China, Vietnam hold second meeting on transboundary animal diseases control & public health
DATE:2013-08-28 SOURCE:MOA
The Second Vietnam and China Bilateral Meeting on Collaboration to Address Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs) and Diseases of Public Health Concern was held from August 22nd to 24th in Halong, Vietnam. The meeting focused on the implementation of the agreement signed by two governments on animal health and animal quarantine as well as the Memorandum of Understanding on Animal Health Cooperation to enhance joint prevention and control of transboundary animal diseases and safeguard animal production and public health in both countries. Deputy Director General of MOA Veterinary Bureau Huang Weizhong and Director General of Department of Animal Health of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (MARD) Pham Van Dong attended and addressed the meeting.
During the meeting, the two sides briefed each other about their respective veterinary regulation system and the capacity building of veterinary service, and analyzed ecological, environmental, economic and social factors in border areas which affect TADs. The two sides proposed a model for disease prevention and control cooperation based on the establishment of epizones. Under this model, the two sides can take a series of measures including joint epidemiological survey and disease monitoring, effectiveness evaluation of immunization programs, and information sharing to reduce risks of TADs like avian influenza, foot–and-mouth disease and PRRS, and improve animal health and public health in border areas.
China and Vietnam share a long borderline. The neighboring provinces of the two countries have similar natural environment and ecology. In recent years, large quantities of animals and animal products are traded through border trade, which not only increases the risks of transboundary animal diseases but also adds to the difficulty and complexity of joint prevention and control in border areas. Based on the Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation to Prevent and Control Transboundary Animal Diseases in th Greater Mekong Sub-region signed in 2005 and the bilateral agreement on animal health and quarantine signed in 2008, the veterinary bureaus of the two ministries signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Animal Health Cooperation in 2012, which clarified bilateral cooperation in the veterinary sector in an all-round way. The veterinary authorities in Guangxi and Yunnan provinces have undertaken dozens of technical cooperation projects to Vietnam, training technical staff for their neighboring provinces in Vietnam and setting up test stations for prevention and control of animal diseases. This meeting served as a comprehensive summary of China-Vietnam veterinary cooperation in recent yeas and will promote practical and effective cooperation in the veterinary sector in the future.
FAO and USAID paid close attention and offered technical and financial support to China-Vietnam cooperation on transboundary animal disease prevention and control. About 60 representatives from FAO China and Vietnam Offices, USAID, the two ministries, the veterinary authorities in bordering provinces and related veterinary labs attended the meeting.