The Principal CoVAB, Prof. Frank Nobert Mwiine (5th Left) and the Principal MakCHS, Prof. Damalie Nakanjako (8th Left) with stakeholders at the consultation workshop on Paratuberculosis funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), 26th September 2022, Kampala.
The College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) conducted a dissemination and stakeholder consultation workshop following a successful completion of phase I of the research on Paratuberculosis funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
The study was conducted in partnership with the Universities of Goettingen and Leipzig, in Germany and partners from the University of Khartoum and Ibn Sina Specialised Hospital in Sudan from 2018 till now.
Participants at the workshop.
The dissemination workshop held Monday 26th September 2022 at Piato Restaurant in Kampala was also a forum where a number of stakeholders came together as one of the initial preparatory activities for the upcoming successor phase II research to be conducted in the coming 3-year period. The project was a trigger for additional funds from the European Union and Germany on COVID19 and Antimicrobial Resistance in collaboration with other six African countries namely, DRC, Senegal, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Madagascar.
According to CoVAB’s Dr. Okuni Julius Boniface, one of the Principal Investigators, the new collaboration involves Makerere College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) and now covers One Health issues including COVID-19 and Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals and Humans.
Prof. Okuni Julius Boniface (Left) recognizes fellow researchers.
He said the meeting was convened to inform the stakeholders in the broader partnership about the objectives and to share the results for the collaboration spanning the last four years. He said the engagement was necessary in order to create a rapport for future engagements. ‘We are desirous of engaging with fellow researchers, policy makers, government agencies in order to make a synergistic contribution towards solutions to problems affecting Human welfare using a One Health Approach’, he stated in a statement about the engagement.
He noted that all stakeholders were willing to collaborate and to play a leading role in propelling the research agenda on Anti-Microbial resistance and Neglected Tropical Diseases.
(L-R) Prof. Damalie Nakanjako (Mak-CHS), Prof. Uwe Truwen (Leipzig Univ.) and Porf. Ahmed Abd Ai Wahed (Leipzig Univ.)
The partnership is aimed at building capacity through training of the next generation of researchers, which will also ensure sustainability of the outputs realized. “I noted that there is no sustainability after close of projects such as lack of proper use of equipment acquired in the process of implementation” noted Dr. Ahmed Abd El Wahed from Leipzig University. Prof. Uwe Truyen, the Director of the Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health at the University of Leipzig in Germany said “the ongoing collaboration covers areas of Research, Capacity Building, networking, engagement and knowledge transfer with African Countries taking lead”.
The Principal of the College of Health Sciences Makerere University, Prof. Damalie Nakanjako extended her appreciation to all the stakeholders for their willingness to handle the challenge of infectious diseases in a multi sectoral manner. She said the success of the program and the network will be realized only if they came up with a database that can be used by all other African Countries as a reference.
Prof. Frank Nobert Mwiine, Principal CoVAB makes his remarks.
The Principal of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Prof. Frank Nobert Mwiine, while making his remarks at the close of the meeting noted that the ongoing research was a manifestation of the objective of the University, which is being research led. He said although the majority of the students were undergraduate, the future of the University is targeting having more postgraduate students. He commended the German-funded project that is already supporting a Ph.D student. He congratulated the team for winning project support amidst the high competitiveness of accessing project funds.
On another note, Prof. Mwiine extended his appreciation to Prof. Ojok Lonzy who taught and mentored a number of staff at the College for his humility and sense of humor with which he passed on knowledge to the students. He also used the opportunity to thank the staff in his college for the good work they were doing by putting Makerere University high in its research agenda.
Prof. Ojok Lonzi makes his contributions.
Also appreciated at the dissemination meeting was Assoc. Prof. Jessica Nakavuma who was hailed for her role of teaching Microbiology across Colleges for over thirty years.
Other speakers included Co Principal Investigator Prof. Ejobi who emphasized the need for networking which was essential in as far as informing stakeholders was concerned.
