Post #38

#Seminar #Food_Safety 3 Pathogens, 1% GDP It's not hidden that food safety needs a lot of improvements and there is a lot of work to be done for its betterment in Ethiopia, but when we are dealing with numbers from research, it's really concerning, and the negative impact on health and the economy is certainly seen. Today, a scientific seminar was presented by Professor Kebede Amenu, essentially targeting staff and students of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture of Addis Ababa University, and it was open virtually and in-person for those potentially interested. The title of the seminar presentation was "Food Safety Improvement Intervention in Low-and-Middle Income Countries: The Question of Sustainability." It was an insightful presentation that assessed the disease burden due to food safety and its economic aspects and gave suggestions for intervention and sustainability. The title I used above this topic: "3 Pathogens, 1% GDP," is about the impact of only 3 food pathogens which have an effect of 0.9% on National GDP (nearly 1%). We all know that there are numerous food pathogens. How could the number be elevated if all are added to the research mentioned! It's huge!! Among most of the things assessed by the seminar with the attractive and experienced presentation of Prof. Kebede, it was a new point of view for me that how the non-transparency of the informal food market is affecting the safety of our homes! Since we don't have food labels in our ጉሊት or ልኳንዳ, no standard, and no law enforcement, there is no means for the society to check the safety of the food in front of them before purchasing. This obviously has a negative impact. In Prof. Kebede's speaking, it is the culture that comes from the heart that can make a change but not knowledge from the head. I believe that advocacy and awareness made through any means of communication media should be considered helpful and assessed carefully since it is a vital means to reach out to the community's heart to make a culture. Prof. Kebede suggested three things for my question: "How should we use mainstream and social media to reach out to the community for intervention?" To make the long short: - Don't panic the society by sharing only the hazard - Use influencers and fun for education - Focus on the positive impact instead of blaming. Thank you, Prof. Kebede Amenu, for such a wonderful seminar and also my college and Dr. Fufa Abunna for the humble hosting. Looking forward to such kind of discussions. Kudos🙏 Yared E. (4th year DVM student)