Tagged: Global One Health

Across institutions and borders, experts from many disciplines are working together to envision a healthier world through GOHi. Their work is based on One Health principles, which the World Health Organization describes as an “integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimize the health of people, animals and the environment.”

A partnership between The Ohio State University Global One Health initiative (GOHi) and Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital in Ethiopia is increasing the hospital’s testing, tracking and capacity to improve vaccine safety and reduce dangerous antimicrobial resistance for adults, children and babies.

The Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) recently recognized The Ohio State University Global One Health initiative (GOHi) for its support in strengthening genomic sequencing work and ongoing capacity in the African nation. Genomic sequencing is used to find changes in areas of the genome, helping scientists understand, diagnose and treat diseases.

The Global One Health initiative (GOHi) is working to widen the scope of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance in Ethiopia. According to the World Health Organization, “the global rise in antibiotic resistance poses a significant threat, diminishing the efficacy of common antibiotics against widespread bacterial infections.” They also note that “AMR is a problem for all countries at all income levels. Its spread does not recognize country borders.”

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.

A powerful group of antibiotics called “carbapenems” are often relied on for infections where treatment with other antibiotics has failed, according to the Journal of Hospital Infection. Experts from the Global One Health initiative (GOHi), in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, are working to train medical professionals in Ethiopia to detect organisms that resist these antibiotics, helping reduce the future incidence of antibiotic resistance in patients.

The Ohio State University Global One Health initiative (GOHi) is supporting the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority (EFDA) in undertaking a causality assessment of adverse events following immunizations (AEFI) reported to the national pharmacovigilance system.

The team conducted the assessment in January with 33 participants, including the pharmacovigilance advisory committee members and the pharmacovigilance team from the EFDA.

The Ohio State University Global One Health Initiative (GOHi) has supported Acute Febrile Illness (AFI) surveillance in Ethiopia in collaboration with the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI). This project aims to strengthen the biosurveillance and laboratory detection capacity of the EPHI for a broad range of pathogens causing AFI in Ethiopia and to inform the public on the magnitude, risk and appropriate prevention and control mechanisms. So far, the team has enrolled more than 1,000 AFI cases and collected samples from five hospitals to test for selected pathogens.

Implementing robust infection prevention and control (IPC) measures is crucial for delivering proper healthcare services to patients. IPC grounded in practical and evidence-based strategies protects patients and healthcare workers from preventable infections.

Ensuring patient care improvement, optimal diagnostic test yield and precise treatment guidance hinges on properly collecting specimens. Training healthcare professionals in standard specimen collection procedures is pivotal for effective disease control and prevention. Microbiology labs frequently reported receiving poor specimen quality from Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH), highlighting a significant issue and leading to false positive and negative results.