Prof. Robert Tweyongyere (Right) receives a gift from Prof. Uwe Truwen (Centre) and Porf. Ahmed Abd Ai Wahed (Left).
One of the beneficiaries of the project, Ph.D student Judah Ssekitoleko took off time to explain his experience undertaking his studies in Uganda on a Germany supported project. He said there was big contrast working on research here locally with instances of challenges like power fluctuations, the use of sophisticated equipment and lack of adequate capacity to use them. He appreciated the advantage of working from home that reduced the pressures of missing family and network.
Prof. Ojok Lonzi was recognised for his humiltiy and humour while teaching most of the participants.
In a groundbreaking advancement for zoonotic disease research, Makerere University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) inaugurated the Tracking Trails project, an ambitious, transnational research initiative that aims to expose the spatiotemporal dynamics of free-roaming dogs and their epidemiological implications, particularly concerning rabies.
This endeavor brings together expertise from Uganda, Chad, India, Indonesia, and Switzerland, exemplifying an ideal One Health model. It integrates epidemiology, ecology, veterinary medicine, genomics, and socio-cultural anthropology, forging a transdisciplinary approach to health that is as inclusive as it is innovative.
The project under the department of Biosecurity, Ecosystems and Veterinary Public Health at CoVAB was officially launched at Fairway Hotel in in Kampala on October 16th 2025, at a ceremony attended by a consortium of national and international collaborators.
Dr. Terrence Odoch, CoVAB, Co-PI, Makerere University, and Dr. Salome Dürr of the University of Bern, the Principal Investigator, gave a brief about the project.
Dr. Salome Dürr of the University of Bern, the principal investigator, underscored the imperative of comprehending canine mobility not solely through the prism of rabies, but as a broader vector of zoonotic pathogen transmission. “Our inquiry transcends mere rabies surveillance, we intend to interrogate the health ramifications of canine movement,” she said.
Uganda as the Initial Epicenter
Uganda has been strategically designated as the inaugural locus for implementation, owing to its heterogeneous demographic fabric, divided into urban and rural ecosystems, alongside its ongoing national rabies eradication agenda. Research operations will span five districts of Kyegegwa, Masaka, Arua, Soroti, and Kampala, each offering varied ecological and socio-cultural matrices.
Dr. Terence Odoch, the Co – Principal Investigator from CoVAB Makerere University, emphasized the twofold imperative of generating actionable scientific evidence while concurrently cultivating academic capacity through the active inclusion of postgraduate cohorts.
Prof. James Acai Okwee (C) officiates at the launch of the project.
He said what distinguishes the Tracking Trails project is its integrative methodological representation that includes GPS telemetry, behavioral ecology, socio-cultural ethnography, and genomic analysis converge to address critical interrogatives, he said while giving a brief about the project. Why do dogs roam? In what ways are they embedded within human ecologies? Which movement vectors potentiate pathogen propagation? Interventions, he noted, must be established upon the understanding of these dynamics, rather than simplistic vaccination paradigms.
Contextual Complexity across Continents
A section of the implementers from the Districts who attended the launch and will play key roles.
During the launch, the different implementing countries made brief report about the status of their intended interventions and the prevailing circumstances. It was reported that in Chad, nomadic pastoralism renders canine mobility both indispensable and problematic. Professor Fayiz Abakar emphasized that prior vaccination efforts in N’Djamena achieved epidemiologically significant coverage only when rendered cost-free, underscoring the primacy of accessibility and public engagement.
For India, one of the implementing countries, it was reported that this was a home to an estimated 60 million canines, struggling with a paradoxical cultural disposition that is also spiritual in nature coupled with neglect and abandonment. Dr. Harish Tiwari delineated contrasting rural-urban movement ecologies, revealing expanded urban ranges and increased aggression post-COVID.
Some of the researchers that include PhD and Post Doc fellows taking part in the project were at the launch.
