Vietnamese partners further deliberate on setting up a One Health research centre for better policy impacts

A recent meeting of Vietnamese One Health experts further deliberated on the modalities of establishing a national One Health centre that will bring together human and animal health sector experts in the country and advance the translation of One Health research into policy.

On 20 November 2018, representatives from the National Institute of Veterinary Research (NIVR), the Hanoi University of Public Health (HUPH), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and members of the Vietnam One Health Partnership for Zoonoses (OHP) met in Hanoi to review achievements of a One Health research partnership between ILRI, HUPH and NIVR. The meeting discussed the setting up of an official One Health research centre in Vietnam that was proposed by the partners in November 2017.

Dao Thu Trang, manager of OHP secretariat, presented the OHP, a platform that was started by the government for better coordination of One Heath activities in the country. Trang said the One Health Partnership for Zoonoses works towards bridging existing gaps between research and policymaking and has become a sustainable forum for policy dialogue, inter-sectoral and multidisciplinary cooperation in One Health in the country. She said that a One Health research centre could play a pivotal role in One Health policymaking in the country if institutionalized.

Dao Thu Trang (speaking, left photo) and Hung Nguyen (speaking, right photo) at the meeting to discuss setting up a One Health Research Centre (photo credit: ILRI/Chi Nguyen).

At the meeting, partners agreed that food safety, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and zoonotic diseases would be the priorities for the One Health centre. Pham Duc Phuc, director at the Centre for Public Health and Ecosystem Research (CENPHER-HUPH) suggested connecting the proposed  centre with other Southeast Asia countries so that it can cover regional One Health issues. Participants also agreed to engage national state agencies so that the platform can have national support and become sustainable.

Bernard Bett, leader of the Improving Human Health Flagship in the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) said the research program is now working with partners in human and animal health in South and Southeast Asia to deal with AMR and is growing its network in Vietnam. Hung Nguyen, regional representative for ILRI in East and Southeast Asia, presented the model for setting up the One Health Centre at the Research to Policy (R2P) workshop in Hanoi on 18 December 2019 where partners from OHP gave inputs and feedback for the model.

Hung Nguyen (speaking) presents the model for setting up the One Health Centre to OHP partners (photo credit: OHP).

ILRI will work closely with NIVR and HUPH to draft the agreement setting up the One Health research centre which will be preceded by consolidation of the concept notes and discussions on the working mechanism of the platform.

Read about the meeting November 2017 where partners proposed the One Health platform.