Environmental Health Issues Following the War in Ethiopia, with Akeza Awealom Asgedom

Part of the Occupational and Environmental Health seminar series 2026-2027.

Discover the latest research on environmental health challenges following the war in Ethiopia, with a special focus on Tigray. Hear findings from peer-reviewed studies, learn about ongoing research, and join an interactive discussion on humanitarian recovery, global health, and strengthening collaboration between the Global South and Global North.

Environmental health services, including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and infection prevention and control (IPC), are essential for disease prevention and quality healthcare delivery. However, these services are often severely disrupted during war and humanitarian crises. The war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia (2020-2022) caused widespread destruction of WASH infrastructure, weakened IPC practices, and increased the burden of preventable diseases. This seminar presents evidence on community and healthcare facility WASH and IPC conditions in war-affected Tigray, highlights key environmental health challenges, and discusses opportunities for further research, collaboration, and sustainable recovery to strengthen health systems and community resilience.

Researchers, practitioners, policymakers, students, and humanitarian professionals are all welcome.

Speaker Profile

Akeza Awealom Asgedom is an Environmental Public Health Specialist with over 16 years of experience in public health research, teaching, and academic leadership. His work focuses on environmental and occupational health, humanitarian crises, conflict-related health impacts, and health systems resilience. He has published more than 45 peer-reviewed articles and has led numerous externally funded research projects. He previously served as Head of the School of Public Health at Mekelle University (2020-2023). He currently serves as a Community Fellow at York University's Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research and as an Affiliate Scholar at The Africa Institute, Western University. He is also a Middle-Level Manager (MLM) for Technical Professionals trainee at The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, Toronto Metropolitan University.

Register below for the Friday, October 2 at noon ET Webinar.