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September 12, 2021

Voices of KCCP (Knowledge Co-Creation Program) Participants

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AMITA SHARON, Researcher, Makerere College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Bio-Security (Makerere COVAB)

I am Amita Sharon, a Researcher at Makerere COVAB attending a three months training program in Tsukuba, Japan on ‘Improvement of Basic Technique of Livestock Disease Diagnosis'.

Upon my arrival in Japan, I spent the first week at Mystays hotel as part of COVID-19 quarantine before moving to Tsukuba International Centre (TBIC) on 4th July. I was thrilled to start my academic journey officially.

Together with other participants, we, for the first time went to our training centre, the National Institute of Animal Health (NIAH), on July 6th. We had the opportunity of meeting Dr. Ken Katsuda, the Director of the Institute, and other researchers who are also our lecturers. Here, we toured the institute, oriented, and later on made presentations of our inception reports the following week.

Reflecting on the past weeks until now, the program has by far exceeded my expectations. It is very practical; skills focused and has covered a good range of techniques and tests that can be easily replicated in the diagnosis of many endemic livestock diseases in Uganda. Some of these include, basic and fundamental techniques for example the use of micropipettes, proper use of the biosafety cabinet, conducting blood tests, faecal examination, chicken anatomy and understanding concepts like One Health, communication skills with livestock farmers and management of Zoonotic diseases.

We have also learnt about advanced tests and techniques that often require specialized knowledge, sophisticated equipment and expensive reagents. These among others include; culturing (growing) different bacterial species and their methods of identification, Scientific experiment calculation methods, phylogenetic tree analysis, Virus culture methods, Conventional Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Real-Time PCR, Sequencing and analysis of different genomes and analysis of poisons and toxins in animal feeds.

One of the highlights of my stay in Japan has been the study tours. The visit to Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) was particularly instrumental in enabling me understand and appreciate the strategies Japan has employed in management and control of Animal diseases. The visit to WOAH Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific was equally valuable. Other places we toured include Kyoritsu Seiyaku Corporation, the Genetic Resources Center and the Tsukuba Agriculture gallery.

The Japanese people and culture

Coming to Japan, exploring the Japanese culture was one of my objectives. Fortunately, JICA has supported this goal by providing us with four Japanese language classes over a period of four weeks. This has enabled me to learn a few basic Japanese words. I also love eating Japanese food like Unagi (eel) and Sukiyaki (a Japanese dish made of beef, vegetables, tofu, and noodles). I am yet to try out Sushi as well. On August 6th, our class had a cultural exchange program with Japanese school teachers. We were able to learn more about each other's cultures.

I have also come to notice that the Japanese people are very kind, hardworking, extremely punctual, welcoming and always eager to offer help whenever needed. I hope to borrow some of these traits and virtues for my own personal development.

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to JICA for giving me this opportunity to learn, grow and hone my skills in livestock diagnosis. I look forward to all the weeks ahead where I will continue learning and eventually apply the knowledge to improve animal health when I return home to Uganda.

PhotoConducting a practical in Biochemistry.

PhotoA practical on staining samples in Histopathology.


PhotoParticipants writing their names using Japanese Calligraphy during the cultural exchange program.

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PhotoOpening Ceremony at NIAH.(Front) participants with the Director NIAH at the centre.(Back) Researchers at the institute.

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