The Health Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) was inaugurated at a ceremony on February 3 at the Ministry of Health’s General Department of Preventive Medicine, attended by Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and American Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius.

Speaking at the event, Minister Tien said that Vietnam remains vulnerable to a number of diseases, including emerging dangerous epidemics adversely affecting the people’s health, adding that the establishment of EOC represents Vietnam’s commitment to joining the Global Health Security Agenda.

She highlighted that EOC will help connect the ministry to other relevant domestic and international agencies in response to public health emergencies.

For his part, Ambassador Ted Osius said that Vietnam’s EOC is an example of 20 years of collaboration between the US and Vietnamese governments to build a foundation for the Comprehensive Partnership and recent Global Health Security Agenda.

EOC will receive, analyse, and share information on disease outbreaks from ministries and other organisations to limit the severity of any possible epidemics. In addition, the centre will set up, plan, and coordinate activities among its subcommittees.

After the inauguration ceremony, EOC held an online meeting on preventing the transmission of avian influenza from birds to humans with four institutes of hygiene and epidemiology. -VNA