The event included showcasing of work on improving livestock production in Africa and the announcement of a £4 million boost from the UK Government.

On Friday 26 January, Bill Gates and Secretary of State Penny Mordaunt visited the Easter Bush Campus of the University of Edinburgh, where The Roslin Institute is based, to discuss efforts to address challenges around livestock health and productivity. 

During the visit, the Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt, announced an investment of £4 million from the Department for International Development (DFID). 

Funding will enable scientists in Scotland, Africa, Australia and the USA to tackle challenges faced by livestock farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. It will support research in the Centre for Tropica Livestock Genetics and Health – a joint venture between The Roslin Institute, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya and Ethiopia.

This latest investment builds on a £10m award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced in 2015, supported by matched funding from the three partners. 

Research at CTLGH aims to improve the productivity of livestock breeds that are available to small-holder farmers in Africa and enhance the animals’ resilience and resistance to disease. 

CTLGH involves UK, Africa, Australia and USA-based scientists working together primarily at two major hubs, in Edinburgh and in Nairobi. It has five research strands focusing on dairy genomics, chicken genomics, the genetics of health, new breeding technologies and data management.