UWA, CTPH partner to protect Mountain Gorillas

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) have renewed their partnership for five years, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to tackle disease transmission between wildlife, humans, and livestock. This renewed commitment builds on their long-standing collaboration, integrating public health initiatives with wildlife conservation efforts, particularly in areas like Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The signing ceremony took place at UWA headquarters in Kampala on July 17, 2025. Dr. James Musinguzi, UWA Executive Director, attributed the renewal to the tremendous achievements and benefits of their partnership. “Partnerships are the way to go today if you want to achieve what you want,” Dr. Musinguzi said. “We bring partners like CTPH, and since they haven’t let us down, we’ve decided to renew our contract to continue working on gorilla health, welfare, and other life.”

Dr. Gladys Kalema Zikusoka, the Chief Executive Officer of CTPH, expressed her excitement about the renewed partnership. “We have ever had an MOU together with UWA, but this time round, we felt why don’t we shout about it because we feel it’s a very important partnership,” she said. “Instead of doing it quietly, so that we can gain more support to do the work all over, because when people see how UWA is working with an NGO like CTPH, they will get encouraged and give even more resources and support for the conservation of mountain gorillas and other wildlife.”

She added, “We are very excited that there’s an increase in the mountain gorilla numbers, which almost doubled since we became a National Park, and we hope even with this census, we will continue to see some great results.”

The MoU formally recognizes CTPH’s role in investigating and diagnosing zoonotic diseases and streamlines the roles and responsibilities of both parties in zoonotic disease management. The partnership aims to ensure that CTPH’s activities contribute to and are aligned with UWA’s strategies.

According to the MoU, UWA will participate in activities that improve case management of the health of wild animals, domestic animals, and humans. They will also put in place measures geared towards eradicating cross-species disease transmission between humans, wildlife, and livestock in and around protected areas in Uganda.

CTPH, on the other hand, will develop strategic and long-term programs that relate to improved conservation and co-existence of wild animals, humans, and livestock in support of UWA’s vision and mission. They will also conduct educational and training programs that promote a “One Health” approach to enhance community attitudes towards public health and wildlife conservation issues.

The partnership also outlines joint responsibilities, including establishing joint field laboratories around protected areas for animal health monitoring and management. They will also develop and implement sensitization programs for community members, including reformed poachers, Batwa, youth, and school children, on issues relating to conservation.