CERMEL has been granted the status of « Public utility » by the Council of Ministers in Libreville. At this meeting, the contributions made by CERMEL for the benefit of the government and the Gabonese people were highlighted as follows:

- To promote researches defined as priorities by the Gabonese government and to advocate with national and international partners and sponsors for funding.

- To contribute to capacity strengthening of Gabonese students for completion of (funded) postgraduate training in the biomedical sciences in collaboration with European partners.

- To contribute to the dissemination and implementation of research results.

A public utility is defined as an organization that maintains infrastructure for a public service. This new status conferred to CERMEL will allow the institution to obtain technical, administrative and financial assistance from the government through the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, via, for example, the appointment of senior researchers. CERMEL‘s role as ambassador for locally relevant Gabonese scientific research should thereby be strengthened at the regional, national and international level.