The Ministry of Health in collaboration with the US Consulate General in Việt Nam on Friday inaugurated the Public Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) in the central province of Khánh Hòa.

Delegates cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Public Emergency Operation Centre in Khánh Hòa Province on March 15. — Photo MoH

Located at the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute, the office will be an emergency response and co-ordination centre for public health issues, including dangerous or emerging diseases that affect social security and people’s health in the central region.

The EOC will collect, monitor and analyse surveillance data, conduct epidemic investigations and enhance co-ordination between medical facilities within and outside the health sector.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyễn Trường Sơn highlighted the inauguration of the EOC as an important milestone on the road to establishing a national emergency response system in Việt Nam.

“The office will help collect information about public health risks from many sources, analyse and share information, thereby making effective plans to respond to emergency public health situations in the central area,” said Sơn.

Sơn added the health ministry had promoted the role of the EOC in the prevention of MERS-CoV, Ebola, Zika, influenza A (H7N9) viruses and other epidemics like dengue and measles.

"The office will help detect early threats to public health, thereby building measures to minimise risk and preventing the spread of diseases in Việt Nam as well as other countries,” said Deputy Director of the Institute of Nha Trang Pasteur Đỗ Thái Hùng.

“In the future, we will strengthen connections and share information about public health issues across the country,” Hùng added.  

On March 13, the health ministry also launched an EOC at the Central Highland Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Buôn Ma Thuột Province.

Through the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) and the Defence Mitigation Agency (DTRA) of the US Department of Defence, the United States government has supported information management and human resource training system to operate the EOC system in Việt Nam. — VNS