OHCEA Tanzania conducted a One Health in-service leadership training with the main objective of training 23 in-service health professionals with introductory One Health leadership skills and competencies and to establish and strengthen a progressive One Health leadership development programme for the OHCEA network within the country. The training also aimed to develop and build leadership mentorship skills and experience towards establishment of an active mentoring network in the target districts of Kilolo, Mbarali, Njombe and Iringa. The training also aimed at addressing barriers to the One Health approach through developing experience and competency in communication, collaboration and leadership.
This is the third in-service course on One Health leadership training among leaders in Tanzania. It was conducted for five days, 11th -15th May 2016. Twenty in-service leaders were trained with the primary aim of increasing the level of advocacy on One Health leadership, increasing the networking capacity and increase their involvement in inter-sectoral, inter-disciplinary One Health teams. The training took place at the Giraffe Oceanic View Hotel conference facility;-Dar es salaam, Tanzania.
The School of Public Health and Social Sciences of Muhimbili University of Health and Social Sciences (MUHAS) in collaboration with Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Disaster Management Department of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit organized the workshop under OHCEA management.
A total of twenty three in-service district workers were trained on One Health leadership, and they included District Medical Officers, Veterinary Officers, District Planning Officer, District Education Officers and District Health Officer from the four selected districts. The diverse backgrounds of participants provided an opportunity for sharing of experiences both among participants, as well as between participants and facilitators.
The training emphasized key One Health leaders’ competence areas- visionary & strategic, communication, team building and change management.
Based on the evaluation done during the course, it has been noted that the level of advocacy of the participants as individuals and in teams has increased. Furthermore, their networking capacity has been improved. It is expected that following the interactions and linkages established during the training, participants will increasingly get involved in inter-sectoral as well as inter-disciplinary One Health teams. Continuous monitoring and evaluation will be done by facilitators assisted by the Country Coordinating Committee based on the documented way forward in the respective districts and key ministries as well as the collaborating universities.
Working in district groups, participants- guided by facilitators- identified three main problems whose intervention requires a One Health approach. These are Rabies, Environmental sanitation and Solid waste management.