Global One Health News

GOHi and East African partners host One Health Symposium

The Global One Health initiative (GOHi) in collaboration with Kenya Medical Research institute (KEMRI) and other partners organized the Annual One Health Symposium in Nairobi, Kenya, November 2-3. Six faculty traveled to Kenya for a two-day One Health Symposium to commemorate international One Health Day on November 3, 2023. The theme of the symposium was “Addressing Complex One Health Challenges” and provided an opportunity to highlight cutting edge research in One Health, highlight research done by PhD fellows and advance One Health collaboration in the region. The symposium covered several topics such as emerging zoonotic, food, water, and vector-borne challenges; antimicrobial resistance and pathogens of Public Health Significance; climate change, changing ecosystems and health and more.

The event attracted several partners from Kenya, including KEMRI, International Livestock Research Institute, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology and the University of Nairobi. Participants from Ethiopia included GOHi Eastern Africa Regional Office, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) and the University of Gondar. The symposium served as a catalyst for new collaborative research, grant applications and future planning to advance One Health in the East Africa region.

Training supports vaccine safety in Ethiopia

The Global One Health initiative (GOHi) conducted training on Hospital-Based Sentinel Surveillance (HBSS) for Adverse Events of Special Interest (AESI) for vaccines in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority (EFDA). This project intends to generate evidence on country-level background rates for AESI for future vaccine safety monitoring and data on Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) to support national vaccine safety monitoring and global vaccine safety.

GOHi helps strengthen AFI surveillance in Ethiopia

GOHi is currently working with the EPHI and U.S. CDC Ethiopia to improve Acute Febrile Illness (AFI) surveillance in Ethiopia. AFI is a common clinical syndrome that can be caused by various pathogens, ranging from simple treatable and vaccine-preventable infectious agents to newly emerging pathogens with pandemic potential. The capacity to investigate the causative pathogen of AFIs is limited in low- and middle-income countries, which makes patient management more difficult.

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week celebrated

The fight against the emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant organisms needs intervention on several fronts. One area of focus is advocacy – creating awareness among the public and healthcare professional communities – and there's no better time to achieve this than during World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW). GOHi, Federal Ministry of Health, Zewuditu Memorial Hospital and Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital celebrated WAAW from November 18-30. During this year's celebration, GOHi worked on creating awareness in three target groups at each facility: patients, clinicians and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) committees.

Ohio State publication featured on CDC Zoonoses and One Health Updates webinar

A study examining knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of veterinary professionals in Ohio was published in June by a team of Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine faculty and students, including Andreas Eleftheriou, Samantha Swisher, Andreia Arruda, Amanda Berrian, GOHi Director of Outreach and Engagement, and Risa Pesapane. The study, “A survey of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of veterinary professionals regarding ticks and tick-borne diseases: Insights from Ohio, USA” was published in “One Health” and was featured on the CDC Zoonoses and One Health Updates call on December 6. The study targets veterinary professionals because they are a group that experience high exposure risk to ticks through work with animals and visits to tick habitats for providing care.

External news

One Health Joint Plan of Action Implementation Guide

The Quadripartite organizations (FAO, UNEP, WHO and WOAH) officially launched the One Health Joint Plan of Action Implementation (OH JPA) Guide on December 10 in Dubai. The new implementation guide will provide countries with guidance on how to adopt the OH JPA and is designed to be applicable to all countries, acknowledging transdisciplinarity, diversity of stakeholders and inclusivity as guiding principles for One Health implementation. The guide will provide the necessary tools to coordinate multisectoral approaches and will include five essential steps to national OH JPA implementation. The workshop will include a keynote speech from Ariane Hildebrandt, Director General at German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, a presentation on the guide presented by one representative from each of the Quadripartite organizations, a panel discussion including key global leaders from the United Nations and German development agency, One Health High Level Expert Panel, a Q&A session and closing remarks from Amina Benyahia, Head of the WHO One Health Initiative.