GCRF: One Health Regional Network for the Horn of Africa (HORN)

One Health is the concept that the health and well-being of people is linked to the health of their animals and the environment. It is nowhere more true than in the Horn of Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia) where many people's livelihoods are highly, or in some cases entirely, dependent on livestock. Animals are culturally, socially and economically vital in the region. Livestock provide, for example, over 60% of agricultural GDP in the Horn. Livestock are also a source of human disease. Outbreaks of disease in animals thereby directly affect people's health but also their wealth and nutrition.

Livestock production and human health and wellbeing in the Horn of Africa can be increased through research, leading to improved agricultural systems; more food and less malnutrition; more financial resilience; and better detection, diagnosis, prevention and control of disease.

HORN's mission is to improve the health and wealth of the people of the Horn of Africa by increasing the local capacity to undertake high quality research in the interactions between people and animals - One Health.

HORN aims to develop a One Health Regional Network - a network of individuals and organisations across the Horn of Africa that can undertake high quality research into the link between people's health and wealth and that of livestock and the environment.

HORN will strengthen the ability of organisations to undertake research with a 5 step process.

(i) First, the current research capacity of the organisations will be assessed, relative to their goals; a plan will then be developed to bridge the gap, implemented, and progress will be monitored.
(ii) Following from #1, training will be provided to non-academics in these organisations that have roles that provide the foundations for research: these could be leadership roles, technical roles or other roles, such as in finance or contracts or IT.
(iii) Training will also be provided to academic researchers from the region. Workshops and short courses (2-5 days), 4-8 week masterclasses and summer schools will educate researchers in aspects of One Health, as well as providing the generic skills that underpin high quality research, like research methods, statistics, presentation, grantsmanship. An e-learning platform will enable a wider body of researchers to access the course material.
(iv) Researchers will 'learn on the job' by undertaking research projects of 3-12 months duration. These projects will be co-created (by discussion and interaction with expert academics) at group events ('sandpits'), with successful ideas rapidly agreed and funded. Mobility of many researchers between countries is envisaged, with research focused in specific parts of Kenya and Ethiopia. UK researchers will be based in these countries too, following research programmes aligned with the development challenges, and providing supervision and mentoring to the researchers from the Horn countries.
(v) By bringing people together, encouraging mobility and increasing the number of organisations who bid in for research projects, we intend to develop the One Health Regional Network for the Horn of Africa - HORN.

Training of researchers from the Horn of Africa in One Health and research methods:
The primary impact of HORN will be the generation of a body of researchers in the Horn of Africa with greater individual research skills, supported by strengthened institutions, and part of a wider regional network. The impact of this will be, we intend, a greater ability of the four Horn countries to research and address the challenges in their own countries of the linkage of the biotic and abiotic environments to human health and well-being. These researchers will be better trained in the entire research cycle, from writing grants to collecting and analyzing data to publishing papers, thereby gaining in ability to leverage local and international research funds, and securing better careers.

These researchers will have the opportunity to receive high quality training in laboratory techniques and access high quality facilities at the ILRI-BecA training hub in Nairobi. This hub provides many technology platforms including genomics, bioinformatics, diagnostics, vaccine development and high containment (BSL-3). Recently, BecA has announced the launch of an advanced genotyping platform aimed at supporting plant and livestock breeding studies in Africa, and provides African researchers with a technology hitherto only found in developed countries.

Strengthening of research institutions:
The strengthening of research institutions will impact directly on a larger body of researchers, and will facilitate the future interactions of these institutions with other organisations in the region and in the developed world.

Delivery of research outcomes:
The people of the Horn of Africa have a dependence on livestock that is unmatched almost anywhere else in the world. Livestock production is, in turn, highly dependent on the local environment and climate. Research on the linkage of the environment/climate/livestock to human health and well-being therefore has a strong chance of generating real benefits to the local population, in terms of better nutrition, less zoonotic disease, greater wealth and more financial resilience.

Building a regional network:
HORN is, to our knowledge, the first One Health network which will reach into Eritrea and Somalia. During the period of HORN, and with the help and support of FAO (see Pathways to Impact) we aim to reach out to other relevant institutions in these countries and make training and research placements available to their staff [funding has been allocated for this]. This approach in Somalia is directly in line with the 2015 British Aid strategy, and will hopefully create a foundation for stronger links between UK and Somali institutions in the future, as Somalia's government gains strength and control.

Strengthening of UK's research capacity
HORN will fund eight UK researchers (seven in UoL, one in LSTM) to work in the region. The UoL researchers will be based in Kenya and Ethiopia, undertaking research in areas relevant to One Health and which fall under the three development challenges. This will serve to strengthen the UK's research capacity in One Health, and strengthen and extend collaborations with institutions in the region.