From the bustling city of Dar Es Saleem, to the clear blue waters of Mafia Island and the breathtaking Ruaha National Park, Rx One Health (RxOH) participants will travel across Tanzania during a four-week intensive field course, launched this month.
The 2018 RxOH cohort consists of 22 early career health professionals from six countries including the USA, Denmark, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Vietnam. In preparation for a range of global health careers, these students will participate in: 1) hands-on activities to enhance their problem-solving skills, 2) cross-disciplinary engagements, and 3) field and laboratory training that implement OH principles in solving problems at the human-animal-environment interface.
What is One Health?
One Health is the approach that recognizes that human, animal, plant, and environmental health are interconnected and that problem-solving through inter-disciplinary collaboration is the most effective method to address health challenges across these sectors. The course activities are centered around real-world OH complexities and challenges that train the participants to employ and create strategies that minimize health problems across these sectors.
The Rx One Health Course
Throughout this one-month training, students will be introduced to the principles of OH, as well as nutrition, food security and agriculture, marine conservation, zoonotic diseases and wildlife health. This unique course provides participants with direct access to mentors, tools and the knowledge needed to incorporate OH approaches to their professional lives. Students will learn OH concepts through the participatory hands-on activities related to these cross-cutting themes and have an opportunity to make a difference in communities while working closely with various stakeholders identifying OH solutions to problems the community seeks to solve.
Exploring OH solutions and contributing to the scholars’ first-hand experience integrating different cultures amid the stunning landscape in Tanzania are features of the course; however, acquiring field experience skills while creating lasting friendships and developing connections with professionals from across the globe is truly a highlight of this field classroom because participants will live among, and interact with, members of Tanzania’s culture-rich community during the daily course trainings and presentations.
The RxOH Summer Institute provides a unique hands-on experience with aspiring professionals from diverse disciplines. Through this experience future global health professionals can discover novel strategies to solve OH challenges that impact health of humans, animals, plants, and the environment.
Stay tuned for more from this year’s RxOne participants!