For the case of Indonesia, the situation of free roaming dogs was no any better given the socio-religiously complex set up and the endemic rabies in 26 provinces. Dr. Ewaldus Wera described distinctive behavioral adaptations in rural versus urban dogs across Flores, Lombok, and West Timor. Underscoring logistical impediments to surveillance in topographically inaccessible locales.
Rabies as a Persistent Global Threat
During the launch, officiated by CoVAB’s Deputy Principal Prof. James Acai Okwee on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe , it was explained that rabies continues to pose a formidable public health threat, remaining a virulent zoonosis with a near-100% case fatality rate once clinical symptoms appear , despite being entirely preventable through timely prophylaxis.
Local and international students react to issues raised after they presented their research concepts during the Launch seminar.
Dr. Alfred Wejuli of Uganda’s Ministry of Health emphasized the urgent need for intersectoral collaboration under the One Health framework. He underscored that coordinated governance across human, animal, and environmental health sectors is indispensable for sustained disease mitigation and effective rabies control.
By equipping free-roaming dogs with GPS collars, researchers will gain real-time insights into canine movement patterns, enabling the mapping of trajectories, analysis of pack dynamics, home range variability, and interactions with human environments.
Academic and Institutional Capacity Building
Beyond empirical inquiry, the initiative is an incubator for emerging scholars. Makerere University and its partner institutions have embedded postgraduate training into the project’s architecture, equipping students with competencies in cross-disciplinary fieldwork, laboratory diagnostics, and community-based research.
Global Solidarity and Forward Trajectory
CoVAB’s Dr. Sam Okech moderated the sessions at the launch seminar.
Notwithstanding anticipated challenges ranging from logistical constraints in remote terrains to sociocultural sensitivities, the Tracking Trails project offers an unprecedented confluence of innovation, collaboration, and public health utility. As it scales across Africa and Asia, it aspires to generate an empirically grounded, culturally attuned, and ethically informed blueprint for rabies control and canine population management. Dr. Dürr encapsulated the initiative’s ethos: “Rabies transcends borders. Dog mobility defies administrative frontiers. To safeguard both human and animal health, a synergistic, global, and interdisciplinary response is imperative.”
Sekajja Agro Farms Ltd (SAF), a fully integrated poultry enterprise located in Buyuki Nama Sub-County, Mukono District, has initiated strategic discussions with Makerere University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) to establish a Graduate Trainee partnership. This collaboration is designed to bridge the persistent gap between academic instruction and practical industry experience by offering final-year students and recent graduates immersive training across the entire poultry value chain.
At a meeting held at CoVAB, the SAF team, led by Dr. Abu Mayanja, the Chief Operations Officer SAF, and the staff of the Department of Livestock and Industry Resources (LIR), a range of operations where the students would benefit were explained, ranging from feed mill production and hatchery management to broiler farming, outgrower coordination, and abattoir services, providing a rich environment for experiential learning. Dr. Abu said the initiative will not only enhance graduate employability but also foster innovation and research, and build technical capacity in Uganda’s poultry sector, while promoting knowledge exchange and entrepreneurial thinking among young professionals. Dr. Mayanja highlighted the significant human resource gap in Uganda’s poultry industry, noting that most workers acquire skills informally on the job. To address this challenge, the partnership will offer final-year students and recent graduates a six-month comprehensive training program, combining mentorship with hands-on experience across SAF’s integrated poultry operations from feed production and hatchery management to broiler farming and processing.
A section of CoVAB staff who were at the meeting deliberated on the potential partnership
Dr. Sylvia Nalubwama, along with other CoVAB staff, emphasized the strategic importance of the proposed Graduate Trainee partnership with Sekajja Agro Farms Ltd (SAF). The team highlighted that the initiative aligns well with Makerere University’s broader mission to provide education that meets societal needs, especially through practical, skills-based training. The two parties agreed to formalize the partnership following the established process, starting at the departmental level through the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Resources (SVAR), and concluding with approval of the Memorandum of Understanding by University Management. They also agreed that, due to the urgent workforce gaps in the poultry industry, they would begin immediate engagement and move forward with preliminary activities, including reaching out to interested students and planning the program, even while formalities are still being finalized.
