Japan helps improve One Health capacity of Vietnam’s border provinces

The Government of Japan has announced a grant of $1.5 million to support Vietnam in achieving Sustainable Development Goal Target 3.8D, according to a report from the Government News.

The funding, financed via the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), will strengthen One Health, an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems.

Recognizing that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent, the initiative will increase capacity in the border provinces of Ha Giang, Ha Tinh, Dong Thap, and An Giang.

This will allow health threats to be addressed holistically with experts from multiple departments of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment working together.

The project will raise awareness among cross-border communities about public health risks, case reporting, and self-protection. Approximately two million residents in the four provinces will benefit from outreach events, and capacity building for health and animal health officials, led by IOM.

The health of humans, animals, and ecosystems is interconnected, posing risks for spreading infectious diseases, as highlighted by the recent H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki was quoted by the Government News as saying: "I am proud to launch the holistic collaboration between experts from Japan and Vietnam, along with several UN agencies including IOM, FAO and WHO. I am confident that we have a significant opportunity to promote the health of people in Vietnam, foster multi-sectoral partnerships, and build a healthier future for all."

The project will form a One Health taskforce with representatives from health, animal, plant, border guard, and environment departments, as well as district authorities in each project province, through comprehensive and multi-sectoral assessments.

It will build capacity for 80 One Health taskforce members and 240 health professionals to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies through simulation exercises on human outbreaks of avian influenza and rabies in the four project provinces and accelerate disease detection utilizing portable diagnostic real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines.

Additionally, the project will strengthen bilateral coordination for public health preparedness and response by facilitating dialogue between Vietnam and neighboring countries, such as Cambodia and Lao PDR, with participation from multi-sectoral actors to discuss outbreak responses and contingency plans along the border.