Call to tackle rabies through One Health interventions
14 May 2018, Addis Ababa – “Let’s beat rabies from Ethiopia with the true intention of One Health partnership,” urged Dr Tsigereda Kifle, Deputy Director General of the Ethiopian Public Health Institute. Dr Tsigereda made this call during an opening of a workshop themed “Rabies: Create Awareness, Save a Life!”
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) collaborated with the National One Health Steering Committee (NOHSC), the Government Communication Affairs Office, and the Ohio State University Global One Health Initiative to organize the workshop on 9 May 2018 in Addis Ababa.
The workshop was aimed at enhancing information exchanging and networking among One Health actors in Ethiopia; sharing scientific information on rabies to stakeholders including the mass media; and enabling the media to effectively report rabies-related information to the public.
Participants in the workshop were representatives from Government Ministries, academic and educational programs, professional associations and students, non-governmental organizations, donors, and the media. A total of 46 people took part in the event.
Apart from a brief status update of the NOHSC, the event featured a presentation entitled, “Rabies: National Burden, Control and Elimination Strategy” and partners panel discussing what has been done so far, future plans and areas of collaboration between different actors to synergize the impact.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Thomas Cherenet, Policy and Research Affairs Advisor of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Resources appreciated the event by saying, “Platforms such as this provide a valuable opportunity for research scientists, development partners and decision-makers to share experiences; and the media to get scientific, accurate and consistent information to report back to the public.”
He further noted on the importance of public awareness creation efforts at all levels, “We need to do more on educating the public in the prevention and control mechanisms.”
Dr Messeret Bekele, Chair of the NOHSC, reinforced the idea by saying, “Obviously, a critical component of a successful effort against rabies program is community education on the risk factors associated with, and the control of, rabies.”
Overall, the workshop emphasized on awareness creation at all levels to minimize the health and economic burden of rabies in Ethiopia.
Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease with worldwide occurrence and is identified as the top priority zoonotic disease in the nation. Studies show that Ethiopia registered approximately 3 000 human deaths of rabies each year.
About NOHSC and OHCN
It is known that the NOHSC, which is drawn from four core-government sectors namely Ministry of Health/Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Ministry of Culture and Tourism/Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority and Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, was officially established in 2016 to coordinate efforts for the establishment of a National One Health platform. Under the NOHSC, the Ethiopian Government and non-governmental One Health partners, formed different multi-sectoral technical working groups to coordinate activities. Among those technical working groups are the Rabies Technical Working Group and the One Health Communication Network Technical Working Group (OHCN).
The One Health Communication Network (OHCN) is made possible by the generous support of the United States Agency for International Development. The network contributes to the overall effort to have a strong One Health coordination mechanism in Ethiopia by focusing on streamlining information sharing and networking on areas of mutual concern and providing updates on relevant One Health issues be it livestock, wildlife, public health sectors including ecological and environmental systems. The network comprises more than 40 member organizations within the One Health umbrella. It is aimed at increasing public awareness and education on prioritized One Health issues; strengthening and promoting national One Health communication; facilitating a science-based information and experience sharing fora; and ensuring that technical messages shared with the media and One Health partners are accurate, clear, consistent and reflect the best science available.
For further information, contact:
Feleseta Kassaye Woldtsadique
Risk Communication and One Health Outreach Coordinator
Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Email: [email protected]
Office: +251 11 647 8888 Ext 238