NORHED II Urban–Suburban Nexus Project: AAU Team Meeting and NORAD Delegate Engagement (April 16–20, 2026)

The NORHED II Project Team Meeting

The NORHED II Project Team Meeting was held at Addis Ababa University on April 15–16, 2026. On April 15, project coordinators from AAU and UIT met with PhD scholarship students to discuss their progress. On April 16, the NORHED II project team at AAU, together with the project coordinator at UIT, reviewed overall project progress, confirmed AAU's strong institutional commitment, and agreed on the next phase of implementation. The meeting brought together project leaders, university representatives, postdoctoral researchers, and partners to assess achievements, address challenges, and set deadlines for curriculum review, PhD evaluations, research outputs, scholarships, and dissemination.

A major outcome was the formal endorsement of the revised implementation plan covering January 2026 through June 2027. The plan is organized around six pillars: curriculum development; capacity building; research implementation; stakeholder engagement and dissemination; infrastructure and equipment; and project management.

Progress to date was also reported. The project currently supports more than 50 students, including 10 PhD and 28 MSc candidates, with scholarship and stipend mechanisms in place. Eleven MSc students graduated in 2025, and the project has already generated notable policy and research outputs, including the OHW-2025 conference, a policy brief on integrating water security into Ethiopia's One Health framework, and the development of the One Health Knowledge Management System (OH-KMS). Infrastructure and capacity-building activities are advancing: the OH-KMS contract has been signed, technical training has been delivered for laboratory staff, and an upgrade of the Learning Management System is planned. Budget utilization reached 58% as of December 2025, with remaining funds strategically reserved for knowledge management, policy engagement, student support, and final dissemination activities.

Several strategic decisions were made for the next phase. A Curriculum Review Task Force will be established to review the One Health MSc/PhD curricula, conduct a gap analysis, and submit revised curricula to the AAU Senate by September 30, 2026. PhD progress evaluations were scheduled for May 6, 2026, with the evaluation rubric to be circulated by May 1, 2026. The team also discussed offering partial scholarships for up to seven new self-sponsored MSc students, subject to budget confirmation. The meeting concluded with a consolidated set of deadlines and responsibilities covering research deliverables, policy briefs, workshops, curriculum review, and publication targets.

The NORAD Delegates' Session with the NORHED II Projects at AAU

NORAD arranged a field visit to the NORHED II projects in Ethiopia from 16 to 21 April 2026. Among other objectives, the trip aimed to meet with NORHED II partners. On 20 April, NORAD delegates Oda Fagerland and Helga Torskenæs met with representatives of the five NORHED II projects at Addis Ababa University. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Fekadu Gashaw from AAU, and project leaders presented progress updates. Afterwards, the delegates visited the Africa Center of Excellence for Water Management (ACEWM) at AAU, which hosts one of the NORHED II projects, the Urban-Suburban Nexus Towards One Health project.