The Japanese Government has announced a 1.5 million USD aid package to support Vietnam’s realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals, channelling funds through the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), according to the UN agencies in Vietnam.
Medical workers help residents in Ha Giang better understand social welfare policies. (Photo: VNA)
The aid adopts the "One Health" approach, a holistic and unified strategy that balances and optimises the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems sustainably.
It aims to strengthen Vietnam’s preparedness and response to public health emergencies, particularly in the border provinces of Ha Giang, Ha Tinh, Dong Thap and An Giang. Through raising awareness among local officials and communities, the project will highlight the interconnectedness of human health, livestock, wildlife, plants, and the broader environment, including ecosystem, with support by experts from agencies under the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
Roughly 2 million people in these provinces are expected to benefit from awareness campaigns and training for healthcare and veterinary workers, spearheaded by the IOM.
Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki believed that this project presents a major opportunity to improve public health, foster cross-sector partnerships, and secure a healthier future for all.
In each province, a technical working group will unite experts from health, veterinary, plant protection, border control, and environmental sectors alongside local authorities.
The effort aims to train 80 group members and 240 healthcare professionals, with simulations on avian influenza and rabies outbreaks planned to sharpen emergency response skills. The veterinary sector will also gain faster disease detection through mobile polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology.
Beyond Vietnam's borders, the project seeks to enhance bilateral cooperation in public health preparedness and response through dialogue on disease response and cross-border contingency planning with neighbouring countries such as Cambodia and Laos.
As a partner of the MoH, the IOM is committed to helping the Vietnamese Government build sustainable and mobility-sensitive health systems that integrate human mobility perspectives, said IOM Chief of Mission Vietnam Kendra Rinas/.
VNA