The challenge
Ethiopia’s current education and research frameworks are not yet fully equipped to tackle the complex and interconnected health challenges the country faces — including pandemic threats, biodiversity loss, population mobility, food safety and security, and the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Effectively addressing these challenges requires building stronger competencies in both education and research. However, activities within universities and research institutions remain largely siloed, with limited interdisciplinary collaboration. This fragmented approach overlooks the integrated nature of today’s health issues — challenges that demand cross-sectoral collaboration among diverse disciplines and engagement with non-academic actors.
While there have been commendable efforts to incorporate One Health principles into academic and research activities, a standardized national guideline to coordinate and steer these efforts was lacking.
Recognizing this gap, the COHESA Multiplier Team in Ethiopia led the development of the much-needed national guidelines, ensuring that the process was inclusive by actively engaging key stakeholders to build ownership, secure buy-in, and promote meaningful participation across sectors.
The Milestone
To define a strategic entry point for integrating One Health into teaching and research in Ethiopia, key stakeholders—including the Ministry of Education, heads of departments, researchers from nine universities, research institutes, and professional associations—were invited to participate in a net-mapping exercise.
A technical working group (TWG)—comprising experts from universities, research institutions, the Ministry of Education, and professional associations in public health, veterinary medicine, and environmental health—led the development of the guidelines. These guidelines were subsequently reviewed and endorsed by One Health stakeholders active in Ethiopia. Beyond their technical contributions, TWG members also actively promoted the process within their own institutions, paving the way for broad endorsement and institutional buy-in.
To strengthen this transformation at the university level, 270 One Health Ambassadors were trained across eight universities. Their role is to champion the integration of OH approaches into curricula and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). Ongoing mentorship is supporting universities in deepening and sustaining these integration efforts.
Evidence of change
The importance of integrating One Health into education and research was powerfully articulated by Dr. Fufa Abuna, an academician engaged in higher education. He remarked:
"This is a post-MDG agenda. The burden of the problem and institutional readiness are, however, not equal... Institutionalizing One Health and aligning it with existing policies are crucial."
His comment highlights both the urgency and the complexity of embedding One Health approaches within academic systems.
Curriculum development experts from the Ministry of Education further affirmed this need. While current curricula may not explicitly reference "One Health," they noted that One Health competencies are increasingly embedded within the country’s new educational frameworks. They emphasized the importance of moving beyond implicit inclusion toward formal, structured alignment - ensuring that One Health principles are intentionally integrated into educational programs and activities.
Reflection on the change and critical success factors
The success of this initiative was driven by the active and inclusive engagement of a diverse range of stakeholders from the very beginning. By involving academic institutions, government bodies, professional associations, and researchers as equal partners, the process fostered a strong sense of collective responsibility and ownership.
Key factors contributing to the initiative’s success included:
- Joint identification of entry points for integration, ensuring relevance and alignment with institutional priorities
- Collaborative development of guidelines, drawing on diverse perspectives from academia, government, and professional associations
- Inclusive validation processes that fostered trust, strengthened ownership, and secured broad stakeholder commitment
This participatory approach not only ensured buy-in but also laid a solid foundation for sustained implementation. Moreover, mapping existing curricula revealed numerous untapped opportunities to embed One Health principles into academic and research programs. These insights enabled a smoother, more strategic integration process, demonstrating that much of the groundwork already existed and only needed to be connected through a One Health lens.
Furthermore, the interconnected process starting from defining entry point to development of guidelines followed by endorsement, training of course owners and mentorship has helped to address the outstanding debate on whether One Health is a science or an approach and principle. It became clearer that One Health is not a standalone science that would rather create another competing field of study, but it is an approach and principle with specific competencies that all disciplines and researchers should have.
The key lesson from Ethiopia may not only enhance the responsiveness of education and research to global health challenges but also sets a precedent for other nations to follow. The key takeaway is that through collaboration, innovation, and strategic planning, One Health can become an integral part of educational and research frameworks, thereby enhancing the overall health and well-being of societies.
Lessons learned
Ethiopia’s experience of integrating One Health competencies into its educational system demonstrates that transformative interdisciplinary engagement in research and teaching does not necessarily require substantial curriculum overhauls. Instead, strategic integration—anchored in existing structures—can effectively embed One Health principles across disciplines.
A critical insight from this journey is the power of a systematic and inclusive process. This realization is not only reshaping education and research in Ethiopia but offering valuable guidance for other countries. The key takeaway is clear: through collaboration, innovation, and strategic planning, One Health can be effectively institutionalized within academic and research frameworks—enhancing their ability to respond to global health challenges and ultimately improving societal well-being.