At its 15^th Board Meeting held on 21^st March 2017, at Hotel Africana, Kampala, Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi was elected Chairperson of the Board of Management of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) for a period of four years (2017-2021).

Prof Buyinza was elected on the basis of his record of successful initiatives aimed at fostering vibrant and viable multidisciplinary research hub at Makerere University; creating networks of locally-trained internationally recognized scholars; and enhancing the capacity of Makerere to lead globally-competitive research and training programs.  

Makerere University has enjoyed a long standing and productive relationship with the Consortium of Advanced Research Training (CARTA) since its inception in 2008 out of the realization that individual African universities lack the human and financial resources and infrastructural capacity to tackle the challenges of doctoral training on the continent. CARTA offers a well thought out approach to rebuild and to strengthen the capacity of African universities to produce world-class researchers, research leaders, and scholars.

As Board Chairperson, Prof Buyinza will superintended the governance and management of the CARTA partner universities in collaboration with the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Kenya, and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), South Africa. The consortium consists of nine universities and four research institutes in Sub-Saharan Africa, and six academic institutions in Europe, Canada, Sweden, and the USA. The nine African Universities including: Makerere University, Uganda Moi University, Kenya; University of Rwanda; University of Dar es Salaam, TZ; University of Ibadan, Nigeria; Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria; University of Malawi University of Nairobi, Kenya; University of the Witwatersrand, SA. The 3 African Research Centre including: Agincourt, SA; African Pop/ Research Institute, Kenya; Ifakara Health Institute, TZ; Kenya Medical Research Institute and the INDEPTH-Network. The northern Partners include: Swiss Tropical Population Health; University of Gothenburg, Sweden; University of Umea, Sweden; and Brown University, USA and University of Warwick, UK; Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research and ESEO:O, Chile.

We wish Prof Buyinza good health as he chairs this important research consortium aimed at building a vibrant African academy that is able to lead world-class multidisciplinary research that makes a positive impact on public and population health.