TRUNG TÂM NGHIÊN CỨU Y TẾ CÔNG CỘNG VÀ HỆ SINH THÁI
CENTER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH
CENPHER
The Center has been actively involved in coordinating different regional and national networks. The Coordinating Unit of the FBLI Program and the Vietnam One Health University Network are currently operated by CENPHER.
The Coordinating Unit of the FBLI Program, managed by CENPHER’s team, serves as the administrative hub for the whole regional FBLI Program. The Unit has been actively involved in keeping track of the Program’s activities and in informing its partners and donors on any and all developments. Thus far, the Unit has done two main groups of activities: communication and networking. The website of the regional program (http://ecohealthasia.net/) was launched to better promote the image of FBLI, as well as the concept of the Ecohealth to the world. In December 2013, the Unit facilitated and coordinated the signing of the Consortium Agreement among eight institutions of the Program to affirm their commitment to foster collaboration.
The Vietnam One Health University Network (VOHUN_ http://vohun.org/) was established with the aim at promoting the One Health (OH) approach in Vietnam through training, research at universities and partnerships with stakeholders. Its objective is to train a new generation of graduates in the broad understanding and practice of One Health. The Coordination Office, run by CENPHER, provides logistical support for the network, and trainings on such issues as: One Health concepts, rabies, infectious diseases, zoonoses, etc..
The Center has been a bridge connecting new international donors and HUPH. Through its research activities, CENPHER has played an instrumental role in establishing HUPH partnerships with other international organizations and institutions. The long term relationship of CENPHER with Swiss TPH led to a signing of a MOU by Swiss TPH and HUPH. In addition, the development of the Center was also noticed by the Swiss Embassy in Vietnam and the State Secretariat of Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI) of Switzerland. The two visits of the Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam and the Head of SERI to HUPH in 2013 and June 2014 opened more opportunities for collaboration in research and student exchanges. In fact, some lecturers at the HUPH Epidemiology Department have been trained at Swiss TPH thanks to the connection of CENPHER with its Swiss counterpart. CENPHER also played a key role in the signing of different MOUs between HUPH and international and regional institutions, such as the Rakuno Gakuen University in Japan, the Mahidol University and Health System Research Institute in Thailand, Kunming Medical University and Kunming Institute of Botany in China, Universitas Indonesia in Indonesia, and the Veterinary Without Border organization in Canada. In addition, the visits of high-ranking officials from the IDRC, Canada – one of the donors of several research projects at HUPH, indicates the work of CENPHER to connect international donors with HUPH.