In March, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health held the eighth National Healthcare Innovation and Quality Summit in Addis Ababa at the headquarters of the Africa Union. The ministry invited The Ohio State University Global One Health initiative (GOHi) to present its progress on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded antimicrobial resistance (AMR) project.
Eyasu Tigabu Seyoum and Samuel Muluye Welelaw represented GOHi and presented a poster highlighting key achievements in infection prevention and AMR laboratory detection enhancement. The ministry selected GOHi for inclusion in the summit due to the novel strategy of using microbiologic surveillance data to inform infection prevention responses. This project promotes public health through tailored approaches to tackling the spread of multi-drug-resistant pathogens. With digitalized monitoring and evaluation techniques and dashboards to visualize infection prevention compliance rates, the GOHi project is the first of its kind in Ethiopia.
Her Excellency Mekedes Dabba, minister of health, His Excellency Ayele Teshome, state minster, His Excellency Belete Molla, minister of innovation and technology, along with other dignitaries, university representatives, regional health bureau heads, partners and stakeholders were in attendance at this historic summit.