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Please let me start by saying thank you to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases for hosting this important National Scientific Conference on Infectious Diseases and HIV/AIDS, in collaboration with the Viet Nam Society of Infectious Diseases, the Viet Nam HIV/AIDS Clinical Society and the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit.
This year’s conference brings together an impressive range of presentations on scientific studies and research by clinicians and researchers from multiple hospitals and academic institutions across Viet Nam, supported by health partners including the World Health Organization (WHO).
This work has never been more important – given the complex nature of current and future infectious disease risks and threats, all of which are amplified by drivers such as climate change, migration, antimicrobial resistance and more.
We see this dynamic playing out before our eyes in in Viet Nam – just recently, the health effects of Typhoon Yagi and Typhoon Trami, and the associated risk of bacterial and other infectious disease threats (among other risks to life and health). In recent times we have also seen the emergence and re-emergence of diseases such as mpox, dengue, measles and diphtheria. And we must not forget other neglected tropical diseases (NTD), especially rabies, which has remained a public health concern in the country for many years.
WHO is proud to have worked in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the NHTD over the years in infectious disease surveillance, detection and case management – notably for emerging infectious diseases including SARS, COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and mpox.
In May this year, during his first official visit to Viet Nam, the WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific announced that the NHTD had been chosen to be a WHO Collaborating Centre for pandemic preparedness and response, and clinical management of infectious diseases.
This milestone recognizes the crucial role that the NHTD plays in Viet Nam, and its capacity to contribute to regional and global health security.
The collaborating centre network enables WHO – and by extension all of our Member States – to tap into the expertise of top institutions worldwide, furthering science in the service of health.
NHTD is now uniquely positioned to use and advance its technical excellence to strengthen health security not only Viet Nam but also regionally and globally.
This week, WHO staff from Viet Nam and our Regional Office in the Philippines have been working with the NHTD team to plan how to accelerate the National Hospital’s technical contribution in two key areas, as a WHO Collaborating Centre.
The first is strengthening hospital-based event-based surveillance (HEBS) to respond to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. The second is enhancing capacity on the clinical characterization, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases.
Both areas will help equip Viet Nam with stronger capacity for early detection of and better response to outbreaks caused by a range of pathogens, particularly those with the potential to become epidemics and pandemics. In this way, NHTD will further contribute to Viet Nam being prepared, resilient and ready to respond to current and future health security threats.
On a Regional level, NHTD’s role as a WHO Collaborating Centre supports the Asia-Pacific Health Security Action Framework, which you will hear more about later this morning from Dr Sangjun Moon, the Team Coordinator of WHO’s Health Security and Emergencies Team in Viet Nam.
In concluding, I would like to reaffirm WHO’s very strong commitment to working alongside NHTD – under the guidance of the Ministry of Health – and other partners, to minimize the impact of infectious disease threats in Viet Nam.
Thank you again for the opportunity to be here and to speak briefly today, I wish all of you an excellent conference – and look forward to even stronger partnership to build a healthier and safer Viet Nam.
Xin cảm ơn!