Coordinated Surveillance System to Manage Food Security Threats

Makerere University in Uganda and North Dakota State University are developing a coordinated surveillance system that will enable the risk assessment and reduction of diseases in Uganda and the surrounding region that endanger food security, trade and human productivity.

The partners will execute a plan to establish centers of excellence as focal points for this surveillance system. These centers will develop solutions in the area of assessment, communication and response to trans-boundary pandemic zoonotic and vector-borne diseases as well as endemic zoonotic and production-limiting animal diseases that jeopardize food security. Zoonotic diseases are those that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Vector-borne diseases infect people primarily through blood-sucking arthropods such as ticks and mosquitoes.

The partnership objectives are to:

1. Establish a culture-centered approach to building a collaborative relationship between stakeholders in Africa and the United States
2. Develop an integrated and coordinated surveillance system for zoonotic and vector-borne diseases
3. Enhance the research of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases in Africa
4. Create initiatives to build educational capacity and outreach