About
The One Health Community Partnerships (OHCP) project is a collaborative initiative with the following goals:
- improved community health
- equitable One Health empowerment for poor, marginalized, rural smallholder farmers — especially women and girls and female-headed households — in areas with a high prevalence of zoonotic and human-animal-environment interface-related diseases
The project’s focus communities are in the following regions:
- Nabdam District of Ghana
- Isingiro District of Uganda
- Halaba Zone of Ethiopia
Supported by Global Affairs Canada, the OHCP project utilizes a gender transformative approach to project activities in alignment with Canada's Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), which means the project must improve the lives of vulnerable women and girls.
The OHCP project is part of the USask One Health Signature Area of Research, which is working to combat global health threats under the One Health framework through proactive, innovative and transdisciplinary approaches.
Key Outcomes
- Improved gender-responsive behaviours and practices of healthy human-animal-environment (One Health) interactions in focus communities.
- Improved awareness of the interactions between agricultural practice, water management, sanitation and hygiene on zoonotic diseases among rural smallholder farmers — particularly female-headed households, women and girls.
- Increased knowledge of human, animal and environmental health concerns by building the capacity of local teams of women to deliver human, animal and environmental health services.
- Enhanced community awareness of gender inequality within agricultural and domestic work environments and interactions with One Health by rural households in focus communities.
- Increased community use of gender-responsive and environmentally sustainable One Health approaches to predict, prevent, respond and mitigate transmission of zoonotic diseases.
- Increased community capacity to ensure One Health-informed agricultural practices, water management, sanitation and hygiene measures in relation to targeted zoonotic diseases.
- Increased capacity of Women One Health workers (W1HWs), community health workers and veterinary diagnostic lab personnel to predict, prevent and respond to pandemic threats.
- Strengthened One Health communication networks from village to ministry level.
Why One Health?
"'One Health' is an integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimize the health of people, animals and the environment. It is particularly important to prevent, predict, detect and respond to global health threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The approach mobilizes multiple sectors, disciplines and communities at varying levels of society to work together."
— World Health Organization (WHO)
Funding
Global Affairs Canada has provided nearly $4 million in funding over five years (April 2023 to March 2028) for the One Health Community Partnerships (OHCP) project.
The Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) and the University of Saskatchewan (USask) have also provided financial and in-kind support for this global initiative.
The project's lead is Dr. Claire Card, a professor in the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).
Partners
Dr. Claire Card, Professor, Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Project Lead and Governance Team Member — Animal Health Lead
Dr. Gord Zello, Professor and Assistant Dean, College of Pharmacy and Nutrition
Project Governance Team Member — Human Health Lead
Dr. Corrine Schuster-Wallace, Executive Director, Global Institute for Water Security, and Faculty Member, Department of Geography and Planning, College of Arts and Science
Project Governance Team Member — Environmental Health Lead
Dr. Susan Fowler-Kerry, Professor, College of Nursing
Human Health and Volunteer Program
Project country: Ghana
- Severa Soyiri, Ghana Project Manager
- Communities of Tindaongo, Solinga and Pelungu
- Apex Body of Women in Poultry Value Chain (WIPVac-Apex Ghana)
Project country: Uganda
- Annet Busingye, Uganda Project Manager
- Communities of Kishuro, Biere and Rwiezingiro
- Western Hope for Future Initiatives (WHFFI – Uganda)
- Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST)
Project country: Ethiopia
- Communities of Arsho, Tach Arsho, Merab Gortacho
- Brooke Ethiopia (Prospective partner in Ethiopia)
Other collaborators
- Anthony Akunzule (GAPNET)
- Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture
- Ethiopian Public Health Institute
- Veterinarians Without Borders/Vétérinaires sans frontières Canada
The OHCP project includes faculty collaborators from the following educational institutions in Canada and Africa:
- University of Saskatchewan (project implementor)
- University of Guelph
- University of Toronto
- Hawassa University
- Mbarara University of Science and Technology
- University of Ghana
Activities
The OHCP project uses community input and capacity building to solve health challenges in the focus communities.
- Education on One Health behaviours and practices.
- Education on climate-smart livestock management and safe One Health practices.
- Education on how to prevent, predict, detect and respond to target zoonotic diseases.
- Women One Health Workers (W1HWs) training for nominated community women to provide village level human, animal and environmental health services for a small fee in their community. W1HWs will focus on maintenance of wellness and prevention of disease.
- Provide leadership training to W1HWs and community women.
- W1HWs (village health team workers) to provide village-level human health services to identify individuals for referral. For example, they will use digital thermometers, blood pressure monitoring and urine test strips to detect illness/infection.
- Develop training:
- on syndromic recognition of infectious diseases
- on linkages between nutrition and health
- on diseases of local importance (such as malaria)
- on first aid
- Develop community-appropriate messages on health matters.
- At the village level, W1HWs (paravets) to:
- provide animal health services
- monitor morbidity and mortality of animals
- Provide gender-sensitive agricultural training to small holder farmers.
- Train livestock owners in animal care and welfare.
- Improve availability and access to essential equipment and medications for animals such as vaccines and dewormers.
- Develop locally appropriate materials to deliver animal health messages.
- Develop women model-farming locations.
- Develop surge capacity for disease outbreaks.
- Train farmers about biosecurity.
- Develop strategies for communities to predict, prevent and respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks.
- W1HWs (environmental health workers) to:
- map and identify community water sources and water quality changes in the wet and dry season
- monitor the quality of water resources over time
- sensitize community members about linkages with zoonotic disease and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
- promote climate smart practices for agriculture by evaluating water collection points and identifying areas where livestock are sharing and contaminating water sources
- Assist with the formation of women water committees to improve water quality and access.
- Document the challenges facing women in fetching water.
- Provide education to decrease erosion and improve soil quality.
- Develop and translate materials into local languages on linkages between water, sanitation and health.
- Increase knowledge on local diseases of concern (such as anthrax, malaria and trypanosomiasis).
- Provide training to couples on a gender model family.
- Community sensitization around gender roles and responsibilities.
- Provide education on One Health and zoonoses to boys and girls in schools.
- Provide education on gender equality.
- Educate girls on menstrual hygiene.
- Encouragement of girls to stay in school.
- Provide leadership activities for girls.
- Strengthen existing or emerging One Health communication networks from the village to ministry level on animal, human and environmental health.
- Increased capacity of W1HWs, community health workers and veterinary diagnostic lab personnel to predict, prevent and respond to pandemic threats.
- Develop interprofessional networks on zoonotic diseases.
- Use technology to report disease.
Both Canadian and African university students will participate in the project as volunteers.
These student volunteers will support and contribute to the project's educational and capacity building activities. In turn, university faculty and project team members will help the student volunteers:
- acquire skills and knowledge
- enhance their career development and personal growth
Contact
Meron Johnston, Project Director
One Health Community Partnerships (OHCP) Project
meron.johnston@usask.ca | 639-470-6227