The Japanese government has announced a US$1.5 million grant to support the government of Vietnam in enhancing capacities for the detection, reduction, and control of health risks in four border provinces, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).​

This grant, to be implemented through IOM and the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), aims to assist Vietnam in achieving Sustainable Development Goal Target 3.8D, particularly in the areas of early warning, risk reduction, and management of national and global health risks, IOM stated in a release on Monday. ​

The funding project will focus on 'One Health,' an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems. ​

This project will help enhance preparedness and response capacities for health emergencies in four border provinces of Vietnam: Ha Giang (bordering China), Ha Tinh (adjoining Laos), and Dong Thap and An Giang (both neighboring Cambodia). ​

Through this project, approximately two million people in these provinces will receive awareness-raising communications about public health risks, case reporting, and self-protection. The initiative will also help improve professional capacity building for local health and animal health officials. ​

IOM commented that the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems is interconnected, posing risks for the spread of infectious diseases, as highlighted by the recent H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in Vietnam and Cambodia. ​ 

Therefore, the project will help address health threats holistically, with experts from multiple departments of Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture and Environment working together, IOM stated. ​

Commenting on this project, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki said he was proud to launch the holistic cooperation between Japanese and Vietnamese experts, along with several UN agencies including IOM, FAO, and the World Health Organization. ​

“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,” IOM cited the ambassador. ​

The project 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. ​

Additionally, it will accelerate disease detection utilizing portable diagnostic real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines. 

Furthermore, the project will strengthen health cooperation through dialogue, collaboration, and exchanges on public health preparedness and response at the borders between Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, according to IOM​.

As a close partner of the health ministry, IOM assists the Vietnamese government in building sustainable and mobility-sensitive health systems, said Kendra Rinas, chief of mission of IOM Vietnam.

She underscored that preparedness for and response to health threats should be multi-sectoral and responsive to mobility and cross-border dynamics.  

“Applying the One Health approach will mitigate the cross-border transmission of infectious diseases and protect the health and well-being of two million residents in four project provinces,” IOM quoted Rinas as saying. ​

Dr. Rémi Nono Womdim, FAO Rrepresentative in Vietnam, noted that FAO has been collaborating with the Vietnamese government to promote the One Health approach as part of agri-food system transformation for the health of people, animals, plants, and the environment.

FAO will adopt a coordinated, cross-sectoral approach, partnering with both human and animal health sectors in Vietnam and neighboring countries to effectively prepare for and respond to health threats along their borders.

“Thanks to the support from the government of Japan, we are building on the animal disease prevention, detection, and control capacities developed previously, and enhancing collaboration with the public health sector to apply these capabilities in border areas,” he added. 

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