The government has approved the draft content of an agreement on establishing an ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Animal Health and Zoonoses (ACCAHZ) in Vietnam. A zoonosis is an infectious disease of an animal that can be transmitted to human beings.

In recent years, the world has recorded several new dangerous zoonoses such as SARS, MERS-CoV, Ebola, H5N1 and H7N9 influenzas, which have caused serious impacts on human’s health, socio-economic development, as well as security and policy among countries globally.

At the national level, the Prime Minister has formed several bodies to prevent an avian influenza epidemic or other zoonoses outbreaks, including the emergency operations centre (EOC) with the participation of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and international organisations.

Vietnam with its role of a leading country in the ASEAN region has coordinated with member states to build the ASEAN Rabies Elimination Strategy, aiming to eradicate the deadly disease in regional countries by 2020.

The ACCAHZ was endorsed after the ASEAN Ministerial Statement, during the 33rd AMAF Meeting held in October 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The main objective of the ACCAHZ is to facilitate coordination and cooperation among ASEAN Member States and relevant national and international partners and stakeholders in prevention, control, and eradication of transboundary animal and zoonotic diseases in the region.

VNA