Inauguration of the Emergency Operation Center in Viet Nam

The Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and the US Ambassador to Viet Nam Ted Osius cut the ribbon to officially inaugurate Emergency Operation Center at a ceremony in Hanoi on 3 February, 2015.

This was one of the follow-up activitities to the participation of Vietnam into Global Health Security Agenda (GHS) developed and committed by US Government, internation organizations and other countries. At a GHS conference in September 2014, Viet Nam’s Ministry of Health committed to play an active role as one of two leading countries for the action package on prevention and control of zoonotic diseases as well as a contributing country on the action package to apply and develop the EOC model in order to quickly and effectively response to global health issues and protect human health. Thus, Viet Nam will implement prevention and control measures, applying a One Health approach involving different sectors including human health, agriculture, information, communication, education, tourism, national defense, public security, environment, other related sectors, and international organizations, and will share lesson learned and challenges with international community.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said “Viet Nam is located in an area which has been identified as one of several global “hot spots” with a significantly heightened risk for health security. In previous years, Viet Nam was one of the first countries which successfully controlled SARS, effectively addressed to Avian influenza A/H5N1, and actively carried out surveillance for H7N9 and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS CoV) in order to prevent disease transmission in the community”.

Ambassador Ted Osius said that under the framework of GHS Agenda, the US Government is providing the EOC with equipment and technical support to improve the center’s functions. He stressed that the EOC is an example of 20 years of US-Vietnam co-operation with both partners’ commitments to building upon a foundation that led to the Comprehensive Partnership and the recent GHS Agenda.

Disease control experiences have shown that early and timely information sharing, actively facilitation of resources, and joint participation of international and national stakeholders are extremely important. Previously, the EOC was established under the Decision number 1424/QĐ-BYT by the MOH dated 02 May 2013. The MOH activated the EOC during the preparedness of Ebola threat and the prevention and control of avian influenza and other emerging infectios diseases.

The EOC has following tasks:

1. To be the point of contact for receiving, summarizing, analyzing, and sharing information of urgent epidemic situations from ministries, sectors, local governments and state organizations as well as from domestic and international individuals and organizations, which will be used for urgent epidemic prevention and control.
2. To develop plans, monitor and coordinate activities between Sub-Committees under the MOH’s Steering Committee for the Prevention and Control of Dangerous and Emerging Diseases in order to implement appropriate responses in urgent epidemic situations.
3. To advise the MOH’s Steering Committee for the Prevention and Control of Dangerous and Emerging Diseases in the coordination with relevant agencies to mobilize and regulate rapid response teams, mobile emergency teams or health staff from preventive medicine units, healthcare facilities and other related forces to participate in urgent epidemic response, prevention and control.
4. To collaborate with related agencies and organizations to mobilize domestic and international resources and implement international cooperation activities for epidemic response, prevention and control; organize the implementation of projects on urgent epidemic response, prevention and control that have been assigned.