Department of Conservation Biology and Entomology Holds Seminar

The Department of Conservation Biology and Entomology has held a seminar on the theme, “Working towards One Health and Research Training Programme.”

The event, attended by lecturers, deans, and students of the department, served as a platform to showcase the department's activities and projects. 

A Senior Lecturer at the Department of Conservation Biology and Entomology, Dr. Andreas Adutwum Kudom, who spoke on the topic, "One Health Project", said the overriding goal of One Health (OH)-Target was to improve health conditions worldwide by understanding the structural health problems caused by the living environment and by developing context-specific solutions in a holistic and participatory approach to development cooperation.

He said the Project started in 2018 when the department identified a training gap and provided an 8-day short course on the Advanced Module Vector Biology and Control, which focuses on vectors, habitats, and their role in disease transmission.

He said the Project had produced several PhD candidates, adding that UCC had become a CIHLMU One Health Competence Centre.

According to him, the UCC Competence Centre had made significant achievements through support from guest lecturers and a local coordinator.

Dr. Kudom addressing the participants

"Among the projects executed at the Centre, the investigation of insects as protein carriers for human nutrition and psychoanalysis of human behaviours in different African countries towards new mosquito control tools are few examples," Dr. Kudom added.

Some of the OH-Target implementation plans included, "One Health network fund projects and One Health Master and PhD scholarships, among others.”

Dr. Kudom pointed out some of the successes of the project as training students and professionals on vector biology, a vast network of institutions, as well as graduate students of the Department of Conservation Biology and Entomology, have access to Centre for International Health scholarships.

He identified financial challenges as the key challenge to the Project which will end in 2024.

At the seminar, a professor of Biology at Spelman College, Atlanta-USA, Prof. Yonas Tekle took the audience through his research topic, "Genome Giants, Unveiling the Diversity, Behaviour and, Association of Amoeba."

Closing the seminar, the Head of the Department of Conservation Biology and Entomology, Prof. Rofela Combey, commended the facilitators and encouraged students to utilize the knowledge gained from the seminar.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC