One Health Trust (OHT), originally founded as the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) in 2010, is a public health research organization with offices in Washington, D.C., United States, and Bangalore, India.
Overview The One Health Trust has a multidisciplinary research team of economists, epidemiologists, social scientists, microbiologists, veterinarians, medical doctors, and disease modelers. Its research areas include antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, social determinants of health, vaccines, immunization, and other topics related to the One Health approach.
Primary activities
WHO Collaborating Center for Antimicrobial Resistance The One Health Trust became a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for antimicrobial resistance in 2020. Its researchers have supported the WHO in preparing country-specific policy and information briefs assessing progress in implementing national action plans on antimicrobial resistance.
Antimicrobial Resistance Research in Africa As part of the Mapping Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Use Partnership (MAAP) consortium, the One Health Trust contributed to the collection and analysis of antimicrobial resistance data in Africa. The consortium included the African Society for Laboratory Medicine, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the West African Health Organization, the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community, IQVIA, and Innovative Support to Emergencies, Diseases and Disasters.
The project was funded by the Fleming Fund. It involved collecting antimicrobial resistance data from public and private laboratories and pharmacies across Africa. According to the project reports, the consortium reviewed 819,584 antimicrobial resistance records collected between 2016 and 2019 from 205 laboratories in 14 African Union member states — Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Research and initiatives
Current initiatives
ResistanceMap Launched in 2010, ResistanceMap is a collection of tools developed by the One Health Trust that presents national and subnational data on antimicrobial use and resistance.
In 2015, ResistanceMap was updated with a redesigned interface, additional tools, and antimicrobial use and resistance data from several low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, and South America.
One World, One Health podcast The One World, One Health podcast was launched in 2022. Hosted by Maggie Fox, the interview-based podcast features discussions with researchers about One Health topics including pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic diseases, climate change, and pollution.
Past Initiatives
OxygenForIndia initiative The OxygenForIndia initiative was led by the One Health Trust and partner organizations to address shortages of medical oxygen in India during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April 2021, during a medical oxygen shortage in India, the initiative deployed 20,000 reusable oxygen cylinders and 3,000 oxygen concentrators to 57 urban and rural centers in India. Subsequent reporting described efforts to strengthen medical oxygen supply systems and improve health system preparedness.
Following the immediate response to the pandemic-related oxygen shortage, OxygenForIndia expanded its work toward establishing a stable medical oxygen supply system in India. OHT researchers and collaborators worked on a National Medical Oxygen Grid (NMOG), a monitoring and coordination platform intended to track medical oxygen demand and supply and support data-based decision-making. The initiative was intended to improve access to medical oxygen during emergencies as well as in non-pandemic settings. The National Medical Oxygen Grid platform is available at oxygengrid.in.
Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership The One Health Trust is a technical partner in the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP), which was established in 2008 to support the development of country-led strategies and policies addressing antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries. The partnership received funding from the Gates Foundation.
Modeling Infectious Diseases in Healthcare Network (MInD – Healthcare) The One Health Trust was a member of the Modeling Infectious Diseases in Healthcare Network (MInD–Healthcare), a network supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The network conducted transmission modeling research on healthcare-associated infections and antibiotic-resistant infections and assessed the potential effects of preventive measures.
Affordable Medicines Facility - Malaria The Affordable Medicines Facility — Malaria grew from a 2004 Institute of Medicines (IOM) report co-authored by the One Health Trust's president Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan. The project addressed the issue of rising antimalarial drug resistance against the most commonly used malaria treatment at the time, chloroquine, by finding ways to get artemisinin-based combination therapies — the most effective malaria treatments known — into private pharmacies and village shops.
Through negotiating bulk orders and subsidies, the Affordable Medicines Facility - Malaria team worked to leverage existing private-sector infrastructure in Africa to get artemisinin-based combination therapies where there were none before, to lower prices of effective antimalarials in rural Africa.
PhD program in Data Sciences for Global Health in partnership with Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani The One Health Trust, in partnership with Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) in Pilani, India, has a PhD program in Data Sciences for Global Health to provide training in global health issues and research methodology with fieldwork and data analysis. This program is full-time. References
External links Extending the Cure (ETC) Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership