Posted by Dr G Richard Olds 22nd March 2018
As in most walks of life, outcomes in global health and education are improved through collaboration. Individuals and organisations stand to benefit from the successes of others, so long as there are opportunities for them to come together and share their experiences.
In healthcare, there is a growing trend towards One Health One Medicine; one of the strongest examples of the benefits of international, cross-sector collaboration. The One Health initiative brings together human, animal and ecosystem health, resulting in a joined-up approach between complementary areas of science and medicine. All too often these activities are practiced in a vacuum, but by learning from each other and sharing resources, we have already seen progress cross between sectors. Vaccinating dogs against rabies to improve human health outcomes in vulnerable communities is one example; a programme recently undertaken by one of our graduates in Rwanda.