UNMC recently hosted a delegation from Uganda to consult on collaborative partnerships in health security and biopreparedness through the Global Center for Health Security.
H. Dele Davies, MD, interim chancellor of UNMC, welcomed the group, which then embarked upon a health security-focused tour and series of meetings and discussions led by James Lawler, MD, the Global Center for Health Security’s associate director of international programs and innovation. Vicky Nakibuuka, international project manager for the Global Center for Health Security, also played a key role in the visit.
The Ugandan delegation, led by Dr. Monica Musenero Masanza, Uganda’s state minister for science, technology and innovation, and Ambassador Robinah Kakonge, toured the U.S. federal Training, Simulation, and Quarantine Center at the Davis Global Center. They also participated in a demonstration of the ISTARI portable patient care isolation technology and peer-to-peer discussions with UNMC health security experts Jana Broadhurst, MD, PhD, and David Brett-Major, MD, MPH.
Dr. Musenero, an internationally recognized microbiologist and epidemiologist, has led health security efforts against epidemics of Ebola and other high consequence infections, not only in Uganda, but also in other countries on the African continent.
“When we wanted to find some potential partners for things that we are working on in Uganda,” she said, “the first place that was identified was the University of Nebraska.”
“It is very timely,” she said of the visit, noting that both nations can continue to work toward becoming truly global in their reach and partnerships.
Ali S. Khan, MD, MPH, dean of the UNMC College of Public Health, and Jane Meza, PhD, interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and associate vice chancellor for global affairs and strategic planning, also met with the Ugandan team. The visitors also toured iEXCEL at the Davis Global Center.
The Ugandan delegation spent the previous day at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, to meet on agriculture.
