One Health Communication Network (OHCN) Meeting, Hanoi

The meeting was organized under the framework of the Partnership on Avian and Human Influenza (PAHI), and chaired by Mdm. Ha Thuy Hanh, Deputy Director of of the National Agricultural Extension Centre (NAEC) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development together with Mdm. Pham Thanh Binh of the Communications Subcommittee of the Steering Committee on Dangerous and Emerging Diseases of the Ministry of Health. The Chair and co-chair provided presentations at the meeting addressed communications for active prevention and control of dangerous and emerging diseases in the health sector, and of zoonotic diseases in the agriculture sector. Mr. Nguyen Ngoc TIen of the Department of Animal Health provided additional comments in relation to zoonotic diseases in animals.

Other participants then provided updates on their ongoing and planned activities and results, including FAO, WHO, the Vietnam One Health University Network (VOHUN), the Viet Nam University of Agriculture (VNUA), the USAID-funded EPT-PREVENT program implemented by FHI-360, the Viet Nam Farmers’ Union and CIRAD.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) presented the ongoing results of the USAID-funded EPT-PREDICT program, which is investigating diseases of pandemic potential at the human-wildlife interface in Viet Nam. The Center for Public Health and Ecosystem Research (CENPHER) introduced their activities and presented lessons learned from the 5th Biennial Conference of the International Association for Ecology and Health (IAEH) in Canada on 11-15 August 2014, with the theme “connections for health, ecosystems and society”.

The next quarterly meeting of the OHCN is expected to take place in November. Network organizers are also discussing the proposal of a field visit to view One Health communications activities in a rural location.