PROTECTING HUMAN HEALTH THROUGH A ONE HEALTH APPROACH
(CGIAR ONE HEALTH INITIATIVE)
&
IMPROVING HUMAN HEALTH THOUGH SUSTAINABLE VALUE CHAINS IN HUMAN-ANIMAL-ENVIRONMENTAL
INTERACTIONS USING ICT IN VIETNAM (ICT4HEALTH)
Presented by: Vu Thi Phuong, coordinator
One Health Partnership for Zoonotic Diseases (OHP), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam
3 August 2022

One Health –
Experiences of and implications for
Vietnam

1. Approaching One Health from the scientific and research
perspectives
1.1. Historical origins
• The concept of “One Health” is little known to the
public and humbly incorporated into national policies;
• One Health is the concept of “One Medicine” initiated
in 1984 by the American epidemiologist Calvin Schwab.
The One Medicine concept emphasizes the close
interrelationships between human health and animal
health.
• One Health first appeared in China in 2003 during the
SARS pandemic;
• In 2004, the definition of One Health was discussed by
the Nature Conservancy at an international conference
in New York;

1. Approaching One Health from the scientific and research
perspectives (cont.,)
1.2. Definition of One Health
• One Health is used to prevent pandemics through multi-sectoral cooperation
and coordination, among national and international partners, effectively
utilizing external and internal resources to well handle the close links between
human health, animal health and environmental health and to “react promptly”
when signs of instability are detected.

2. Importance of One Health in preventing zoonotic diseases
• Statistic shows that out of 1,407 pathogens infecting humans, about 58% are of
animal origin, of which a quarter have the potential to turn into epidemics and
pandemics (for example, Influenza viruses, Ebola, corona virus etc…);
• More than 73% of new emerging zoonosis are from animal.
• The current health crisis firmly emphasizes the close interaction between the
wildlife and human and shows that the devastated biodiversity can have
negative impacts on human health.
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2. Importance of One Health in preventing zoonotic diseases
(cont.,)
• Over the past decade, the frequency of endemics and pandemics has been
sharply increasing, especially the ones of animal origin.
• Urbanization, increased size of population, biodiversity and environment
devastation, especially deforestation are among key drivers contributing to the
emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic diseases.
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3. One Health experience throughout the world
• Little sum-up available
• Some successful cases include the use of One Health in rabies control in
Serengeti in Tanzania (Africa) or using One Health to understand transmission of
Rift fever virus which has had serious impacts on East Africa.
• One Health application in control of bilharziose in 2013 in Corse Island which is
commonly seen in tropical and sub-tropical areas.
• Countries who have experiences and capacity in One Health application are USA,
Australia, China, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Uganda, Indonesia, among
others.
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3. One Health experience in Vietnam
• In 2003, Vietnam officially applied One Health to control H5N1
pandemic, which resulted from the multidisciplinary collaboration
between MARD and MOH.
• The predecessor of One Health Partnership for Zoonosis (OHP) was the
Partnership on Avian and Human Influenza (PAHI) which was
established in 2012.
• In 2015, PAHI’s name was changed to OHP
 Vietnam has 20 years of experience in One Health and has been among
pioneering countries in One Health embracement since 2003.
• Vietnam is recognized and applauded by the international community
for its One Health application capacity, coordination and diseases
prevention and control over the endemics and pandemics in the past
20 years
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5. Difficulties in One Health application under the research
perspective
• There’s lack of collaboration among science disciplines. Due attention has not yet paid to
multidisciplinary research.
 Need to overcome barriers of scientific disciplines to develop an interdisciplinary One Health
approach to respond to pandemics. Collaboration should be at all levels, from remote villages to
international institutions. Cross-border collaboration and among scientific disciplines are crucial.
• ILRI and UNEF called for the creation of "a global early warning system in which diseases can be
identified and prevented before they become epidemics".
 To realize the call, there must be coordination between animal, human and environment sectors to
receive and promptly analyze information from the field. At this stage, OHP should address the
issue through the support and implementation of ILRI and international partners.

6. Recommendations by OHP for the two One Health projects
The two projects should:
• Directly support the application of One Health in livestock production, animal health
and food systems which can contribute to the realization of some of objectives and
tasks under OHP framework.
• Develop capacity for institutes, universities, producers and consumers along livestock
value chains in terms of surveillance, early detection, urgent response, disease
prevention and control and provide recommendations to policymakers through
intervention packages.
• Reduce the burdens from foodborne diseases with a focus on animal-sourced foods
at high risk in formal and informal markets.

6. Recommendations by OHP for the two One Health projects
(cont.,)
• Improve KAP for actors along the value chains on the risks of zoonotic diseases from
livestock production and wildlife.
• Develop One Health capacity from national to local levels on disease prevention and
control through training, gender integration, especially in production and consumption of
domestic animal and wildlife animal.
• Strengthen the monitoring and responding to the outbreaks of diseases along value
chains.
• One Health research plays a key role as research will lead to application and
development. Under the framework of the two projects, ILRI will demonstrate its leading
research role to support MARD’s research agencies and suggest good practices to
livestock farmers in Vietnam.

THANK YOU!
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