Kampala, 16 September 2026 — The Central Laboratory and Animal Research Facility (CLARF) and the Centre for Global Biosecurity and Biomolecular Technology (CeBIOTECH) at Makerere University hosted Hon. Eng. Jonard Asiimwe Akiiki, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Office of the President, on an official visit on Tuesday, 16 September 2026.
The Minister and his delegation were received by the Director of CeBIOTECH, together with staff and researchers from CLARF, CeBIOTECH and the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (COVAB). The visit included a guided tour of the facility, a technical briefing on ongoing research programmes, and an interaction with the research teams.
From research to products
Speaking during the visit, Hon. Eng. Asiimwe commended [insert what the Minister commended] and emphasised the need to move research results into commercially viable products that reach farmers and patients.
A tour of Uganda’s pre-clinical research infrastructure
The delegation toured CLARF, including the Animal Biosafety Level 3 (ABSL-3) containment suite — one of the few facilities of its kind in the region. CLARF provides the controlled, ethically regulated environment in which vaccines, drugs, herbal extracts and agrochemicals are evaluated for efficacy and safety before they can advance to human or field trials. Researchers explained how the facility supports the full pre-clinical pipeline, from plant extracts and synthetic chemicals to live, subunit and recombinant vaccine candidates, with immunogenicity and safety read-outs such as antibody and cytokine profiling.TicVac Uganda: towards a tick-free herd
A central part of the briefing was the TicVac Uganda Anti-Tick Vaccine Development Initiative, which aims to contribute to the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases through an innovative, locally developed immunological control strategy — an alternative to the acaricides to which tick populations in Uganda have increasingly developed resistance. Ticks and tick-borne diseases remain among the heaviest constraints on livestock productivity and household incomes across the country. The team also presented work on biomarker discovery and new diagnostics for communicable and non-communicable diseases, and outlined how CeBIOTECH’s biosecurity mandate connects Uganda’s research capacity to national preparedness and response.The visit concluded with a group photograph at the Centre for Global Biosecurity and Biomolecular Technology and a commitment to continued engagement between the Ministry and the Centre on [insert agreed next steps].“Our focus as a Ministry is to ensure that scientific innovations transition seamlessly from laboratory benches to commercialization. By scaling up solutions like the anti-tick vaccine, we can directly impact livestock productivity, support our farming communities, and strengthen national economic growth.”
— Hon. Eng. Jonard Asiimwe Akiiki, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation