Vietnam joins US-led global health security initiative
Vietnam joined international organisations and 26 other countries in the US capital of Washington D.C on February 13 to launch a global effort responding to the threat of infectious diseases.
The US-led initiative, known as the Global Health Security Agenda, aims to enhance mutual support among member countries in order to help them better prevent, detect, respond to and contain outbreaks of infectious diseases.
Vietnam is among the first countries to benefit from the initiative.
In 2013 and 2014, the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) has helped the Vietnamese Health Ministry improve the laboratory capacity for treating infectious diseases at the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City.
The USCDC has also assisted the ministry in building an Emergency Operations Centre, which is responsible for responding to epidemics and public health problems.
In 2014, the USCDC and the US Department of Defence are expected to provide 40 million USD for similar activities in 10 other countries.
Major international institutions also involved in the initiative are the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, and the World Organisation for Animal Health.-VNA
