The Global One Health initiative (GOHi) has been awarded a $750,000 grant over the next three years through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop tools to support public health decision-making in the surveillance and control of Aedes mosquito-borne arboviral diseases across Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.
The project team will develop cutting-edge disease transmission models that represent how infectious diseases – specifically Dengue and Chikungunya – spread through human populations as a result of mosquito and tick bites.
Leading this initiative is Zelalem Mekuria, assistant professor and associate director of Laboratory Services for GOHi. Mekuria is joined by Rebecca Garabed, professor of epidemiology from the College of Veterinary Medicine as well as the project lead institution, the International Livestock Research Institute Nairobi Kenya.
This project represents a critical step in addressing the escalating public health risks associated with climate-sensitive diseases in the Horn of Africa. The models and decision-support tools developed will strengthen disease surveillance and enable targeted interventions, significantly improving health outcomes in the region.