FAO trains 24 African wildlife health professionals in Uganda

KASESE, Uganda — Twenty-four wildlife and animal health professionals from 10 African countries are attending a five-day Food and Agriculture Organization training at Queen Elizabeth National Park from November 2 to 6, 2026.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Gorilla Doctors organized the regional course, which combines classroom instruction with practical field exercises. Participants represent Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Burundi, Liberia, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Togo and Ghana.

The training comes amid persistent concern about Ebola, mpox, Marburg and Rift Valley fever. The program identifies these diseases as threats to human health, livestock production, biodiversity and communities whose livelihoods depend on natural resources.

What surveillance gap is the training trying to close?

African countries have made progress in strengthening disease surveillance, but operational gaps remain. The program identifies four gaps: detecting unusual wildlife deaths; collecting and transporting specimens safely; investigating suspected outbreaks; and linking field teams with national laboratories and reporting systems.

Those gaps can delay identification of a disease threat and restrict intervention before infections spread beyond their initial sources. The course therefore targets frontline professionals who interact with wildlife and protected areas.

The stated skill set is practical: recognize unusual animal health events, handle wildlife safely, collect specimens and report suspected disease outbreaks. The takeaway is straightforward: field observations must enter a coordinated response without avoidable delay.

How is the training organized?

Implementation falls under the Pandemic Fund-supported project Strengthening One Health-based Prevention, Preparedness and Response in the Greater Virunga Landscape, known as SOHPPRGVL. The initiative brings together the FAO Regional Office for Africa, FAO Headquarters’ Animal Health Service and Gorilla Doctors.

Its objective is to prevent, detect and respond to zoonotic disease threats through stronger surveillance, preparedness and coordination under the One Health framework. That approach treats human, animal and environmental health as interconnected and requires coordinated action among wildlife authorities, veterinary services, public-health institutions and environmental agencies.

Dr Willington Bessong Ojong, the FAO Representative in Uganda and Livestock and Fisheries Sector Coordinator, said wildlife disease monitoring belongs in public-health protection and agricultural development, not conservation alone. “Protecting wildlife health is no longer solely a conservation imperative. It is equally a public health necessity, an agricultural priority, and an investment in economic resilience,” Ojong said.

He said stronger surveillance would help countries identify threats earlier, assess their potential impact and coordinate interventions before outbreaks become wider public-health emergencies. He also connected animal health directly to food security, livestock production and the economic wellbeing of communities. The immediate gain is a shared operating method for surveillance and outbreak response across the three organizations.

Why do rangers hold a central role?

Uganda Wildlife Authority officials say park rangers are often the first people to encounter sick animals or unexplained wildlife deaths. Fred Kisame Eria, Chief Warden of the Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area and representative of the UWA Executive Director, described the frontline role.

“Rangers are often the first to encounter sick animals or unusual wildlife deaths. Equipping them to recognise these events, report them appropriately and handle them safely is crucial to preventing future outbreaks,” Eria said.

Eria identified limited technical capacity among frontline personnel and weak connections among protected-area surveillance teams, national laboratories and disease-reporting systems as constraints on early detection and response. He welcomed the training as an opportunity to address those operational problems.

Dr Bernard Sebidde, the SOHPPRGVL Project Coordinator at Gorilla Doctors, linked stronger monitoring to increasing contact between people and wildlife. Growing human populations, expanding settlements and economic activity in wildlife habitats create more opportunities for transmission between humans and animals.

Sebidde said wildlife should not be treated as the enemy during zoonotic disease prevention. Understanding disease transmission and promoting safe coexistence between people and animals, he said, are central to reducing risk. The practical priority is to equip rangers and other frontline staff to recognize, report and safely handle the first signs of an outbreak.

Why must surveillance cross borders?

The Greater Virunga Landscape spans parts of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. People, livestock and wildlife share increasingly interconnected environments there, making regional cooperation essential for effective surveillance and outbreak preparedness.

The One Health approach expects wildlife authorities, veterinary services, public-health institutions and environmental agencies to identify and respond to disease threats together. The program gives those sectors a common framework for moving field findings into laboratories and national reporting systems. The main benefit is faster coordinated action, especially when a suspected wildlife outbreak crosses a national boundary.

What changes for public health, food animals and companion animals?

For public health, the training seeks earlier detection and coordinated response to Ebola, mpox, Marburg and Rift Valley fever. Better links among wildlife observers, laboratories and reporting authorities are intended to reduce delays before suspected threats escalate.

For food animals, stronger surveillance supports livestock production, food security and communities dependent on natural resources. At the barn level, the change is stronger early warning and reporting, not a new treatment protocol.

For companion animals, the training establishes no canine or feline screening, diagnostic, treatment or vaccination protocol. The announcement describes no drug, vaccine or regulatory action by FDA CVM, EMA or USDA, so canine and feline exam-room guidance does not change. The program’s next measure of progress is whether the 24 participants can turn unusual wildlife deaths into faster specimen transport, national reporting and coordinated regional action.