Viet Nam

NEWS IN BRIEF QI/2017

NEWS IN BRIEF QI/2017

1.    Building on achievements in the first phase of the project “Strengthening Capacity for Implementation of One Health in Viet Nam”, the main objective of the second phase is to strengthening country systems to effectively address emerging and transnational public health threats through the application of a One Health approach in Viet Nam. With funding from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) via United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the SCOH-2 project is to be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in partnership with the Ministry of Health (MOH), and is expected to promote the Viet Nam One Health Partnership for Zoonoses (OHP – the successor to the previous Partnership for Avian and Human Influenza, or PAHI) to continuously foster achievements that have been made over the past 10 years as an important channel of communication between the Government, in particular MARD, MOH and MONRE, and the international community, ensuring that the main directions and priorities of the Government on One Health and Global Health Security will be clearly communicated to international agencies. At the same time, investment opportunities and priority support areas, as well as signals from donors, will be reported promptly and transparently on an analytical and selective basis. The project will be implemented from January 2017 to January 2019./.

2.    In order to support farmers to effectively respond to and have immediate and long-term solutions for reducing the risk of avian influenza recurring, the program "Extension Advice: Avian Influenza and How to Response” has been broadcasted on the Agriculture Channel – VTC16 with the participation of Dr. Nguyen Van Trong - Deputy Director, General Department of Livestock Production/MARD and Dr. Ha Thuy Hanh - Deputy Director of the National Agricultural Extension Centre (NAEC). According to Dr. Ha Thuy Hanh, avian influenza is a highly contagious disease with a high mortality rate, causing huge damage to farmers. Since there are no specific therapeutic drugs for this disease, ensuring biosecurity during livestock production, vaccination, and good management of poultry are essential. Nowadays, the risk of influenza A(H7N9) infection is very high because it is difficult to detect and there are no clinical signs of infection in poultry. A particular aspect is that the risk of mortality in humans is high (more than 35%). Due to the dangers of avian influenza A(H7N9), livestock producers are advised to report to the local veterinary authorities as soon as infected poultry is found, and to carry out destruction according to the Veterinary Law. Dr. Nguyen Van Trong gave advice on biosecurity measures as well as the need to strengthen the management of transport and to prevent cross-border poultry imports. At the talkshow, experts also answered questions directly through the switchboard number 1900-6145, with a focus on the prevention of avian influenza, free-gazing ducks, destruction requirements as well as policies on destruction support during outbreak and technical requirements for post-outbreak re-joining. (Information from NAEC)

3.    On 8 March 2017, the Minister of Health issued Decision No. 772/QĐ-BYT on the establishment of the Technical Working Group for Implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) and the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) in Viet Nam. The Working Group is composed of three subgroups: (i) the Subgroup on Monitoring and Responding to Public Health Events, (ii) the Subgroup on Vaccination, Testing and Prevention of Drug Resistance and Hospital Infections, and (iii) the Subgroup on Policy, Coordination and Integrated Collaboration. The Working Group operates under its own regulations, with the budget for the activities of the Working Group coming from the funds for the project "Protecting and Improving Public Health Globally: Building and Strengthening Public Health Impact, Systems, Capacity and Security" (funded by US Centers for Disease Control - USCDC) as well as from other legal funding sources./.

4.    On 15-16 March 2017, the Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in collaboration with the Department of Animal Health (DAH) organized the second Stakeholder Consultation Workshop to develop the “National Action Plan for Reducing Antimicrobial Use (AMU) and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Livestock Production and Aquaculture”.  The workshop aimed to define the strategic actions and detailed activities and to develop the operational plan for implementation during the period from 2017 to 2020. Steps to initiate and carry out activities were defined during the workshop, together with lead and participating agencies for each activity under five objectives. The five objectives include (i) Enforcing policy and governance related to AMR and AMU in livestock production and aquaculture; (ii) Increasing awareness of AMU and AMR among livestock and aquaculture professionals, producers and consumers; (iii) Implementing good treatment and animal husbandry practices in livestock production and aquaculture; (iv) Monitoring AMR, AMU and antimicrobial residues in livestock production and aquaculture; and (v) Facilitating inter-sectorial collaboration in the management of AMR risk./. (Source:http://www.fao.org/in-action/ectad-vietnam/news/detail/en/c/852951/)

5.    The Regional Workshop on the One Health Approach was held in Siem Reap Province, Cambodia on 30-31 March 2017 with the aim of improving inter-disciplinary collaboration and coordination in all aspects of health care for humans, animals and the environment at the national level in GMS countries. With the participation of representatives from countries in the region such as Cambodia, Viet Nam, Laos PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and China, the expected outputs of the workshop were to: Share national updated policies and strategies related to the One Health approach; Review the achievements, challenges and areas for improvement related to the implementation of One Health approach; and Develop plans and identified resources to strengthen cross-border cooperation on One Health approach in the upcoming time. /.