RxOH 2022 Alum: Richard Gashururu
Richard Gashururu
My name is Richard Gashururu, a veterinarian from Rwanda. I work for the School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Rwanda as an academic staff and researcher. I am also a member of Africa One Health University Network (AFROHUN), Rwanda chapter as a faculty.
I was interested in Rx One Health because I wanted to contribute in strengthening the use of One Health approach to reduce the public health threats in my country Rwanda in particular and globally at large. Rx One Health was an excellent path to get a wider working experience and skills in OH leadership and create a strong One Health network. The training course gives a multicultural experience to participants that helps them play a key role in addressing complex health challenges. I was expecting the training to specifically provide leadership skills and competencies in terms of advocacy, management, and civic engagement that are required to implement the One Health approach in home countries and institutions. I believed Rx One Health could result in strong professional networks and a cultural exchange with the possibility of developing strategic partnerships.
My personal challenges like camping for the first time, adjusting to a new time zone and the weather later became my opportunities to learn the One Health concepts aimed at addressing the complexity of health challenges. Although I had basic knowledge and skills on One Health acquired from OHCEA /AFROHUN, I was missing some skills such as leadership in One Health. I got an opportunity to learn from other participants and especially the instructors and share the experience.
The activities such as rodent surveillance, social determinants of health, the visit to Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center (MWVCRC) in Santa Cruz and the capstone project transformed my understanding of One Health. I am confident that I am now a transformative agent, equipped with resiliency tools to tackle the public health threats in my community.
The first thing that inspired me was the level of organization and the way participants were selected. It was really multidisciplinary and multicultural. Also, the use of different settings/places (camping in Clover Valley Ranch, Hastings Natural History Reservation, etc…) [was crucial] for understanding OH concepts.
Although I was already involved in One Health in my country and have had opportunities to benefit from various seminars and trainings, it was only at a national level. Rx One Health was a global exchange program, which allowed me to benefit a lot in terms of mutual understanding, enhancement of One Health leadership skills, professional skills and building strong partnerships. It has been an excellent opportunity to expand my professional network with colleagues and most likely with their institutions. We discussed One Health problems from a transdisciplinary and culturally sensitive perspective. I will always remember how the Incident Command System can be used to respond to a One Health emergency.
As a faculty, my plan is to strengthen my capacities by including the One Health approach in my duties at the University by engaging students and other faculty members. My wish is to apply One Health core competencies in teaching, research and community outreach activities and advocate for the same in the scientific community around me. We train students who are themselves the future One Health workforce. Once they graduate with such skills, I am sure the One Health approach will be achieved progressively.
As an Africa One Health University Network (AFROHUN), the training skills will be shared with other members, especially the Students One Health Innovation Clubs (SOHIC), Rwanda chapter. I have experience in research aimed at discovering the interactions between the pathogens, hosts and their environment. The inclusion of One Health core competencies is a perfect match towards addressing complex health challenges especially in low resource settings. The training has been an opportunity to start a research collaboration either individually or between our institutions.
