regions. The President appointed

In 2015, I was privileged to nominate here for a Presidential Distinguished Service Award that was presented to her by President Michael D. Higgins who praised her "tireless medico-humanitarian work on the African continent across the fields of midwifery and the care of those afflicted by HIV/AIDS," calling her efforts "one of the most impressive examples of Irish diasporic empathy in practice".

Yet she remained humble, often deflecting praise to her colleagues and the communities she served. "It's not about me," she once said to me. "It's about what we can do together when we believe in love and justice."

Faith in Action

What set Sr Miriam apart was her seamless integration of faith and medicine. She did not see her religious vocation as separate from her medical practice; rather, she saw both as expressions of love. Her patients were not just cases - they were children of God, deserving of care, respect, and compassion.

She often spoke of the "healing ministry" as a sacred duty, one that required not just skill but humility. Her bedside manner was legendary - gentle, attentive, and deeply empathetic. She prayed with her patients, cried with them, and celebrated their recoveries with genuine joy.

Her faith also sustained her through personal trials, including threats during political unrest in Uganda, the emotional toll of the AIDS crisis, and the loss of colleagues and friends. Through it all, she remained steadfast, drawing strength from her spiritual convictions and her community of sisters.

In 2019, Dublin-born, Fr Conor Donnelly who has been ministering in Kenya since 2005 recorded an interview with Sr Miriam about her life and work. See: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/36742. That and an interview she did with Global Sisters Report in 2020 gives an insight into her humility and the Christian values she practised throughout her long life - www.globalsistersreport.org/ministry/q-sr-miriam-duggan-you-do-your-best-and-god-and-our-lady-will-do-rest.

Conclusion

News of her death was met with an outpouring of grief and gratitude. Tributes poured in from around the world - from government officials, church leaders, former patients, and fellow healthcare workers. Many described her as a "saint among us," a woman whose life was a testament to what is possible when compassion meets courage.

Sr Dr Miriam Duggan's story is not just one of personal achievement - it is a story of faith, service, sacrifice, and love. She showed the world that medicine can be a form of ministry, and that faith can fuel science. Her legacy lives on in the hospitals she helped build, the programmes she launched, and the countless lives she touched.

In a world often divided by ideology and indifference, Sr Miriam stood as a bridge between continents, between disciplines, and between hearts. Her life reminds us that healing is not just about curing disease; it's about restoring hope. And in that mission, she was truly extraordinary. It was inspiring and a great privilege to have known her. May her gentle soul now rest in peace with the Lord whom she served so well on this earth.

(Matt Moran is a writer living in Cork. He has written extensively on the work of Irish missionaries and served as Chairman of the Board of Misean Cara and on the Board of Management of Nano Nagle Birthplace. He published "The Legacy of Irish Missionaries Lives On" and "The Theology of Integral Human Development" - available from mattmoran2021@gmail.com).