Presented by Jeffrey Gilbert at the Vietnam Initiative on Zoonotic Infections (VIZIONS) Pre-inception workshop, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 3 October 2011

1. Organization of Animal Health in Southeast Asia:
Challenges and Opportunities for the Vietnam Initiative
on Zoonotic Infections (VIZIONS)
Jeffrey Gilbert, ILRI
CIAT-in-Asia NAFRI, Vientiane
VIZIONS Pre-inception workshop
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 3 October 2011

2. ILRI: Overview
• One of 15 international research centers of CGIAR (Consultative
Group on International Agricultural Research)
• Individual Centres set up in 1960s (IRRI 1960, ILRAD 1973, ILCA
1974)
• CGIAR 1971: 19 northern Govts + IGO (FAO,WB,ADB …)
• ILRI founded 1994; headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya
• ILRI focus – livestock, livelihoods, IAR4D
• ILRI: organized in 4 research ‘themes’: markets, biotechnology,
people-livestock-environment, poverty-gender-impact
• CG reform & ‘CGIAR Research Programmes’

3. Common themes: SE Asia
• Many countries experiencing the ‘livestock revolution’, but not all
benefiting; poverty & animal-raising; rural/urban
• Investment in Animal Health / Veterinary Services in many
countries far down the Govt priority list; similarly for Agriculture
Extension Services
• Veterinary under-graduate and post-graduate training not to
international standard; latter limited to overseas scholarships
(many relied on former Soviet bloc)
• Both of above can make Vet Services a weak partner in joint
Human/Animal Health partnerships; often the ‘blame game’ if
zoonosis
• Many Animal & Human Health authorities appear content with
under-reporting status quo: trade issues, transparency
• Food consumption issues eg Lao PDR

4. Viet Nam specifics
• Agriculture 30% of GDP
• Pigs (26M+) & Poultry (230M+), livestock revolution - log phase!
• 70% of population keep livestock
• highAn/Hu densities & vast ‘interface’
• Ag exports non-livestock: rice, coffee, shrimp, fish; limits on
livestock exports
• Animal Health Services under-investment; surveillance system &
border control limited
• OIE-PVS
• Real-life testing of the Vet Services – stretched to the limit with
HPAI

5. Viet Nam specifics
• Decentralised: DAH/RAHO v SDAH/DVS
• Parallel GoVN structure: Party/PC & Line ministries
• Participatory methods under-used; random sampling
• Consumption habits: canine, wildlife, duck blood, bats, rats
• North & South are developing at different pace: ‘super-
marketisation’
• Wildlife trade – include remote effects (ZA)
• Risk perception scenario!

6. Viet Nam
RAHO II
RAHO I
RAHO IV
RAHO III
RAHO V
RAHO VI
RAHO VII

7. Ministry of Agriculture
& Rural Development
(MARD)
National Institute
Dept of Animal Dept Livestock National Agriculture
of Veterinary
Health & Production Extension Centre
Research
(DAH) (DLP) (NAEC)
(NIVR)
Regional Animal Sub-NIVR
Provincial Provincial
Health Centres (Nha Trang)
Sub Dept of
Animal Health District District
(SDAH)
District Veterinary
Station Commune
(DVS)

8. EcoZD: Overview
 ‘EcoHealth Approaches to the Better Management of
Zoonotic Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Southeast
Asia Region’
 Increase the knowledge, skills and capacity of research and
infectious disease control personnel in Southeast Asia to
understand the risks and impacts of Emerging Infectious
Diseases and how feasible options can best be implemented
and adapted;
 ‘Learning by Doing’ approach
 2008 – 2012; extended to Aug 2013 (5½ years)
 6 countries in SE Asia region;
 Cambodia, China (Yunnan), Laos, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Thailand
 One of IDRC’s EcoHealth initiatives in SE Asia: APAIR/APEIR,
EcoEID, BECA, FBLI
 conception as per VIZIONS!

9. EcoHealth v OneHealth
• Definitions open to debate: range from quite rigid to
very flexible!
• One-Health – biomedical focus: human + animal +
wildlife;
• EcoHealth: environment & socio-economic aspects –
pioneered outside ‘traditional’ health
• Personal opinion: OneHealth more theoretical,
conceptual; EcoHealth more tangible?
• Maybe it’s not so important … which ‘cola’

10. EcoZD: Components
Country Teams choices for research:
Cambodia: zoonotic risks for acute dysentery
China (Yunnan): Brucellosis (& Toxoplasmosis)
Indonesia: Rabies - Bali
Lao PDR: pig zoonoses (& non zoonoses)
Thai-Viet: hygiene in small-scale poultry
slaughterhouses
Viet Nam: zoonoses priority ranking
‘EcoHealth’ Resource Centres:
Chiang Mai University
University of Gadjah Mada

11. Vietnam
Partners:
•Pasteur Institute
•Nong Lam University
•Department of Animal Health
Research:
•Original focus priority ranking of zoonoses
•initial expert opinion for priorities
•determination of ‘hotspots’; cross-sectional to compare
hotspot & other areas, but limited data
•cross-sectional surveys in pilot areas to ascertain
community priorities, challenges on how to focus

12. EcoZD Project Challenges
• Lingua franca
• Novel approaches to holistic integrated approaches
• Biomedical v Social Sciences
• Case studies & publications
• Issues of competing/ conflicting priorities
• Too complex (2 v 3 institutions)
• Priorities EZD v endemic v neglected
• 2-D capacity building
• Counterpart-driven – level of outputs

13. VIZIONS: Potential Opportunities
• One-Health at work – completed with added value &
Proof of concept
• Opportunity to support post-graduate study for DAH
staff
• Evidence base for prioritising animal health services
• Decrease the AnH/HuH ‘gap’ – enhanced relationship
• Enhances practical ‘preparedness’ – multi-disciplinary
team dealing with unusual events to international
standard
• ILRI collaboration: Livestock socio-economic issues
(value chains) & country focus C/L/V/B

14. VIZIONS: Some of the Challenges
• HR supply & demand (compete with ODA & fire-
fighting)
• Illegal trade – disincentive to participate
• Sampling at markets
• maintaining high-risk cohort
• PC & community engagement
• Random sampling should be assured
• on pathogen discovery .. Why look for more problems?

15. International Livestock Research Institute
Better lives through livestock
Animal agriculture to reduce poverty, hunger and
environmental degradation in developing countries
www.ilri.org
e-mail: J.Gilbert@CGIAR.ORG