No cases of avian flu have been reported in Hanoi since the city implemented the Vietnam Avian and Human Influenza Control and Preparedness Project (VAHIP) in 2007.

The project, sponsored by the Vietnamese Government, the Japanese Policy and Human Resources Development Fund (PHRD), and the International Development Association, aims to improve the city’s monitoring capacity and readiness to cope with an avian flu epidemic when it may break out.

It also focuses on communication for changing behaviors in communities and building pilot epidemic prevention models at district medical centres.

The VAHIP programme has helped Hanoi contain the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) virus at infected bird flocks and deal quickly with infections in poultry and humans to avoid a pandemic./.