Among some of the terms of the engagement is providing student facilitation, including rent, internet access, and meals, while emphasizing the importance of attitude, adaptability, and willingness to learn. Students will be selected through a merit-based application and interview process. The meeting also spoke of the need for collaboration with BTVET institutions, certification for trainees, and aligning academic programs with industry expectations.
Representatives of the final-year students in attendance expressed keen interest in the Graduate Trainee program and raised pertinent questions regarding remuneration and post-training employment opportunities. In response, representatives from Sekajja Agro Farms Ltd (SAF) acknowledged the importance of financial incentives but emphasized that the true value of the program lies in the unique exposure it offers to the commercial and operational aspects of poultry production. They assured students that the six-month training module is designed to equip them with critical skills, industry insights, and entrepreneurial competencies that are essential for driving growth and innovation within Uganda’s poultry sector.
On Monday, 22nd September 2025, the Department of Biosecurity, Ecosystems and Veterinary Public Health (BEP) at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Health and Biosecurity (CoVAB), Makerere University, launched a four-day intensive training program aimed at equipping Uganda’s next generation of educators with foundational knowledge in One Health. This initiative seeks to foster interdisciplinary understanding among future teachers, emphasizing the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health in addressing emerging public health challenges.
The initiative, titled “One Health Training of Uganda’s Next Generation of Teachers,” targets selected third-year education students from Makerere University, Kyambogo University, Uganda Christian University (UCU), and Kabale University, along with newly graduated teachers from across the country. The training is one of the activities of the broader Capacitating One Health in Eastern and Southern Africa (COHESA)project, a regional program spanning 12 countries aimed at strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration and promoting integrated approaches to health education and practice.
Prof. Clovice Kankya, Head of the BEP Department at CoVAB and Principal Investigator of the COHESA project in Uganda, underscored the transformative impact of the training, describing it as a strategic investment in the nation’s future health resilience. He noted that by equipping educators with foundational knowledge in One Health, Uganda is fostering a sustainable network of informed leaders capable of influencing both formal education systems and grassroots communities. These teachers will not only embed One Health principles into their curricula but also serve as local ambassadors and champions for improved sanitation, climate adaptation, and disease prevention within their communities.
Prof. Clovice Kankya, Head of the BEP Department at CoVAB and Principal Investigator of the COHESA project in Uganda
“This is more than a training,” Prof. Kankya remarked. “It’s a movement to embed One Health thinking into the social fabric of Uganda, given that educators are trusted voices in society. When they grasp the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, they become powerful catalysts for behavioral change and community-driven action.”
He emphasized the pivotal role of teachers as agents of change, stressing that One Health, a multidisciplinary approach integrating human, animal, and environmental health, is vital for addressing today’s complex health challenges. Despite its growing global relevance, he observed that the concept of One Health remains largely underrepresented in Uganda’s education and public health sectors. This gap, he argued, makes the involvement of teachers especially critical, as they can serve as catalysts for a multiplier effect, extending the reach and impact of One Health principles across both formal education systems and local communities.
A section of the participants engaged in group work during the training
Prof. Clovice Kankya further highlighted that the ripple effect of empowering teachers will extend beyond schools, reaching homes, villages, and regional networks. In doing so, the initiative aims to build a generation of citizens who are not only aware of health risks but are also equipped to respond collaboratively and sustainably.
The trainees, drawn from diverse teaching disciplines, received instruction in key areas such as an introduction to One Health principles, zoonotic diseases and outbreak investigation, risk communication strategies, community engagement, and exit protocols, among others. Facilitators from AFROHUN and CoVAB were carefully selected for their expertise in outbreak response, strategic communication, and community-based education. The curriculum is enriched with social science perspectives to strengthen community entry approaches and promote culturally sensitive messaging, ensuring that participants are well-equipped to engage effectively with local populations.