In collaboration with the UK Health Security Agency, the National One Health Steering Committee (NOHSC) organized a two-day workshop in August in Adama, Ethiopia. Eyasu Tigabu and Biniyam Moges, Global One Health initiative (GOHi) food safety and zoonoses team members, represented GOHi.
The workshop aimed to identify and map key stakeholders in food safety in Ethiopia, focusing on laboratory detection and surveillance. The chair of NOHSC also presented the proposed draft Terms of Reference to establish the Food Safety Technical Working Group.
The Ethiopian Public Health Institute, GOHi, International Livestock Research Institute and Ministry of Agriculture shared their experiences on food safety. GOHi presented on the TARTARE project to showcase its impact on food safety in Ethiopia. The second day was dedicated to group discussions on identifying the major stakeholders and gaps in the country's food safety laboratory detection and surveillance. The workshop concluded with a presentation on the way forward.
Both governmental sectors and partners acknowledged GOHi's contribution to food safety research and lab capacity. The workshop identified GOHi's potential areas of contribution: foodborne pathogen surveillance, developing a policy brief from GOHi's existing food safety project, food safety lab capacity building and participating in the Food Safety Technical Working Group.