Mark Rweyemamu BVSc, PhD, FRCVS is the Executive Director of the SACIDS Foundation for One Health (SACIDS) at the Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania, since 2008. He is a veterinarian and specialist in infectious diseases. He is a Visiting Professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania and at the RVC, University of London, UK. Formerly, he was Head of the Infectious Diseases Programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations at its Headquarters in Rome and the inaugural Head of the FAO special programme on infectious diseases, known as the Emergency Prevention System for Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES), which included the coordination of the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme (GREP). Before moving to FAO Headquarters, he had set up the Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Centre in Addis Ababa, on behalf of FAO and the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union). Mark has also had private sector experience as the Head of FMD Vaccine Research for Wellcome Foundation and of Pfizer in Latin America.
Mark was a member of The Pirbright Scientific Advisory Board for 7 years until 2017. He was also a member of the GALVmed Board of Trustees for 6 years until 2020.
Mark’s current area of research interest is infectious diseases through the One Health approach.
The SACIDS Foundation for One Health (SACIDS) is a One Health Virtual Institute that links public health and animal health academic and research institutions working on infectious diseases of humans and animals, including anti-microbial resistance, and operating within the African ecosystems. It was founded in January 2008 as a regional Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance. In 2018, it transformed into “The SACIDS Foundation for One Health”, as a Regional Research and Training Institute of Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania on behalf of its Membership
Professor Rweyemamu is leading this transformation of SACIDS towards impact driven research and a resultant target interaction with policy at national and regional levels. Already SACIDS is collaborating with the AfricaCDC in advancing the AU Frameworks for AMR and event-based-surveillance. SACIDS Member institutions have been involved with provision of targeted expertise to national authorities in Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in their preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.