Call for abstracts: Global Development Symposium 2014

The Global Development Symposium 2014 takes place on 4–7 May 2014 at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Underscoring the critical links between human and animal health, the symposium will explore interdisciplinary approaches to improving public health and food security while empowering communities for lasting change.

Participants are expected to include social, environmental, medical and veterinary scientists as well as policymakers, students and community members who have an interest in positive global development.

The organizers of the symposium have issued a call for oral, poster and pitch for progress abstracts to be submitted up to 13 January 2014. 

The organizers will also support the travel costs of up to 15 delegates through the International Connections Scholarship supported by Aeroplan. Both professionals and students are encouraged to apply for these awards based on the following criteria:

• Preference will be given to those individuals from a developing nation or the Canadian North
• Demonstrated financial need as articulated through the application process
• If applying as a student, must be a full time student at a recognized college or university (a letter from the Department Chair of your institution must be included in the application submission)

Applications for scholarships will be accepted until 15 November 2013. 

Below are the expanded themes of the symposium

Theme 1: Global public health

• Ecosystem approaches to health
• Translating research to action to policy 
• One Health
• Educating the next generation of leaders
• Domestic, wild and feral animals 
• Crisis Intervention

Theme 2: Food and water security

• Sustaining communities
• Market integration
• Adding value to family agriculture
• Woman and children
• Climate change and health
• Water systems and infrastructure
• Human-animal interactions

Theme 3: Community empowerment

• Outcome assessment: qualitative and quantitative
• Stakeholder consultation, learning and sharing
• Participatory design, research, monitoring and evaluation
• Conservation, biodiversity and natural resource management
• Animals’ role in the community

Visit the symposium website for more information and details of how to register

 

ILRI-supported student successfully defends thesis on Salmonella in pork markets in Vietnam

Sinh Dang Xuan defends his Master of Veterinary Public Health thesis at the Chiang Mai University, Thailand. His research study was co-funded by the ILRI-led project “Ecosystem approaches to the better management of zoonotic emerging infectious diseases in Southeast Asia” (photo credit: ILRI/Fred Unger).

Congratulations are due to Sinh Dang Xuan on the successful defence of his Master of Veterinary Public Health thesis on 9 September 2013 at the Veterinary Public Health Centre for Asia Pacific, Chiang Mai University in Thailand. The course is a joint program of Freie Universität Berlin and Chiang Mai University.

His research study on quantifying Salmonella spp. in pig slaughterhouses and pork markets associated with human health in Hung Yen, Vietnam was co-funded by a project led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) on ecohealth approaches to managing zoonoses in Southeast Asia.

It is one of the first studies carried out in Vietnam combining quantitative and qualitative research methods on ecohealth approaches to food safety in pork value chains.

View the presentation

 

ILRI scientists present at Africa 2013 ecohealth conference

Smallholder livestock farming in the highlands of Ethiopia (ILRI/Apollo Habtamu).

Over 15 scientists from the Food Safety and Zoonoses program at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) are among 250 participants attending the Africa 2013 Ecohealth Conference in Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire. The ILRI team will give 20 oral presentations during two parallel sessions on risk analysis in ecohealth as well as five poster presentations.

The general objective of the conference, which runs from 1 to 5 October 2013, is to contribute to the sharing of knowledge among researchers, health practitioners and policymakers on integrated and transdisciplinary studies that are related to health within the framework of adaptations to global changes.

This is the first-ever joint conference of leading African and intercontinental scientific societies dedicated or working to improve public health and ecology. The conference is jointly organized by the following institutions:

• Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire (CSRS)
• Communauté de Pratiques en Ecosanté de l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre (COPES-AOC)
• Ecohealth Network of East and Southern Africa
• International Association for Ecology  and Health
• University of Benin
• University of Côte d’Ivoire

More information is available on the conference website.

