ADDIS ABABA – July 09, 2023 (NIPN/EPHI) – Food Science and Nutrition Research Directorate (FSNRD) of the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) held a daylong meeting to discuss plan execution last Friday in Bishoftu Town.
Opening the meeting, FSNRD Director, Masresha Tessema (PhD) said that the purpose of the meeting was to review the performance and execution of the 2015 Ethiopian Fiscal Year (EFY) and to discuss the future work plan for the 2016 EFY. He said that the meeting would acknowledge the encouraging activities carried out in the just ended budget year and focus on intensifying efforts to achieve even greater success in future.
“We worked hard together in the 2015 EFY, and now we should come forward in unison to do much better,“ Masresha said. According to Masresha, the purpose of the forum was to provide employees with an opportunity to share their views and experiences to intensify the successes.
Following his introductory remarks, case team leaders briefed about the activities accomplished in the 2015 EFY and the plan in pipeline for the upcoming 2016 EFY.
Representing the Environment and Non-Communicable Disease Research case team, Daniel Abera briefed participants on the accomplished activities of his team and the plan ahead. Accordingly, Daniel raised research conducted on environmental and occupational health, non-communicable diseases, and their risk factors as national priorities: (cancer, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc.)
He also briefed about an assessment of the Household Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia (Geshiyaro WASH Survey Year 4). The general objective of this research, according to him, is to assess the current status of WASH at household and community level, in schools and in health facilities…
A pilot study entitled “waste water-based COVID-19 surveillance in waste water treatment plant…” was also conducted by the team with the objective of detecting SARS-CoV-2 from highly affected wastewater samples collected in Addis Ababa.
Leading a case team of the Food Science and Nutrition Laboratory, Meseret Weldeyohannes presented the general performance report of his team. Meseret said that various encouraging activities were accomplished during the 2015 EFY. Laboratory test on the pollution of edible oil, micro nutrient survey, food sample gathering from selected areas for the Food Composition Table Update project, the preparation of different samples for food safety projects and the request for accreditation of three tests were among the activities accomplished by his team in the just ended budget year.
Meseret has also said that there are activities undertaken outside of the set plan. Giving practical training to students from various universities, involving in the preparation of Micronutrient Guideline and finalizing testing on 25 mineral salt samples were among the activities carried out beyond the plan.
