Combating antibiotic resistance via 'One Health'

On the morning of June 2 in Hanoi, the scientific workshop "One Health approach in preventing and controlling antibiotic resistance in Vietnam" took place. This is a key event leading up to World Environment Day (June 5) and World Food Safety Day (June 7), jointly organized by the Vietnam Health Promotion Consulting Association, the Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology, Environment and Sea (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), the Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine and the National Innovation Center (NIC).

Opening the program, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Thanh Binh, President of the Vietnam Health Promotion Consulting Association, delivered the official opening speech. Assessing the overall picture, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Binh emphasized: "Antibiotic resistance is no longer a private issue of the health sector but has become one of the serious global challenges, directly impacting the health of humans, animals, the environment and the sustainable development of each nation".

Pointing out risks in our country such as the irrational use of antibiotics and pollution from medical and livestock waste, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Binh affirmed: "In that context, the 'One Health' approach is considered a strategic and sustainable solution, emphasizing interdisciplinary coordination among human health, animal health and the environment to effectively control the risks of infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance".

From the perspective of the unit promoting the national innovation ecosystem, a representative of the National Innovation Center (NIC) expressed the expectation that the workshop is not merely a scientific exchange forum but also an "opportunity to connect management agencies, research institutes, associations, experts and businesses to jointly seek innovative solutions for preventing and controlling antibiotic resistance in the new situation."

Attending and delivering a directive speech from the perspective of the Ministry of Health and the Vietnam Medical Association, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Xuyen, President of the Vietnam Medical Association and former Deputy Minister of Health, highly appreciated the initiative to organize the workshop and the solutions proposed by the Health and Agriculture sectors, especially the scheme on monitoring drug resistance in the environment for the 2025-2030 period.

Emphasizing problem-solving orientations, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Xuyen proposed 5 key points: "Firstly, continue to enhance interdisciplinary coordination among health, agriculture, environment, and professional scientific organizations in implementing drug resistance surveillance and control activities. Secondly, push health education communication to change antibiotic use behaviors in the community; raise public awareness about selecting and using safe food. Thirdly, strengthen scientific research, apply new technologies, and share data in drug resistance monitoring to serve forecasting and early warning. Fourthly, promote the role of professional associations, universities, research institutes, and expert teams in training, consulting, and policy critique. Fifthly, broaden international cooperation, learning experiences from other countries and international organizations in effectively implementing the One Health model".

Also at the opening session, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Le Cong Thanh delivered a profound directive speech, affirming the agricultural sector's commitment to solving the common challenge in accordance with Decision No. 1121/QD-TTg approving the National Strategy on drug resistance prevention and control.

Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh shared that from the management perspective of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, there are still several difficulties and challenges that need to be addressed in the coming time: Firsly, we have not yet established an interconnected database system for monitoring antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance status across the health, agriculture and environment sectors.

Secondly, the current system of environmental standards and technical regulations lacks comprehensive regulations and control indicators for antibiotic residues and drug-resistant microorganisms in wastewater, solid waste, and receiving environments.

Thirdly, the capacity for monitoring and surveillance of indicators related to antibiotic resistance in the environment remains limited, with a lack of baseline data serving risk assessment and policymaking.

Continuing the program, Ms. Luong Thu Vinh, Head of the Legal and Inspection Division (Food Safety Authority - Ministry of Health), presented a paper on the food safety policy orientation from farm to table. Recognizing management gaps in cyberspace, she proposed tightening the responsibilities of both sellers and e-commerce platform owners.

Specifically, business establishments are required to transparently provide all product declaration registration certificates and certificates of eligible facilities for each item posted for sale. Regarding the management boards of e-commerce platforms, the law requires them to bear joint responsibility if they loosen censorship, fail to require sellers to provide valid documents, or delay removing products that pose a risk of serious harm to consumer health.

Alongside legal barriers, Ms. Luong Thu Vinh affirmed that the Authority's top-priority policy orientation remains the promotion of communication and education. The core goal is to raise awareness, helping every citizen equip themselves with knowledge to proactively protect their own health before needing intervention and handling from state management agencies.

Following up on the issue of controlling quality from the source, an expert at the workshop emphasized that besides the management efforts of functional agencies, consumers are the final and most crucial checkpoint.

"We need to create a trend where consumers only consume goods with clear origins, quality, and certification. Only when the community is resolute against products of unknown origin will weak production links automatically be eliminated", the expert analyzed.

After the exchange and discussion session of all delegates, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Thi Thanh Nga, Director of the Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology, Environment and Sea (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), delivered the concluding and closing remarks of the Workshop. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Thi Thanh Nga emphasized: "Antibiotic resistance is no longer an isolated warning but an interdisciplinary battle; no single agency, ministry or sector can solve this problem comprehensively on its own. This issue cannot be separated from the totality of humans, animals and the environment".