Vietnam One Health research partnership opens fourth provincial field site

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and partners have launched the 4^th field site of the Vietnam One Health research partnership.

Jimmy Smith, director general of ILRI, officially launched the site on 4 August 2022 in Agriculture Services Centre in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province, at an inception meeting hosted by Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF) and ILRI.

From left: Pham Duc Phuc, coordinator, Vietnam One Health University Network (VOHUN), Kim Thuy Oanh, public health specialist, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Vietnam and Jimmy Smith, ILRI director general (photo credit: ILRI/Vu Ngoc Dung).

In November 2018, the Hanoi University of Public Health (HUPH); the Vietnam One Health University Network (VOHUN); the Thai Nguyen Sub-Department of Animal Health, Production and Fishery (Sub-DAH); the Thai Nguyen Center for Diseases Control (CDC); the Thai Nguyen University of Medicine and Pharmacy (TUMP); TUAF and ILRI signed an agreement to form a new One Health research partnership. Under the partnership, these organizations have been collaborating in One Health research at a provincial-level One Health research site in Thai Nguyen Province – a first of its kind at the grassroots level in Vietnam.The One Health partners and stakeholders collaborate in One Health work to fast-track the translation of One Health research evidence into interventions and policies. Since 2018, three One Health sites have been launched in different districts in Thai Nguyen Province which introduced the concept of One Health at the grassroots level to address zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and foodborne diseases, among other complex health issues that need multidisciplinary collaboration to address.

At the launch, Smith said that work at the new site would help ‘strengthen the interdisciplinary collaboration among partners to mobilize resources for capacity development to translate One Health theory into reality for better health of animals and humans in the province'. In long-term, he said, the ongoing research will contribute to the socio-economic development of Vietnam.

A stakeholder workshop is conducted under a study on veterinary antimicrobials use and stewardship (photo credit: ILRI).

So far, several important studies have been conducted under the One Health research partnership. These include a study, in Phu Binh District, that assessed how decisions around veterinary antimicrobials use and stewardship are made by family farmers and their animal health networks. Another study, which explored the challenges of investigating AMR in Vietnam, was conducted in Hanoi and Thai Nguyen Province to understand the willingness and abilities of the human and animal health sector actors to carry out investigations of AMR using a One Health approach. Also, a study in 2018 assessed the socio-economic factors associated with voluntary rabies control measures in Vietnam. Currently, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)-funded SafePORK project is currently testing an intervention package for improving hygiene in pig slaughterhouses and pork shops in Thai Nguyen City.

After the launch of the new site, participants visited a poultry farm and a wildlife farm in Thai Nguyen Province to observe the use of biosecurity practices and the risks of zoonotic diseases on the farm. The visit was part of a scoping study of the CGIAR initiative on ‘Protecting human health through a One Health approach’ which was launched on 3 August in Hanoi, Vietnam.

See photos of the events on ILRI Flickr

Read about the event from a report on Thai Nguyen Provincial Television (minute 14:12-15:24)