_{By Joseph Odoi}

The final dissemination workshop of the EU-funded project: A Cross-Disciplinary Alliance to Identify, PREdict, and PrePARe for Emerging Vector-Borne Diseases (PREPARE4VBDs) was successfully held from May 5^th to 8^th, 2025 at Best Western Premier Garden Hotel, Entebbe, Uganda, marking the culmination of a five-year, cross-continental research effort addressing vector-borne diseases in the era of climate change and globalization.

The hybrid event attracted over 80 participants, including researchers, policymakers, health practitioners, veterinarians, early-career scientists, and students from Africa and Europe. The workshop featured two key sessions with; one at Best Western Premier Garden Hotel, Entebbe, and another at the Centre for Biosecurity, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB), Makerere University.

In his opening remarks, Professor Lawrence Mugisha (Uganda’s Co-Principal Investigator from CoVAB, Makerere University), officially welcomed all stakeholders and highlighted that the purpose of the workshop was to share research findings and engage stakeholders as the project wraps up. The project commenced in September 2021 and will end in August 2025.

Prof. Mugisha noted that the overall aim of PREPARE4VBD is to strengthen preparedness in Africa and Europe for emerging zoonotic vector-borne diseases, especially in an era of climate change and increasing global interconnectedness by  (a) Creating a broad, and conceptual knowledge about vector-borne disease emergence and responses to climate change that reaches beyond specific diseases, vector species, borders or scientific disciplines  (b)Improving prediction and preparedness in Africa and Europe for zoonotic vector-borne diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks and freshwater snails to livestock and humans under climate change and globalization.

In a project overview, the PREPARE4VBD Principal Investigator, Professor Anna-Sofie Stensgaard from the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, noted that vector-borne diseases are on the move, accounting for 17% of all infectious diseases and causing 700,000 deaths across the globe each year. She emphasized that zoonotics can’t be isolated as a human or animal health issue.

“The problem is growing and they are on the move,” she said, pointing to increased outbreaks of Rift Valley Fever, Dengue, West Nile, Chikungunya, Fasciolosis, and Schistosomiasis.

Because of this, she noted that the project thought of the need for cross-cutting and in-depth knowledge to improve surveillance and build capacity for early detection, as vector-borne diseases respect no borders. This, she explained, justified the formation of a multidisciplinary team consisting of 10 complementary partner institutions in Europe and Africa.

In terms of approach, she noted that the project used a proactive approach that focuses on addressing VBDs at a lower level, rather than the usual reactive approach that tackles diseases after they present themselves in large numbers.

More specifically, Professor Anna-Sofie noted that PREPARE4VBD focused on four thematic areas aimed at

A) Building knowledge through baseline data collection of neglected tick-, mosquito-, and snail-borne VBDs of importance for animal and human health in endemic African countries.

B) Assessing their capacity to adapt and spread to new areas using a holo-genomics approach and state-of-the-art climate change impact modelling.

C) Developing novel, sensitive diagnostic tools and model-based surveillance for rapid VBD discovery and early warning.

D) Strengthening the capacity for detection and surveillance of the targeted VBDs through training, effective communication, and dissemination of freely available data.

As part of project activities, Professor Anna-Sofie shared that the project conducted

• Training of 4 MSc students and 11 PhD fellows, as well as early-career researcher summer schools in Uganda and Kenya.
• Engaging fellows in the  poster sessions and technical workshops, such as molecular diagnostics and VBD modeling.
• Promotion of transdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange among partners across Africa and Europe.

In terms of key project achievements, she noted the project was able to achieve the following

• The development of a new AI-assisted Mini-FLOTAC microscope model.
• Creation of a model for Rift Valley Fever transmission and analysis of climate change impacts on snail-borne diseases.
• Discovery of an Ixodes tick species in Kenya, which was previously only known in Europe.
• Large-scale vector-snail warming experiments conducted across different climates, from South Africa to Denmark.
• Creation of a Global Vector Database (GVD) for centralized vector data collection.
• Development of non-invasive diagnostic tools, including PCR tools for pathogen detection in livestock blood/tick fluids, environmental DNA methods for liver fluke detection, and establishment of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training videos, all publicly accessible online.

Research Highlights in Uganda

In terms of consortium research highlights from the VBD project in Uganda, Adriko Moses from the Ministry of Health shared a multi-stakeholder approach to mitigate risks of liver fluke infections, a zoonotic disease affecting humans and animals.

Six districts near lake basins were studied: Hoima, Buliisa, Apac, Lira, Jinja, and Mayuge. The study involved 300 human samples, with 2 positive cases identified. Findings also highlighted damaged livers in slaughtered animals.

To address this trend in Uganda, the following policy recommendations were made from the study

Policy Recommendations for Control and Prevention of Liver Fluke Disease in Uganda

• Strengthen meat inspection policy in Uganda, including livestock testing before slaughter and enhanced meat testing protocols.
• Promote vegetable hygiene to control zoonotic fascioliasis—a parasitic infection transmitted through contaminated food.
• Scale up veterinary interventions in livestock through collaboration between farmers and veterinary services.
• Establish surveillance systems to monitor infections among livestock.
• Increase community engagement to improve health education and foster community-led health initiatives.

