Health experts stress importance of One Health approach to combat AMR

Addis Ababa, December 15, 2023 (FBC) –   Capacitating One Health in Eastern and Southern Africa (COHESA), a project run by Addis Ababa University at a national level, in partnership with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) organized a five sandpit event from 11-15 December 2023 with an objective to bring research based innovative solutions for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) issues in Ethiopia.

On the final day, of the four action researches fine tuned during the week, two are expected to be selected by panel of evaluators for funding. The evaluators are drawn from the project leads who are subject and method experts as well as leaders of AMR in the country.

Health experts from African countries particularly from Kenya and Zimbabwe have also participated in the sandpit event to draw lessons from the activities COHESA is undertaking to address critical health issues including AMR in Ethiopia.

Upon the conclusion of the event, Health experts approached by FBC stressed the importance of One Health approach to combat AMR and related health problems in Ethiopia and beyond.

Dr. Yitbarek Getachew, a researcher at Addis Ababa University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, said that the sandpit event has enabled the participant experts to share knowledge and experiences with one another on how to bring research based innovative solutions to emerging health threats in Ethiopia and the continent Africa at large.

Dr. Yitbarek said the sandpit event has served as a capacity building platform, and created an opportunity to better understand the ways how to depict the underlying health matters with a research based approach thereby winning hearts and minds of partners for concerted efforts to address the problem.

Dr. Ian Ruredzo, Chairman of Department of Laboratory and Diagnostic and Investigative Sciences at University of Zimbabwe, for his part, pointed out that the sandpit event enabled him to understand how multidisciplinary actors in Ethiopia are moving towards a real one health approach to address AMR.

The event has brought various stakeholders together including the academia and the health sector in a way to consolidate efforts through one health approach for the realization of a healthier community.

Professor Workabeba Abebe, Head of Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at College of Health Science in Addis Ababa University, with a profound experience in researching AMR, stressed the need to pursue the one health approach to investigate the health connections between humans, animals and the environment, commending the role of the sandpit event in facilitating mechanisms in this regard.

AMR is becoming an emerging health problem, Professor Workabeba said, adding that the case is mostly diagnosed among in-bed patients who are receiving medical treatments in hospitals, 

Patients grappling with weakened immune systems are highly exposed to pathogens that have developed resistance against drugs like antibiotics, she said, calling for concerted efforts to combat AMR.

The number of new AMR infections is increasing day to day, according to Professor Workabeba, who explained that misuse of drugs such as antibiotics and shortcomings in infection prevention as a driving factors for the spread of AMR diseases.

AMR is causing serious economic and social problems by forcing patients to stay in hospitals for a long time and increasing the rate of mortality among patients, she said.

Professor Workabeba further indicated that the sandpit event introduced a new approach on how to combine findings of researches conducted in human, animals and environment health towards a common agenda under the framework of one health approach to curb ARM issues in Ethiopia and beyond.