CDC-Uganda, UVRI Inaugurate Laboratory Extension

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Uganda (CDC) and the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) will officially inaugurate new laboratory and office facilities on the UVRI campus in Entebbe on July 20, 2006, at 2:00 PM.  U.S. Ambassador Steven A. Browning and Ugandan Minister of State for General Duties, Dr. Richard Nduhura, will make remarks at the opening ceremony.

The new facilities include a state-of-the-art infectious disease laboratory, a comprehensive public health library, and first rate training facilities that have already hosted groups from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, and significant African medical institutions.

The building project was funded through a grant from the U.S. Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).   UVRI first began hosting CDC on its campus in 1994.  CDC’s activities in Uganda have grown from providing mostly laboratory-based services; to involvement in the full range of HIV-AIDS prevention, care and treatment programs, as well as the diagnosis and analysis of diseases such as Ebola, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.  CDC-Uganda recently received a $400,000 grant to further expand laboratory capabilities and assist in Uganda’s surveillance of Avian Influenza.

For further information about the inauguration ceremony, please contact Alyson Grunder, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy (41/31-259-791 or email grunderal@state.gov).

For further information about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, please refer to http://www.cdc.gov .