Africa Regional Program Coordinator

Ray Kayaga is a Tanzanian veterinary research officer with over nine years of experience in animal health, biosafety, and zoonotic disease research. He holds an M.V.Sc in Veterinary Microbiology from India and a Bachelor’s in Veterinary Medicine from Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science & Technology (NM-AIST), focusing on Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in Tanzania under a One Health approach.

Ray works at the Tanzania Veterinary Laboratory Agency (TVLA) and is an IFBA certified professional in Biorisk Management and Biological Risk Assessment. He currently lectures for the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) BSc Biosafety & Biosecurity program in Kenya, a program supported by IFBA. He has recently facilitated the development of guidelines for Field Animal Health Service Providers in Kenya with the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) published in 2025. He has also presented his research internationally, including at the American Society for Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH) and the Association of Biosafety for Australia & New Zealand (ABSANZ) conferences, receiving the 2024 Neil Walls Scholarship Award for his contributions to biosafety. He is an active member of the Tanzania Biological Safety Association and his work supports national and regional efforts in health security and infectious disease preparedness.