 

Vietnam hosts pioneer training course in One Health and EcoHealth

A vendor weighs live chicken for sale in Hung Yen province, Vietnam (photo credit: ILRI/Nguyen Ngoc Huyen).

The first ever short course on One Health and EcoHealth in Vietnam – hosted by the Center for Public Health and Ecosystem Research (CENPHER) at the Hanoi School of Public Health (HSPH) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) – took place on 27-30 May 2013 in Hanoi.

While Vietnam is a part of the EcoHealth network in the Southeast Asia region, no formal EcoHealth training program existed in the country before the launch of this course.

EcoHealth is an emerging, multi-disciplinary field of study that examines how ecosystem changes affect human health so as to prevent new diseases from emerging.

The participants were an international, multi-disciplinary and multi-sector group drawn from various countries across the globe, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand, the United States of America and Vietnam.

The course, which was run by regionally based trainers, highlighted the conceptual framework of EcoHealth and One Health and its potential usefulness in advancing the agenda of public health. Specifically, activities generated from the workshop provided a chance to demonstrate how risk analysis can be used as a tool in developing strategies to prevent and control infectious diseases.

Through the introduction of concepts and didactic methods, application of case studies and participation in fieldwork, the course participants learned about the theory and major concepts of EcoHealth, and honed the skills necessary to apply the principles of One Health and EcoHealth in their respective fields of expertise.

Following the successful inception of One Health and EcoHealth training in Vietnam, CENPHER now plans to incorporate an EcoHealth course into a comprehensive and innovative public health training program. To do this, CENPHER will collaborate with various EcoHealth initiatives currently working in Southeast Asia, namely,

• the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)- funded project,  EcoHealth approaches to the better management of zoonotic emerging infectious diseases in the Southeast Asia region;
• the Ecohealth Field-Building Leadership Initiative in Southeast Asia; and
• two EcoHealth Resource Centres in Chiang Mai University, Thailand and Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia.

Beyond the immediate successes of expanding the scope of EcoHealth concepts and applications, the community at HSPH and CENPHER hopes that the output of this workshop will mark the start of continued growth, sustained partnerships and lasting opportunities for collaborative learning.

 

IDRC and ILRI publish workshop report on global health research and practice

A women sells live ducklings in a ‘wet market’ in Indonesia (photo credit: ILRI/Christine Jost).

On 29 January 2013, Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) organized a half-day workshop at the 2013 Prince Mahidol Award Conference entitled Cross-sectoral collaboration for health and sustainability: a new agenda for generating and assessing research impact in the face of complexity.

This pre-conference workshop convened nearly 60 international researchers, practitioners, policymakers and representatives from donor agencies and international organizations to address two contemporary challenges in global health research and practice:

1. How do we measure and attribute the success and impact of integrated, transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral research and interventions? Further, how do we effectively and coherently communicate these successes to key global health policymakers?
2. How can we integrate multiple lines of evidence and knowledge in order to achieve gains amongst a family of desired outcomes: the improvement of human and animal health, generation of impact for community members and policymakers, and the promotion of ecological and social sustainability?

The summary report of the workshop is now published, presenting the highlights and reflections which emerged from the workshop and its discussions.

“It is hoped that the key findings will enhance the proficiency of researchers to influence and impact regional and global health policy debates,” the authors say.

“Further, lessons from the workshop may inform priority setting for future research agendas in international One Health, EcoHealth and global health research.”

ILRI’s experiences in using EcoHealth approaches to better manage zoonoses in Southeast Asia took centre stage during a poster session at the 2013 Prince Mahidol Award Conference.

The conference was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 29 January to 2 February 2013.

 

New publication on capacity development for wildlife health management

The 2012 annual scientific meeting of the Wildlife Disease Association featured a workshop on capacity development in wildlife health management.

The workshop consisted of presentations, table-top exercises and general discussion among over 60 participants from all over the world.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) was represented by Purvi Mehta-Bhatt, regional representative for South Asia, who gave a keynote presentation on capacity development in One Health and EcoHealth.

