Inter- University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) visits MUST

On March 3rd 2022 a team from the Ministry of East African Community Affairs (MEACA) Republic of Uganda and Inter- University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) visited MUST the Pharm-Biotechnology and Traditional Medicine Centre (PHARMBIOTRAC) project.  The team was led by Prof. Gaspard Banyakimbona, the Executive Secretary IUCEA and Dr. Andrew Musiime (PhD), the Director Integration – Ministry of East African Community Affairs.

The visited was organized as an oversight mission to institutions of the East African Community to among other things, acquaint themselves with the programs and projects funded by or through partner states. Mbarara University is hosting one PHARMBIOTRAC under the World Bank Project of Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence facilitated regionally by IUCEA. This also serves as a channel to further awareness of the activities and the impact of the centre for both national and regional development.

The visit began with a tour of the university facilities in the order below: Animal Research Facility, PHARMBIOTRAC Biotechnology Laboratory, Clinical Pharmacy Skills lab in the department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Analytical Laboratory, Clinical Research Laboratory and Epicenter Research Facilities. The team later proceeded to Kihumuro campus and toured, PHARMBIOTRAC Medicinal Botanical Garden, PHARMBIOTRAC Production Laboratory, PHARMBIOTRAC ultramodern Board Room, PHARMBIOTRAC Museum of Biopharmaceutical Incubation Products.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Celestino Obua welcomed the delegation and thanked them for being so interested in what MUST does. Prof. Obua went ahead and introduced the team behind the successful stories of PHARMBIOTRAC. He thanked the Government of Uganda for being at the forefront of supporting MUST. This is through different grants like the World Bank, African Development Bank (ADB) among many others. He said PHARMBITRAC project was housed in the Faulty of Applied Sciences and Technology which was put up by the ADB project. He further showed the guests the state of art Library and Laboratories put up by the same project. He thanked the EAC/IUCEA for the scholarships to support student mobility, he introduced some students from Southern Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria who were present. Prof. Obua told members that MUST was one of the first Universities to implement the uniform fees structure for all East African countries.

He furthermore informed the delegation that MUST has already made 33years of existence and he reckoned MUST to be the second oldest University that was set as a living example to see if such University can stand within the rural part of Uganda since most Universities are set up in urban centres. He ended his communication by calling upon the head of the IUCEA delegation to give his remarks.

Representing the Inter-University Council of East Africa Prof. Gaspard, the Executive Secretary IUCEA thanked MUST for having focused and dedicated leaders.  In his words he said, “It was worth mentioning that MUST is an active member of IUCEA in all spheres.” Prof. Banyakimbona said that MUST was chosen for the mission because she has one of the Centres of Excellence under the World Bank Project of Eastern and Southern Africa. He added that since the project is coming to an end, IUCEA comes in handy to advocate for sustainability, due to the impact it has made in the community. He congratulated the Dr. Casim Umba Tolo the Centre leader, his team, and MUST management for the successes registered so far and encouraged them to remain spirited in the cause. He further informed members that IUCEA has developed the strategic plan that is yet to be shared which aims of creating a think tank in Africa that can solve African problems using African solutions. Prof. Banyakimboba noted that the Council will even cut the travel costs to enable institutions to perform more developments. He encouraged the universities to take on the mantle of spearheading research and innovations in all fields.

Dr. Andrew Musiime (PhD) the Director Integration of Ministry of East African Community Affairs (MEACA) started his presentation by quoting the mandate of the ministry which is mainly handling the issues of EAC. He further educated members about the four pillars on which MEACA operates and these were enumerated as; Customs union, Common Market,             Monetary union and Political confederation. He appreciated the work that has been demonstrated by PHARMBIOTRAC and MUST in general and that was a reason why such a visit was scheduled. From the tour, he said that PHARMBIOTRAC has really walked the talk and according to their observation and analysis, the Centre is performing excellently. He encouraged members to continue supporting the region and endeavor to approach the Ministry since it is one of the partners in the implementation of the common good. He further mentioned that the Ministry pledges its full support to the Centre most especially at this time when the project is coming to an end.

The Centre leader of PHARMBIOTRAC, Dr. Casim Umba Tolo highlighted the achievements made by the Centre among which include training human capital for traditional medicines in Africa and medicinal products and services offered to the region.

The team later visited Rukararwe facility in Bushenyi which has recently signed an MOU with MUST to partner in conducting research in herbal medicine and; undertaking student and staff exchange and capacity building. Mr. Christopher Mugasha, the coordinator of Rukararwe facility said the Centre registered many successfully stories, especially during the COVID_19 pandemic, he added that they contributed towards providing some raw materials towards the production of Covidex, Chris said the centre is embarking on conservation of some trees /plants that are widely used like the famous omutatembwa. He added that they are challenged by the community encroaching on the forest for such plants since the area was not fenced off.

The area presidential advisor, Hon. Mary Karoro Okurut received and welcomed the delegation in Bushenyi. She thanked MUST for thinking about partnering with the community which increases the confidence of the local people being attached to such a great institution. The team was later led to a tour in the forest nursery bed, the forest and the facility clinic. Hon. Mary Okurut blessed the team with journey mercies.

The visit of MEACA and IUCEA affirms the achievements made by PHARMBIOTRAC and opens opportunities of engagement for sustainability.