Signing Ceremony of Viet Nam One Health Partnership (OHP) Framework for Zoonoses, phase 2021-2025
About 140 participants attended the Event from 60 international and national agencies. There were 31 signatories including 03 Ministries and 28 domestic and international development partners.
Viet Nam's One Health Framework, phase 2021-2025 is built on the basis of inheriting and promoting the achievements of the previous phase 2016-2020 through multidisciplinary cooperation and coordination among ministries and agencies. especially the close coordination among the 3 ministries (i.e. Agriculture and Rural Development, Health, Natural Resources and Environment) as well as the financial support, knowledge and valuable experience from international and national development partners for the purpose of ensuring comprehensive, collaborative and consistent interventions and dealing with epidemics upon their occurrence, sharing good practices and having policy dialogue in zoonoses.
Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, H.E Phung Duc Tienbelieved that the 2021-2025 OHP Framework addresses some limitations of the previous Framework, emphasizes on the stakeholders’ transparency in and accountability for coordination, at the same time reflected the support and commitments of the Vietnamese Government to the One Health approach and to the international obligations (e.g. the Global Health Security Agenda for Zoonoses), to regional cooperation mechanisms (e.g. the Zoonotic Diseases Action Package), and to the prevention and control of rabies (e.g. ASEAN Rabies Elimination Strategy), etc.
In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Vice Minister highlighted the necessity of the cooperation and collaboration within the OHP in the following key tasks during 2021-2025: (1) Capacity building for application of the One Health approach; (2) Control of diseases in human and pathogens of animal origin; (3) Control of zoonotic influenza that may cause pandemics; (4) Control of rabies; (4) Control of antimicrobial resistance; (5) Control of environmental agents that have potential impact on human health; (6) Enhanced advocacy and mobilization of resources for prevention and control of zoonoses.
In their speech at the ceremony,all the 3 Vice Ministers expressed their strong commitments and efforts in the implementation of 2021-2025 OHP Framework, reaching a high consensus that of the One Health approach is a collaborative, multidisciplinary and cross-cutting approach from the local, national, regional, and global levels in the interaction of human, animal, plant, and the environment for unique goal- the Public Health. At the same time, they emphasized the important role of international and national development partners in providing support and deep cooperation in capacity building, Technical assistance, policy and financial support.
From development partners, H.E. Mr. Kamal Malhotra - United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnamdelivered a speech at the ceremony expressing his commitment to the global and regional OHP, and to that of in Vietnam. At the same time, he appreciated the efforts of the Vietnamese Government in the OHP for Zoonoses and in the fight against Covid-19.
On this occasion, many perennial and active partnersof the OHP for Zoonoses including the Leaders and Representatives of World Bank, EU, ADB, UNICEF, FAO, JICA, KOICA, AFD…, and the US Ambassador with other Ambassadors and Deputy Ambassadors of Australia, UK, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand and high-level representatives of international organizations, non-governmental organizations and associations, etc. also introduced their One Health plans and activities in Vietnam and affirmed their support as well as commitment to implementing the objective in the OHP Framework: “To minimize the risk of spreading animal and environmentally transmitted pathogens to human and of antimicrobial resistance through enhanced multi-sectoral collaboration using One Health approach”.
The event is an opportunity to reaffirmcommitments to promoting cooperation in the prevention and control of zoonoses and to enhances the leading role of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as the focal point of OHP, at the same time to highlight the role of the OHP Secretariat in coordinating partners and stakeholders to effectively accomplish the OHP Framework’s functions and objectives.
With the active participation of representatives from Government agencies, international and domestic development partners in Vietnam under the spirit of cooperation, construction and very well- prepared arrangement of the OHP leading Ministry (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), the active companion of the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and being sponsored by Fleming Fund, UK Government, through FHI 360, the signing ceremony took place in an atmosphere of joy and great success.
