GP Uganda Supports One Health Surveillance Work in the Middle East and North Africa

Software Developer Ahmed Abouzaid (left) and Technical Deputy Director for Global Informatics David Mugume (right), presenting the plan for rebuilding the EBS system and capacity building at a workshop in Cairo.

Since September 2025, Global Programs Uganda's One Health work in the Middle East and North Africa has continued to evolve, with the team contributing health informatics expertise to digital disease surveillance efforts in Egypt and the broader region.

In Egypt, the team is supporting the pilot of a DHIS2-based vector-borne disease surveillance system with the Ministry of Health and Population. The project represents a meaningful step in the Ministry’s broader effort to digitalize One Health processes and strengthen systems that support disease detection, monitoring, and response.

Building on that momentum, and following the team’s earlier work rebuilding EgyptEBS, Egypt’s event-based surveillance system, UCSF was invited to support the operationalization of Egypt’s new National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS). Global Programs Uganda is contributing health informatics expertise to this effort, with team lead David Mugume supporting two software engineers based in Jordan and Egypt to help ensure the systems are built, piloted, and delivered on time.

The work has continued during a challenging funding environment for public health programs. Despite uncertainty, progress has been sustained through strong relationships with the Ministry of Health and Population and CDC MENA, as well as the commitment of colleagues working across Cairo, Amman, and Kampala.

The effort reflects the value of long-term partnerships and regional collaboration in advancing One Health priorities. Even as conditions shift, the work continues to support countries as they strengthen surveillance systems and build more integrated approaches to public health.

The team’s contributions strengthen UCSF's One Health approach to pandemic preparedness across MENA, supported by regional collaboration spanning Cairo, Amman, and Kampala.

Global Programs Research: IAS 2024

GP Tanzania at IAS 2024

George and Christen

Mtoro Mtoro, Christen Said

Global Programs Tanzania presented seven posters at IAS 2024, the 25th International AIDS Conference, showcasing findings from a survey conducted in collaboration with the Zanzibar Integrated HIV, Hepatitis, TB, and Leprosy Programme (ZIHHTLP) and the Zanzibar government. Presenting the posters were Data Analyst Mtoro Mtoro (above, left), Executive Director of the Zanzibar AIDS Commission Dr. Ahmed Khatib (above, middle), and In-Country Director Christen Said (above, right). Dr. George Rutherford (IGHS) also presented a poster on behalf of the team. A special thanks to colleagues from ZIHHTLP and the Zanzibar AIDS Commission for their invaluable contributions.

Posters presented: 

• Estimating HIV incidence among key populations in Unguja, Zanzibar, 2023

• Experiences and reporting of physical and sexual violence among key populations in Unguja, Zanzibar, 2023

• HIV and hepatitis C co-infection among people who inject drugs in Unguja, Zanzibar, 2023

• Novel questions to broaden the understanding of injection risk behaviors among people who inject drugs in Unguja, Zanzibar, 2023

• Progress towards UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets and challenges with HIV diagnosis among men who have sex with men in Unguja, Zanzibar, 2023

• Progress towards UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets and viral suppression challenges among people who inject drugs in Unguja, Zanzibar, 2023

• Uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis among key populations in Unguja, Zanzibar, 2023

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Tifu Agaba at IAS 2024

GP Uganda group at IAS 2024

Global Programs Uganda presented, "Continuous Quality Improvement to Enhance the Quality of Recent HIV-1 Infection Surveillance: Insights and Lessons from Uganda" at IAS 2024, the 25th International AIDS Conference.

Since the 2019 launch of the Uganda HIV Recency Surveillance project (PI: Dr. George Rutherford, IGHS), Global Programs Uganda has strengthened data quality across all 15 regions of the country through continuous quality improvement (CQI) efforts. Context-specific interventions designed by health facility staff have addressed performance gaps and improved adherence to standards, even within an overburdened public health system. These CQI activities have ensured the availability of reliable data for HIV Recency surveillance stakeholders.

In addition, a manuscript has been submitted to the East African Journal of Applied Health Monitoring and Evaluation. Working on this project were Tifu Agaba and Ronald Kiranda (Global Programs Uganda); Christine Katusiime (AIDS Control Program, Ministry of Health Uganda); Willy Bikokye (USAID Uganda); Florence Namimbi (Infectious Diseases Institute, Uganda); and Laura Buback, Eva Muhanguzi, Rikita Merai, and Rachel King (UCSF IGHS).

Ugandan Colleagues Visit IGHS

Top row: Eva Muhanguzi, Andrew Ameny, and Edward Bichetero. Bottom row: Rikita Merai, Krysia Lindan, Lydia Itaagi, Evelyn Akello, and Laura Buback. (Photo courtesy of IGHS)

In July, IGHS hosted members of the Monitoring and Evaluation Technical Support (METS) Program from Uganda. METS is a five-year CDC-supported partnership between Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), UCSF, and the Health Information Systems Program Uganda. This initiative aims to strengthen Uganda’s capacity for HIV and tuberculosis programming through health systems strengthening, monitoring and evaluation, strategic information, disease surveillance, and health informatics systems. Global Programs Uganda staff work with the METS team to support project implementation.