Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. The transboundary Mekong River crosses over Viet Nam and Cambodia where many lives including humans, animals and the ecosystem are dependent upon this stream of source. Despite of the dynamic economic and social exchange along this long spreading streamline, there have been concerns on the movement of infectious agents that could become an animal or public health threat to both human and livestock, as pathogens do not respect country borders.

Realizing this potential risk, the Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Viet Nam and Cambodia have been facilitating dialogues and collaborations between Viet Nam and Cambodia since 2012 gathering the Department of Animal Health within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (DAH) of Viet Nam, and the Department of Animal Health and Production within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery (DAHP) of Cambodia. This effort aims to minimize and prevent the effects of a possible outbreak of zoonotic diseases, including the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreak that has affected many poultry and human in the lower Mekong region previously.

After three Viet Nam – Cambodia cross-border meetings, DAH organized the fourth Viet Nam cross-border meeting on surveillance and prevention with technical support from FAO on 23 September 2016 to review progress that has been made in implementing joint animal health related activities in the lower Mekong Delta of Cambodia and Viet Nam including HPAI monitoring programme, harmonized diagnostic capacity, information sharing and market and value chain monitoring.

In the fourth cross-border meeting, the Director Generals from both DAH and DAHP, together with animal health authorities from border provinces agreed to collaborate on the following activities from 2017 – 2019; 1) Share animal disease situation at both central and provincial levels, 2) further develop capacity and technical collaboration in the areas of epidemiology, laboratory and field response, 3) Conduct animal movement study and collaborative field research, and 4) Share communication materials.

“Based on the good relationship and collaborative atmosphere during the meeting, I am very glad that participants arrived in an agreement of the joint activities for the upcoming three years till 2019. With a specific action plan developed by animal health key players from both Viet Nam and Cambodia, I believe that both countries will have improved capacity to prevent and be better prepared to swiftly response to emerging pandemic threats in the lower Mekong region. The existing collaboration between the animal health sectors of the two countries could be extended to include public health sector using a One Health Approach” said Pawin Padungtod, the Senior Technical Coordinator of FAO ECTAD Viet Nam.