Remarks from Government and Academia

Dr. Peter Wanyama, representing the Commissioner for Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), commended the consortium for selecting Uganda and recognized the threat of VBDs to both animal and human health, as well as national development. He noted the challenge of tick resistance, and that MAAIF is constructing 69 diagnostic laboratories to address emerging vector-borne threats. He emphasized the need for local knowledge, effective communication, and knowledge translation.

Dr. Allan Muruta, Guest of Honour and Commissioner for Animal Health Services at the Ministry of Health, welcomed the multidisciplinary team to Uganda on behalf of the Minister of State for Primary Health Care.

He thanked the consortium for a well-done multidisciplinary effort addressing the growing challenge of vector-borne diseases in Africa. As a technical officer in surveillance, Dr. Muruta appreciated the project’s clear planning and timely execution.

“Africa is endemic to zoonotic diseases but allow me to share what the Ministry of Health has done. Our Integrated Surveillance Department has set up coordinated responses to several public health issues,” he shared.

He welcomed the findings and policy briefs developed through the research, noting they are relevant, science-based, and practical. He said the Ministry of Health has clear structures for handling policy issues and committed to engaging further to ensure policy uptake and action.

“All the policy briefs are feasible, new, and based on up-to-date science. The Ministry will follow through to see these policies implemented.”

He further noted that Uganda already has a functional One Health platform bringing together directors from health, water, and wildlife sectors. However, he emphasized the need to strengthen data sharing across the sub-national level. The Ministry, he said, is engaging with different sectors to make this happen.

Dr. Muruta reaffirmed the Ministry of Health’s openness to more collaboration in tackling zoonotic diseases and strengthening the One Health approach.

Prof. Frank Mwine, Principal of CoVAB, Makerere University, welcomed participants and applauded collaborative efforts in addressing vector-borne diseases.

In his remarks at Makerere University, Prof. Frank Mwine welcomed the diverse participants and thanked Prof. Lawrence Mugisha for his proven coordination and mobilization around One Health. He acknowledged the growing threats posed by climate change and emphasized the interconnectedness of ecosystems citing how birds migrate from Europe to Africa—as a reason for cross-border collaboration.

He commended the PREPARE4VBD project team for their unique research and innovations aimed at addressing vector-borne diseases and appreciated the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme for supporting such a critical initiative.

Looking ahead, Prof. Mwine stressed the importance of training the next generation  to strengthen preparedness and response efforts in the future.  

In a cross-country experience-sharing session involving Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, and South Africa, coordinated by Prof. Moses J. Chimbari (South Africa), participants agreed on the urgent need to integrate One Health into university curricula and bring together diverse disciplines to address vector-borne diseases caused by climate change and other complex factors.

In this engagement, there were a number of panel discussions revolving around translating policy recommendations into practical actions for long-term impact. Prof Lawrence Mugisha at this engagement announced that another dissemination on VBDs project outcomes will be held specifically for Students who were doing exams at the time of the Project dissemination

Workshop Highlights

Key research outcomes were presented, including the development of a Global Vector Database (GVD), AI-assisted diagnostic tools, and predictive climate-disease models.

The Entebbe session hosted high-level stakeholders, including representatives from the Ministries of Health and Agriculture, NGOs, and international research bodies. Discussions emphasized the importance of translating research into policy and action.

For outreach and dissemination, thirteen policy briefs were shared, alongside posters, infopacks, risk maps, peer-reviewed publications, newsletters, and fellow-driven blog posts  all aimed at sustaining knowledge exchange beyond the project lifespan.

Notable to mention was the development of a knowledge co-production model under the project, titled “Knowledge Co-Construction in Stakeholder Engagement Workshops in Health Research” by Kathrin Heitz Tokpa, Lawrence Mugisha, Moses Chimbari, and Bassirou Bonfoh.

The project has notably enhanced Africa Europe scientific cooperation and empowered local institutions with tools and training to detect, track, and control emerging diseases.

About the Project

PREPARE4VBD is a multi-disciplinary consortium that brings together 10 university and ministerial partners from 5 African and 3 European countries, united to address a future with increasingly changing global patterns of zoonotic vector-borne diseases through a holistic, pro-active approach that reaches beyond specific diseases, vector species, borders or scientific disciplines.

Project partners included; Makerere University, Sokoine University of Agriculture, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Naples Federico II, Swiss TPH, University of Bern, ICIPE, Uganda’s Vector Control Division, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, and Tanzania’s NIMR.

The project is part of Horizon 2020’s research and innovation actions (Grant agreement No. 101000365: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101000365) and is coordinated by the University of Copenhagen’s GLOBE Institute and Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences.

To read more about the project, visit the PREPARE4VBD website (www.prepare4vbd.eu), which offers key resources on vector-borne disease preparedness, including open-access tools, training materials, and research outputs to support continuous capacity building.