On March 14, 2024, U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Bryan David Hunt accompanied by senior Sierra Leonean government officials and local authorities of Bombali District, officially inaugurated the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Makeni which was fully renovated and equipped by the U.S. Government through USAID.
The renovation is the result of a five-year strategic partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in support of the fight against emerging pandemic threats, through the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) program.
The GHSA program provided regents, vaccines, and advanced equipment reflecting the latest technology, and this has allowed the laboratory to successfully diagnose priority zoonoses (diseases or infections that are naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans) in the country, including rabies, goat plague, and anthrax. The program also provided training for technicians who learned and improved their skills in various laboratory techniques including how to test for zoonotic diseases. They can now efficiently monitor the epidemic situation of the disease and other zoonoses.