The East African Community (EAC) on Wednesday officially designated the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) as its Regional Centre of Excellence in Virology, a move intended to strengthen the bloc’s ability to detect, monitor and respond to infectious disease outbreaks that continue to test health systems across East Africa.
The launch in Entebbe comes as the region remains vulnerable to cross-border health threats. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is grappling with an Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus, while Uganda recently concluded its emergency response to imported Ebola cases and has entered the surveillance period required before an outbreak can be declared over. The World Health Organization (WHO) has continued to warn that countries bordering outbreak zones remain at elevated risk because of frequent cross-border movement and uneven preparedness across health systems.
Rather than establishing a new institution, the EAC has expanded the role of UVRI one of Africa’s oldest infectious disease research institutions into a regional hub that will support partner states through advanced laboratory diagnostics, virology research, disease surveillance, genomic sequencing, specialised laboratory training and scientific collaboration.
Speaking ahead of the launch, EAC Deputy Secretary General for Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors Aguer Ariik Malueth said the designation represents a broader effort to strengthen regional health security.
“The designation of UVRI as the EAC Regional Centre of Excellence in Virology reflects the Community’s commitment to strengthening regional health security through enhanced collaboration, scientific excellence and investment in resilient laboratory systems,” Malueth said.
The designation follows the EAC Heads of State’s endorsement of a regional Health Investment Priority Framework, which calls for specialized centres of excellence to improve health systems and expand cooperation among member states. The initiative is supported under Phase III of the EAC Regional Network of Reference Laboratories for Communicable Diseases Project with funding from the German government.
Lessons from Recent Outbreaks
The announcement comes after several years in which East Africa has faced repeated outbreaks of Ebola, Marburg virus disease, mpox and COVID-19, exposing gaps in laboratory capacity, disease surveillance and emergency coordination.
According to the WHO Regional Office for Africa, the continent experiences an acute public health event roughly every three days, with nearly 80% linked to infectious disease outbreaks. Many originate in animals before spreading to humans, reinforcing the need for stronger surveillance under the One Health approach that integrates human, animal and environmental health.
The new regional centre is expected to help address some of those weaknesses by providing reference laboratory services, specialized training, scientific research and technical support to EAC partner states, particularly during disease outbreaks requiring rapid diagnosis and information sharing.
Malueth said the centre is intended to improve how countries coordinate during future health emergencies.
“By investing in centres of excellence, we are building a stronger, more coordinated regional health system that can better prevent, detect and respond to disease outbreaks for the benefit of all East Africans,” he said.
What It Could Mean for Burundi
For Burundi, the development is particularly relevant given its proximity to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Ebola outbreaks have repeatedly prompted heightened surveillance along shared borders.
In recent years, Burundi has strengthened border screening, emergency preparedness exercises and disease surveillance in collaboration with regional and international partners. However, like many countries in the region, access to highly specialized laboratory services and advanced genomic sequencing remains limited, making regional cooperation increasingly important during major outbreaks.
If effectively integrated into the EAC’s disease surveillance network, the UVRI centre could provide Burundian scientists and health officials with greater access to specialized laboratory testing, technical expertise, professional training and faster information sharing during future public health emergencies.
Challenges Remain
While the launch marks an important institutional milestone, health experts caution that regional preparedness depends on far more than laboratory infrastructure.
WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have repeatedly highlighted shortages of trained epidemiologists, laboratory specialists, emergency funding and rapid response capacity across many African countries. Earlier this year, the two organizations appealed for more than US$500 million to strengthen Ebola preparedness and response in affected and high-risk countries, underscoring that many health systems remain vulnerable despite lessons learned from COVID-19 and successive Ebola outbreaks.
Questions also remain about how the EAC’s newest centre will operate in practice. Regional officials have yet to outline how member states will routinely access its laboratory services, how outbreak samples will be referred, how many scientists will receive annual training or how the centre will be financed once current donor support concludes.
The Uganda Virus Research Institute, which is marking its 90th anniversary this year, has played a significant role in research on Ebola, yellow fever, HIV and other infectious diseases and serves as a WHO collaborating centre. Its expanded regional mandate is expected to build on that legacy.
Whether the centre ultimately narrows East Africa’s pandemic preparedness gaps will depend not on Wednesday’s launch alone, but on sustained investment, transparent data sharing and the willingness of EAC partner states to translate regional commitments into coordinated action when the next outbreak emerges.
