The EcoZD-FBLI Ecohealth Short Course

The first EcoHealth-OneHealth short course in Vietnam took place May 27 through May 30, 2013, hosted by the Center for Public Health and Ecosystem Research (CENPHER) out of the Hanoi School of Public Health (HSPH) and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The participants included an international, multi-disciplinary, and multi-sector team of representatives from across the globe, including Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the United States, and the Netherlands.

The short course fostered an opportunity to highlight the conceptual framework of EcoHealth and One Health and its potential utility in the advancement of the public health agenda. Specifically, activities generated from the workshop provided a chance to demonstrate the utility and application of the theory in the context of infectious disease control and prevention, using risk analysis as a tool. Through the introduction of concepts and didactic teaching, application of case studies, and participation in fieldwork, participants in the workshop were able to learn about the major concepts of EcoHealth and hone the skills necessary for its application in their respective fields of expertise. The course focused on how ecohealth can be applied for infectious diseases and risk assessment.

While Vietnam is a part of the EcoHealth network in the Southeast Asia region, there is currently no formal EcoHealth training program that exists in country. As part of next steps and ongoing HSPH initiatives to maintain and continue a comprehensive and innovative public health training program, CENPHER at HSPH aims to incorporate an EcoHealth course into the public health training program with the aid and input of the IDRC funded project “EcoHealth Approaches to the Better Management of Zoonotic Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Southeast Asia Region” (EcoZD) and the programme “Ecohealth Field Building Leadership Initiative: Advancing Ecohealth in South East Asia” (FBLI) and two Ecohealth Resource Centers (EHRCs) from Chianmai University and Universitas Gadjah Madah. Both EHRCs are the outputs of partnership between EcoZD and local universities. Therefore this was the first ecohealth / One Health course run by a regionally based trainers.

Beyond the immediate successes of expanding the scope of EcoHealth concepts and applications, the community at HSPH and CENPHER hopes that the output of this workshop is significant in facilitating what is only the beginning of continued growth, sustained partnerships, and lasting opportunities for collaborative learning.

The material of the course for 4 days training including presentations, video, and photos can be found at this link:

http://cenpher.huph.edu.vn/content/ecozd-fbli-ecohealthone-health-short-course-material-0

Participants of the EcoZD-FBLI Ecohealth Short Course 2013, Pullman hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam