The Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) welcomed a distinguished delegation led by H.E. Javier Niño Pérez, the EU Ambassador to the African Union which included H.E. Hans Henric Lundquist, Ambassador of Sweden to Ethiopia and Djibouti and H.E. Stefaan Thijs, Ambassador of Belgium to Ethiopia. H.E. Dr. Dereje Dhuguma, State Minister of Ministry of Health, Ethiopia, and Dr. Alemseged Abdissa, Deputy Director General of AHRI received the visit of the delegation.
H.E. Dr. Dereje Dhuguma and Dr. Alemseged Abdissa receiving and briefing H.E. Javier Niño Pérez, Ambassadors and delegation members; AHRI, 29 May, 2024.
For over 50 years, Sweden and Norway have provided foundational support for the establishment of the institute. This long-term commitment has been instrumental in its development. Belgium and the European Union have continued to complement this support with funding for several programmes. During the visit, the delegation toured the next-generation sequencing facility of the Institute and participated in poster presentations showcasing two selected EU-funded projects. The first presentation, titled “Enhancing Diagnosis of Acute Meningitis in Resource-Limited Settings in the Meningitis Belt” from the ARISE (African Research Initiative for Scientific Excellence) programme, was delivered by the principal investigator of the project, Dr. Getachew Tesfaye. The second presentation focused on one of the Horizon Europe programmes in AHRI, “Chemoprophylaxis for Leprosy: Comparing the Effectiveness and Feasibility of Community-Based versus Health Center-Based Interventions in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Tanzania (PEP4LEP/ PEP4LEP 2.0)” and was presented by the project’s Scientific PI, Dr. Kidist Bobosha.
H.E. Javier Niño Pérez, H.E. Dr. Dereje Dhuguma, Ambassadors and other EU delegation members participating in poster presentations made by project scientific PIs of AHRI, Dr. Getachew Tesfaye and Dr. Kidist Bobosha, 29 May, 2024.
In his closing remarks, H.E. Javier Niño Pérez expressed sincere gratitude to AHRI for the great works and reaffirmed the European Union’s commitment to continue supporting such initiatives. H.E. Dr. Dereje Dhuguma also acknowledged the ongoing collaborations between the European Union and the government of Ethiopia in tackling the challenges within the health sector.