In order to actively and effectively respond to public health events, especially dangerous and emerging diseases, in 2014 the Ministry of Health of Viet Nam committed to participate in the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), including active contribution to the development and completion of Emergency Operations Centres (EOC).
On 23 August 2017, the Southern EOC Office of Viet Nam was inaugurated at the Pasteur Institute, Ho Chi Minh City. The Ceremony was attended by the Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and Vice Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long of the Ministry of Health of Viet Nam, Mr Ted Osius, Ambassador of the United States to Viet Nam, Mr Thomas Price, US Department of Health and Human Services, and leaders of agencies under the Ministry of Health, representatives of international organizations such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and many other national and international media agencies.
Speaking at the Ceremony, Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien stated that, in the context of globalization, epidemics and public health problems are threats not only to Viet Nam but also to the whole world. Diseases can be transmitted across borders and can rapidly spread within hours or several days across continents. The establishment and operation of EOCs is one of Viet Nam's concrete actions showing its commitment to the GHSA. It also demonstrates the effective support of the U.S. Government through the U.S. CDC and other international organizations for disease prevention and control activities in Viet Nam.
The inauguration of the northern EOC in the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in 2016 and the southern EOC at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City in 2017 are important milestones in the roadmap for the establishment and operation of the EOC system in Viet Nam. They will support quick public health information gathering from various sources, information analysis and sharing for timely and effective planning to respond to public health emergencies in the area. The Minister believes that, with the support of the US Government and international organizations, EOCs in the Central region, the Central Highlands, and other key provinces and cities of Viet Nam, will be further established and operated, creating a complete EOC network that will enable Viet Nam to actively and promptly respond to public health events./.
On 21 August 2017, Decision No. 3796/QD-BYT on the establishment of the Viet Nam Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) was issued by the Minister of Health. The PHEOC belongs to Ministry of Health's Steering Committee for Disease Prevention and Control, which was established under Decision No. 1424/QD-BYT dated 02/5/2013 and consolidated under Decision No. 3299/QD-BYT dated 06/9/2013 by the Minister of Health. The standing PHEOC is located at the General Department of Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Health. Four regional standing offices will be located at the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Tay Nguyen Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, and the Pasteur Institutes in Nha Trang City and Ho Chi Minh City. It is expected that the next two EOCs will be established in the Central region and the Central Highlands in 2018. |