Can Tho (VNA) – The United States Mission to Vietnam, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the UN Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam, on June 7 launched an initiative in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho to build up local capacities to detect, prevent, and respond to climate change-related emerging infectious diseases.

The initiative, supported by the USAID and the UNDP, is part of a series of activities in the “One Health” partnership, focusing on the connection between climate change and disease threats.

It will pilot provincial-level models that strengthen the climate change-related “One Health” response across the human, animal, and environmental health disciplines.

Addressing the event, USAID Director Aler Grubbs stressed that people are living in a time of risk for emerging diseases that are transmitted between animals and humans.

She underlined the need for countries to implement the partnership, which is an integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimise the health of people, animals, and ecosystems, towards maintaining global health security.

UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Ramla Khalidi remarked that the initiative will support Can Tho authorities in designing and implementing climate change adaptation initiatives, with consultation with local stakeholders, including businesses and women’s unions.

The project will support authorities, communities, and other partners in the locality to detect, prevent, and respond to climate change-related public health threats, she said.

Potential activities include upgrading primary health infrastructure to support the continuity of services during extreme weather events, expanding telehealth options, and equipping local authorities and health systems to be better positioned to respond to climate-induced public health threats.

Vice Chairman of the Can Tho People’s Committee Nguyen Thuc Hien expressed his belief on the practicality and effectiveness of the project, stressing that with experience and outstanding achievements in supporting Vietnam's response to climate change, the UNDP will help improve the health of Can Tho residents by enhancing intersectoral coordination of health, environment, and agriculture.

Activities within the framework of the initiative are well aligned with visions in Can Tho’s action plan to respond to climate change in the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050, h🤪e stressed. /.