One Health anchors Viet Nam-U.S. health security ties

On the morning of April 14, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien met with Dr Rebecca Bunnell, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State.

The meeting aimed to clarify coordination mechanisms and the roles of both countries in implementing the Global Health Security Program.

The U.S.-led program seeks to strengthen national capacity for early detection, prevention and timely response to emerging infectious diseases and zoonotic diseases. The goal is to protect public health, reduce the risk of outbreaks, and address cross-border health threats.

According to Phung Duc Tien, the recent period has marked an important transition in Viet Nam-U.S. cooperation, demonstrating how foreign relations and scientific and technical collaboration complement bilateral trade activities.

At the meeting, Dr Nguyen Van Long, Director General of the Department of Science and Technology under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, expressed appreciation for long-standing U.S. support through agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). This support has helped Viet Nam strengthen management capacity and modernize its livestock and veterinary sectors.

In particular, the ministry’s system of 10 livestock and veterinary laboratories now meets ISO/IEC 17025 standards, including one biosafety laboratory with facilities for experimental work and animal testing. This provides a solid foundation for effectively receiving and implementing technical assistance components.

“In the coming period, we will continue to strengthen animal disease surveillance systems in a more proactive direction, linked with early warning and rapid response. At the same time, we will focus on emerging diseases, zoonotic diseases and those posing significant risks to public health and food safety,” Long said.

He also called on the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Viet Nam to continue supporting One Health-based programs, particularly by strengthening grassroots-level surveillance and early warning systems. For central laboratories, once operations are stable, the goal should be to master technologies, making continued capacity building and technology transfer essential.

From the U.S. side, Rebecca Bunnell congratulated Viet Nam on its achievements and affirmed that cooperation would increasingly shift toward helping Viet Nam achieve technological self-reliance.

She said both sides could work toward a strong partnership in epidemic response, particularly in enhancing surveillance of zoonotic and emerging infectious diseases.

“If an outbreak occurs, mechanisms for sharing biological samples would enable the U.S. to support Viet Nam more effectively in analyzing and assessing those samples,” she noted.

The United States also reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening partnerships in disease surveillance and ensuring the implementation of One Health commitments.

Responding to the U.S. side, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien welcomed efforts to advance cooperation under the Global Health Security Program.

He stressed that both sides should remain committed to the One Health approach, focusing on strengthening surveillance capacity, early warning systems, testing, and ensuring biosafety and biosecurity.

He also called on the U.S. to continue prioritizing One Health-related components and the veterinary sector within its cooperation framework with Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Cooperation in the veterinary field between U.S. government agencies and Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has played an important role in strengthening partnerships in disease surveillance.

Vietnam began adopting the One Health approach in 2003 with the establishment of the Partnership on Avian and Human Influenza (PAHI), in response to complex avian influenza outbreaks that significantly affected public health, livelihoods and food security.

In 2016, as challenges evolved and the need arose to address a broader spectrum of zoonotic and emerging health risks, the Government transformed PAHI into the more comprehensive One Health Partnership (OHP), in line with global trends.

For the 2021 - 2025 period, the Vietnam One Health Partnership was formally approved and implemented as a national intersectoral coordination mechanism.

Co-chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the Ministry of Health, the partnership brings together 35 official signatories and more than 70 international partners that participate on a regular basis. While some partners, including multilateral organizations and the European Union, do not formally sign agreements due to internal procedures, they remain actively engaged in supporting knowledge exchange, initiatives and One Health programs in Vietnam.