Speaking at the forum, DeputyMinister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam said Vietnam issustaining its leading position in the region by stepping up efforts inresponse to the ASEAN Rabies Elimination Strategy (ARES).
Vietnam will host a regionalconference on ARES in late 2018, he added.
The implementation of the OneHealth strategy regarding antimicrobial resistance, influenza, and otherinfectious diseases has been stepped up and recorded upbeat internationalcooperation outcomes, Tam said.
The official noted Vietnam isalso continuing its involvement in the World Health Organisation’s tool for performanceevaluation of veterinary services and the World Bank’s health securityfinancing assessment tool.
He highlighted the country’sratification of an agreement on the establishment of the ASEAN CoordinatingCentre for Animal Health and Zoonoses (ACCAHZ) in April this year and its successfulhosting of the 3rd International Conference on the zoonotic diseases preventionand control last year.
Dang Anh Tuan, DeputyDirector General of the General Department of Preventive Medicine under theHealth Ministry, said in line with the One Health strategy, the Government hasissued a number of legal documents, including the laws on infectious diseasesprevention and on animal health.
Nguyen Thu Thuy, deputy headof the Department of Animal Health, informed the forum on One Health work totackle bird flu, rabies, and antimicrobial resistance in animal husbandry andaquatic farming.
According to the official,her department has submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment for approving a budget of 2.5 billion VND (110,000 USD) for rabiesprevention and control in 2018.
The department continuesguiding localities in the management of dogs and organisation of rabiesvaccinations, she said.
Thuy pointed to the fact thatthe country has banned the use of antibiotics as growth stimulators inlivestock farming since January 2018.
By 2020, the use ofantibiotics for the prevention of animal diseases will also be banned, sheadded.-VNA