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As Chancellor of the University of London (of which LSHTM is a member institution), The Princess is dedicated to supporting education and research to improve human health.

The Unit Director Professor Pontiano Kaleebu emphasised the importance of putting research at the forefront of strong health service delivery as he guided the Princess Royal around the facility.

Professor Kaleebu said: “New health challenges require the generation of new knowledge in order to define and come up with new interventions. We have been part of this through the support of the UK Government among others."

Through interactions with key scientists and PhD fellows at the Unit, The Princess learned about the Unit’s mandate to strengthen research capacity both in Africa and worldwide, and contribute to a strong health policy environment for the improved control of infectious and non-communicable diseases.

She visited the Unit’s state-of-the-art laboratories, bio-banking and clinical research facilities that enable scientists from around the world to collaborate on cutting edge laboratory, clinical and social studies into the control of existing and emerging infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, drug resistance viruses, as well as non-communicable diseases such as cancer, hypertension and kidney disease, which are a growing health concern in Africa.

The Princess was also introduced to the Unit’s high capacity solar energy system, an innovation to increase energy efficient research, which through a recent grant of £1.350m from the UK Research and Innovation/UK Medical Research Council (UKRI/MRC) Capital scheme and UKRI’s Environmental Sustainability fund is set to increase its existing solar power generation to 70% by 2023.