Search Results

Rabies is endemic in both humans and animals in the Asia Pacific Region (AP Region), with dog-mediated rabies being the predominant source of disease. However, it is often under-reported and is therefore considered to be a neglected disease. Over 95% of human rabies cases are associated with dog bites. Rabies control and subsequent elimination necessitates a multi-sectoral collaboration, using a One Health approach. Although rabies is a 100% preventable disease, it continues to kill tens of thousands of humans and animals in the AP Region and therefore it is important to continue to advocate for sustainable actions by countries. The World Rabies Day (WRD), observed on 28 September every year, is a day dedicated to bringing the focus back to rabies as a neglected zoonoses and in committing collective actions to tackle this dreaded disease. As done in the past, the Regional Tripartite would like to observe the WRD on 28 September 2020 by organising a webinar for the AP Region to rededicate ourselves in enhancing our efforts towards elimination of this dreaded disease. Based on topics already covered in previous webinars, and feedback from members, the focus of this year’s webinar will be related to: risk communication, disease surveillance and strategic dog vaccination, and developments in human prophylaxis, besides sharing updates on global progress. The event will be held in zoom and livestreamed via Youtube from 3 pm Tokyo time, Monday 28th September. Your participation via Youtube is welcomed. Zoom link: https://oie.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIvd-CtqjovGNE5feDGNm3mZQ4tzkUJLMA2 Youtube link: https://youtu.be/WDESN1dH57M

Opportunity to join MyOHUN One Health Webinar series. COME AND JOIN US NOW in ONE HEALTH: ZOONOTIC DISEASES WEBINAR Date : September 19, 2020 (Saturday) Time : 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM (GMT +8; Malaysian time) Language: English Live via Zoom and Facebook page. The link will be provided via your email after registration. Fee: Free Registration link https://forms.gle/1cX6LSWGm66CWZdo9 We look forward to your participation in this webinar. Any inquiry about the event, please contact: Izzul: https://wa.me/60102611260 or Nadia: https://wa.me/60184014634

The spillover of infectious agents from animals to humans in recent decades has had a significant impact on the health of humans, animals, and our environment. To minimize the impact of future pandemic threats, the Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN) was established in 2011 to develop the next generation of skillful and competent One Health (OH) workforce with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development and its One Health Workforce Next Generation project. Since its establishment, SEAOHUN has expanded network membership from 10 universities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam to 81 universities in seven countries, including the four founding countries plus Cambodia, Lao PDR, and the Philippines collaborating to improve One Health workforce capacity with cross-sectoral competencies to effectively prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease threats. The Secretariat Office of SEAOHUN Foundation based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We are currently seeking qualified candidates for the position of Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Officer to join our dynamic team. It is highly advisable for interested candidates to gain an understanding of SEAOHUN’s visions and works please feel free to go through our website or follow our facebook page at www.facebook.com/seaohun For more details and job description of the position please download :

At the crossroads between South and Southeast Asia paired with its developing status as a nation, Myanmar is a hotspot for zoonotic disease emergence. Multiple avian influenza outbreaks since 2009 have underscored this concern, which has prompted the creation of a national One Health program involving members from the Ministry of Health and Sports (MOHS) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation (MOALI). PREDICT created the first major One Health surveillance framework in Myanmar. Through coordinated surveillance of people and wildlife at high-risk disease transmission interfaces, PREDICT worked across Myanmar’s community, university, and government sectors to strengthen mechanisms to detect and respond to zoonotic disease threats and build capacity in both the field and laboratory for the next generation of Myanmar’s One Health workforce. Read more or download a full report about USAID/PREDICT Myanmar One Health in Action here :

Education and Capacity Building in One Health: Lessons from the Field The Lancet One Health Commission welcomes you to the next webinar in the One Health - Reconnecting for Our Future series. Join the discussion as panelists representing educational institutions and university networks reflect and share their ideas for the future of One Health. Time and place: Oct. 8, 2020 2:00 PM–3:30 PM, Zoom (webinar) Register: https://nettskjema.no/a/163081#/page/1 Topic COVID-19 has strengthened the case for producing a global cadre of One Health professionals. While the number of students interested in One Health continues to grow, opportunities for training and capacity building in One Health remain limited. In this webinar, panelists representing educational institutions and university networks will present their ongoing educational initiatives, examine challenges and opportunities in One Health capacity building, and propose solutions for the way forward. Speakers Dr. George Lueddeke - Chair, International One Health for One Planet Education Initiative (1-HOPE) Dr. Vipat Kuruchittham - Executive Director, Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN) Dr. Wondwossen Gebreyes - Executive Director, Global One Health Initiative, The Ohio State University Dr. Phaedra Henley - Director, Division of One Health, University of Global Health Equity, Rwanda Moderator Dr. Renzo Guinto - Next Generation One Health Adviser, The Lancet One Health Commission, Chief Planetary Doctor, PH Lab, Philippines & Director, Global Health Program, St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine-William H. Quasha Memorial