“Capacity development is an important pathway to achieving sustainable development. Limited capacity continues to be one of the most prominent hindrances to implementing projects in developing countries,” said Mehta-Bhatt.

“It is important to identify and leverage upon the role that different international, regional and local organizations can play in building capacities.”

ILRI’s research on One Health and EcoHealth is one of the key research activities within the prevention and control of agriculture-associated diseases theme of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health.

Access the workshop report

Citation: Leighton F A, Valeix S, Wall R, and Polachek L. 2012. Capacity development for wildlife health management in low and middle income Countries: A Workshop Work Book. Wildlife Disease Association, Lawrence, KS, USA.

 

ILRI project on ecohealth featured at the 2013 Prince Mahidol Award Conference

A live chicken vendor weighs a chicken in Hung Yen province, Vietnam (photo credit: ILRI/Nguyen Ngoc Huyen).

The experiences of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in using One Health and EcoHealth approaches to better manage emerging zoonoses were featured during a poster session at the 2013 Prince Mahidol Award Conference that was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 29 January to 2 February 2013. The theme of the conference was: “A world united against infectious diseases: Cross-sectoral solutions”.

ILRI scientists Jeffrey Gilbert and Rainer Assé presented two research posters from the project, Ecosystem approaches to the better management of zoonotic emerging infectious diseases in the Southeast Asia Region.

The project works with trans-disciplinary teams from governments, non-governmental organizations and universities in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam to increase the capacity of researchers and animal disease control personnel to understand the risks and impacts of zoonotic emerging infectious diseases and best practice options to better manage the diseases.

View the posters below.

The added value of an ecohealth approach for the prevention and control of emerging zoonotic diseases by Jeffrey Gilbert

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Examining the socioecology of zoonotic diseases: Ecohealth experiences in Southeast Asia by Rainer Assé, Korapin Tohtubtiang, Jeffrey Gilbert and Delia Grace

 

Experts call for One Health approach to tackling zoonotic diseases

Cattle coming in from the fields in the evening in Lhate Village, Chokwe, Mozambique (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann).

A group of research experts associated with the Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa Consortium have called for a system-based ‘One Health’ approach to help catalyze better preparedness and surveillance that are informed by cross-disciplinary approaches.

One Health is a globally recognised approach established to promote the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines, working locally, nationally and globally, to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment.

Writing in an Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Rapid Response Briefing titled Zoonoses – From Panic to Planning (January 2013), the researchers also note that One Health could help “accelerate research discoveries, enhance the efficacy of response and prevention efforts, and improve education and care”.

However, realigning policy to embrace One Health requires a shift in focus from the current disease-centred approach to one that considers the whole system and takes into account human health, animal health and ecosystems.

Over two-thirds of all human infectious diseases have their origins in animals. The rate at which these zoonotic diseases have appeared in people has increased over the past 40 years, with at least 43 newly identified outbreaks since 2004. In 2012, outbreaks included Ebola in Uganda, yellow fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rift Valley fever in Mauritania.

Zoonotic diseases have a huge impact – and a disproportionate one on the poorest people in the poorest countries. In low-income countries, 20% of human sickness and death is due to zoonoses. Poor people suffer further when development implications are not factored into disease planning and response strategies.

A new, integrated ‘One Health’ approach to zoonoses that moves away from top-down disease-focused intervention is urgently needed. With this, we can put people first by factoring development implications into disease preparation and response strategies – and so move from panic to planning.

The briefing is lead authored by Delia Grace, veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). She leads ILRI’s research team on animal health, food safety and zoonoses as well as a research component on prevention and control of agriculture-associated diseases under the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health.

Citation: Grace D, Holley C, Jones K, Leach M, Marks N, Scoones I, Welburn S and Wood J. 2013. Zoonoses – From panic to planning. IDS Rapid Response Briefing 2. IDS (Institute of Development Studies), Brighton, UK.