Programme Officer, Environmental Regulation at the African Union Development Agency – NEPAD.

Mr. Kwehangana Musa is a Biotechnologist and Lawyer currently serving as Programme Officer for Environmental Regulation at the African Union Development Agency – NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD). With over a decade of experience, he has led the development and implementation of science-based policies and regulatory systems that enable the safe and effective use of modern biotechnology and emerging technologies across Africa.

Mr. Kwehangana is passionate about leveraging innovation to advance health, agriculture, and socioeconomic development. His work has focused on strengthening regulatory frameworks for technologies such as gene drives and gene editing—tools critical to disease control and sustainable development. At AUDA-NEPAD, he addresses regulatory and policy challenges that influence the deployment of technologies aimed at reducing malaria in Africa, engaging stakeholders to promote evidence-based governance and defend the safety and benefits of agricultural innovations.

Previously, Mr. Kwehangana served as a Biosafety Officer at the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), where he coordinated the implementation of Uganda’s National Biosafety Framework. His responsibilities included overseeing risk assessments of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), biosafety inspections, and enforcement of national biosafety guidelines. He also served as Secretary to the National Biosafety Committee.

At the national level he served as the  Uganda’s Contact Point for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the FAO GM Foods Platform, member of the National Codex Committee under the Uganda National Bureau of Standards, Member of the  National Biodiversity Committee of the National Environment Management Authority. Additionally, he is a Certified Trainer under the Africa CDC Framework for Certification of High and Maximum Containment Facilities.

Mr. Kwehangana has represented Uganda and Africa, in key international negotiations, including the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity particularly in areas concerning synthetic biology and risk assessment. His extensive expertise lies in science, technology, and innovation (ST&I) governance, with a strong focus on biotechnology development and regulatory systems.