IOM and FAO strengthening One Health capacity of border provinces in Vietnam
WVR - The project will raise awareness among cross-border communities of Vietnam about public health risks, case reporting, and self-protection.
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| Participants discussed progress on pandemic preparedness and response along the border of Vietnam and Cambodia. (Source: IOM) |
The Government of Japan has announced a USD 1.5 million contribution to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to support the Government of Vietnam in achieving SDG Target 3.8D, particularly in the area of early warning, risk reduction, and management of national and global health risks.
The funding will strengthen One Health, an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems. Recognizing that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent, the initiative will increase capacity in the border provinces of Ha Giang, Ha Tinh, Dong Thap, and An Giang.
This will allow health threats to be addressed holistically with experts from multiple departments of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment working together.
The project will raise awareness among cross-border communities about public health risks, case reporting, and self-protection. Approximately two million residents in four provinces will benefit from outreach events, and capacity building for health and animal health officials, led by IOM.
The health of humans, animals, and ecosystems is interconnected, posing risks for spreading infectious diseases, as highlighted by the recent H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam ITO Naoki shared: “I am proud to launch the holistic collaboration between experts from Japan and Vietnam, along with several UN agencies including IOM, FAO and WHO... I am confident that we have a significant opportunity to promote the health of people in Vietnam, foster multi-sectoral partnerships, and build a healthier future for all".
The project will form a One Health taskforce with representatives from health, animal, plant, border guard, and environment departments, as well as district authorities in each project province, through comprehensive and multi-sectoral assessments. It will build capacity for 80 One Health taskforce members and 240 health professionals to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies through simulation exercises on human outbreaks of avian influenza and rabies in the four project provinces and accelerate disease detection utilizing portable diagnostic real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines.
Additionally, the project will strengthen bilateral coordination for public health preparedness and response by facilitating dialogue between Vietnam and neighboring countries, such as Cambodia and Laos, with participation from multi-sectoral actors to discuss outbreak responses and contingency plans along the border.
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| Approximately two million residents in four provinces will benefit from outreach events, and capacity building for health and animal health officials. (Source: IOM) |
Chief of Mission of IOM Vietnam Kendra Rinas said: "As a close partner of the Ministry of Health, IOM supports the Government of Vietnam in building sustainable and mobility-sensitive health systems integrated with a human mobility perspective".
"Preparedness for and response to health threats must be multi-sectoral and responsive to mobility and cross-border dynamics. Applying the One Health approach will mitigate the cross-border transmission of infectious diseases and protect the health and well-being of two million residents in four project provinces," she added.
In his part, Dr. Rémi Nono Womdim, FAO Representative in Vietnam, emphasized: “FAO has been collaborating with the government of Vietnam to promote One Health approach as part of agrifood system transformation for the health of people, animals, plants and the environment. We must adopt a coordinated, cross-sectoral approach, collaborating with both human and animal health sectors in Vietnam and neighboring countries to effectively prepare for and respond to health threats along the border".
“Thanks to the support from the Government of Japan, we are building on the animal disease prevention, detection, and control capacities developed previously, and enhancing collaboration with the public health sector to apply these capabilities in border areas,” he added.
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