AFRICAN FAMINE SH
I
TRAV ELL ED TO the Horn of Afri ca this summer to help increase access to education for girls and women in eastern Kenya. As fate would have it, I was there when th e United Nations issued a declarati on of famine in neighb ouring Somalia. Already co nsidered the larges t refu gee camp in the world, th e ca mp outside D abaab, Kenya, was trying to care for 1 ,300 new arriva ls a day from Somalia see king food , wa ter and hope. I was overcome by the tragedy and found it difficult to make se nse of something so se nseless . Only th e aid workers prevented m e from being co mpl etely heartbroken, as they demonstrated how individuals can make an enormous difference in such a crisis. I also have hope for the education proJeCt being considered and the students it will help. Education offers hope for a better life and perhaps a way for people to prevent future episodes like this one - mass starvati on brought on by prolonged drought, allowed to happen because of political chaos that seems to foster poverty and preventable diseases while encouraging desertifi cati on and deforestation practices that destroy the reso urces needed by the area's 20 million nomadic livestock farm ers - all compounded by a lack of foresight that could have encouraged agriculture and allowed people to stoc kpil e food to see them throu gh the inevitable next cycle of drought. On my fli ght hom e, l reflected on my perso nal witness of th e situation - w hat see ms like th e perfec t exa mp le o f w hy we need the "o ne health " approac h. One health is a concept that is shaping th e future of th e ve terinar y profession and parti cularl y teac hin g and research at th e Ontario Veterinary Coll ege . As it prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversa ry, O VC is addressing th e urge nt need for an integrated approach to animal , human and environmental health . H ow ca n we ve terinarians improve li ves to ck and w ildlife health in Somalia witho ut also co nsidering the welfa re o f th e farmers w ho share the sa me wa ter and food sources? How can we reach th e goal of ensuring a safe and sec ure food supply, in Somalia or in C anada, w ith out addressing environm ental health? Or health infrastru cture? Or public policy? At Guelph , we have fin e-tun ed our ve terinary program to help OVC graduates develop a broad und erstandin g of these areas and work closely with physicians and environmental scientists. Our gradu ates also need to be prepared to contribute to planning for national and glo bal responses to specifi c challenges, outbreaks and ca tastrophes like the one l w itn essed in Afri ca . In this issue of The Portico, you w ill read more about OVC's pion ee ring role in th e grow th and acce ptance
-u
I
~
~
G)
~ ~
;;:: )>
-~-__....~ 路~ ~ of ecohealth as a legiti mate and important area of study. We still need to work on implem enting this "one health - o ne wo rld " app roach here in Canada and beyo nd . The role of th e veterinary profession and environm ental scientists is not clearly understood nor wid ely accepted by the m edi cal profession. For example, we must be prepared, and prepare all U of G graduates, to advoca te for better co- ordinati on of the activities of hum an, ani mal and environmental health experts. There are many challenges to this effort, not least the finan cial issues involved in curriculum development and providing appropriate teaching fa cilities and in ternational experi ences for stud ents. T hese are necessa ri ly am o ng th e pri oriti es of the University's BetterPl anet Proj ec t. Since OVC's founding in 1862, veterinary medi cine in C anada has co me a long way. Today we are teac hin g students not just to think about individual ani mal health but to take a more holistic approach. If we ca n co nn ect human, animal and environmental health more eB:ectively -and the H orn of Africa demonstrates that we must we will have the capacity to bring about positive change. AL ASTA IR SUM MERL EE, PR ES IDENT
Fall 20113
I