Vietnam Backs Global One Health Commitments at Lyon Summit

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According to Vietnam Pictorial, within the framework of the conference, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment - the main coordinating agency of the Vietnam One Health Partnership Framework for zoonotic disease prevention and control (OHP) - affirmed its strong support for global political commitments on One Health, as well as international initiatives launched by the French Government.

In a letter sent to the conference, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment highly appreciated France’s organization of this high-level event, considering it an important forum to promote international cooperation and translate political commitments into concrete actions in preventing zoonotic diseases. Vietnam also expressed its desire to further strengthen cooperation with French partners, particularly the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), in technical, research, and policy connectivity fields.

Vietnam is currently an active member of the PREZODE initiative, launched by France, contributing to global efforts to prevent emerging diseases through a comprehensive and preventive approach.

A workshop within the framework of the One Health Summit was held from April 5-7, 2026 in the city of Lyon, France. (Photo: VNA)

According to Vietnam News Agency, Flavie Goutard, a veterinary epidemiologist at CIRAD, said Vietnam had established its interdisciplinary One Health Partnership platform more than 15 years ago, originating from the avian influenza crisis. This platform brings together sectors such as health, agriculture, and environment to jointly address issues like emerging diseases, antimicrobial resistance, zoonoses, and food safety.

She noted that a distinctive feature of Vietnam’s model is the broad participation of multiple stakeholders, from government agencies, research institutes, and universities to international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), and World Organisation for Animal Health. This is a “remarkable and quite unique” platform that could serve as a model for many other countries.

Further explaining, Goutard said the One Health approach is an interdisciplinary method aimed at simultaneously improving the health of humans, animals, plants, and the environment, based on the close relationship between humans and ecosystems. After the COVID-19 pandemic, this approach has gained even more attention as the risk of zoonotic diseases continues to increase.

Flavie Goutard, a veterinary epidemiologist at the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), assessed that a distinctive feature of Vietnam’s One Health model is the broad participation of multiple stakeholders. (Photo: VNA)

However, she also noted that Vietnam needs to further enhance implementation effectiveness, particularly in terms of financial resources, and proactively develop domestic financing mechanisms to sustain One Health commitments.

Sharing this view, Nguyen Viet Hung, Director of ILRI in Vietnam, said Vietnam is among the leading countries in practicing this approach thanks to a well-structured coordination mechanism through the national One Health Partnership. Vietnam not only receives but also contributes experience to global initiatives.

He added that in recent years, many international research projects have been implemented in Vietnam under the PREZODE framework, in localities such as Thai Nguyen and Dong Thap, contributing to the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases.

Based on practical implementation, Nguyen Viet Hung proposed three main directions: increasing domestic resource investment; bringing the One Health approach down to the local level - where disease risks directly emerge; and continuing to improve coordination mechanisms, especially in areas still limited such as wildlife health and the environment.

In practice, Vietnam began implementing this approach in 2003 through the Partnership on Avian and Human Influenza (PAHI). In 2016, the Government transitioned to the One Health Partnership Framework (OHP) with a broader scope. During the 2021–2025 period, this framework was approved and officially implemented, becoming a national-level interdisciplinary coordination mechanism.

Currently, under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and co-led by the Ministry of Health, OHP has 35 officially signed partners and more than 70 international partners participating regularly, including many multilateral organizations and research agencies, forming a broad cooperation network in the One Health field.

The One Health Summit took place in Lyon from April 5-7, with a high-level session held on World Health Day. This is one of the key events during France’s G7 Presidency Year and also the 9th edition of the One Planet Summit series, with the participation of more than 20 countries along with many heads of state, international organizations, scientists, and businesses.

With the theme of promoting the One Health approach, the conference emphasized the close link between human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health, aiming to translate political commitments into concrete actions in disease prevention, antimicrobial resistance control, sustainable food system development, and environmental protection.

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