The Philippine One Health University Network (PhilOHUN) is a member of the Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN) composed of local universities unified with the aim of creating a secure future with minimal threat from preventable diseases. To fulfill this advocacy, we are launching our most current project which is the Zoom webinar series entitled: “PhilOHUN Webinar Series: Ensuring quality of Public Health communication, diagnostics, and infection prevention and control on humans and animals in response to COVID-19”. The goal of this activity is to inform the members of the academic community, healthcare providing units, and local government units of the risks presented by the currently ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. To register via zoom for our 3rd session on October 7, 2020, please click this link: http://bit.ly/3rdSessionPhilOHUN

Thailand will host the 6th Ministerial Meeting under the theme, “Bridging Cooperative Action for Global Health Security” on November 18-20, 2020. Now, more than ever before, the world recognizes this moment as the most important time to highlight global health security and to secure #GHSA commitments. The Ministerial Meeting seeks to strengthen multidisciplinary engagement and multisectoral coordination while emphasizing the importance of financial preparedness for health threats. Sign up to join the Ministerial, please visit https://www.ghsamm2020.com/

Please join SEAOHUN - One Health Workforce-Next Generation Project Year 1 Showcase on October 22, 2020 at 8:00-11:00am ICT. SEAOHUN is pleased to invite you to join us in reviewing accomplishments of the first year One Health Workforce-Next Generation (OHW-NG) project implementation in the Southeast Asia region, supported by the USAID. The mission of the OHW-NG project is to support AFROHUN and SEAOHUN to become global leaders in delivering state of the art, scalable, and sustainable workforce development that can address critical OH workforce gaps. On October 22, we will dedicate 3 hours to review achievements as well as discuss the challenges and coping strategies of the project in Southeast Asian region. This event is open to the public. Please complete a short pre-register form at http://bit.ly/Y1SEAOHUNShowcase or https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rcuCsrTgsGtFuJXmZng6aDQc8pbK7m-cn to receive the Zoom link.

PLEASE JOIN THE FIRST WEBINAR Starting on October 09th, 2020 10:00-11:30 (Thailand Time) or 14:00-15:30 (AEST) The U.S. and the Australians  are co-hosting the “Military-Civilian Southeast Asia Health Security Webinar Series" The first webinar will specifically highlight COVID-19 responses and lessons learned as they relate to military-civilian coordination and collaboration. Registration here: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/37/plgg4txy

Federation of Asian Veterinary Associations (FAVA), in collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organization Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO RAP), is pleased to officially announce the launch of the competition on “Housing Design for Small-scale Poultry Farming in Asia”, with the theme of Biosecurity towards infection prevention and improved livelihoods. This collaborative project is to promote a regional campaign to enhance farm biosecurity for small-scale poultry as a part of the celebration for the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) this year which will be held during November 18th -24th, 2020. On this occasion, we cordially invite your organization to join in the celebration and ask for your kind contribution by sharing this news to your members or partnered organizations. This competition is a great opportunity for the talented individuals or collaborated teams to use their creativity in combining the knowledge on biosecurity and the designing skill in creating the innovative designs that serve the purposes of mitigating the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and its risks, particularly in poultry farming. It is also a platform where the multidisciplinary professionals can join together to uphold the spirit of One Health through the creativity and innovation challenge for the better future of AMR mitigation and prevention. The competition is now open for the entry submission until November 13th, 2020. Attachments include 1) Official Letter from FAVA 2) Competition’s Poster 3) Rules and Conditions of the competition 4) Registration form for your kind consideration and distribution. Should you have any inquiries regarding the competition, please feel free to contact Dr. Jutamart Jattuchai, Project Coordinator, at WAAWDesignChallenge2020@gmail.com. For any updates on the competition and upcoming webinars for WAAW’s celebration, please visit: FAVA’s website: www.favamember.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WAAWDesignChallenge/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waawdesignchallenge2020/ Photo credit: FAO

SEAOHUN is catalyzing innovation and collaboration across Universities in Southeast Asia through small grants support In October 2020, the first batch of the projects supported by the newly launched SEAOHUN Small Grants Program began their implementation. SEAOHUN awarded 8 projects from 7 countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. To acknowledge high number of applications from Malaysia (53 out of 93) SEAOHUN awarded two grants to applicants from this country. The recipients will pilot their innovative ideas to advance One Health in their countries and across the Southeast Asian region. The Small Grants Program introduced in July 2020 was designed to give an opportunity for the faculty members from the network-member Universities to find innovative solutions to most acute problems related to One Health and to advance One Health core and technical competencies. This program also promotes regional and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Two out of eight supported projects focus on training. In the Philippines, which has recently formed One Health University Network and joined SEAOHUN in December 2019, the small grant will be used as a seed fund to develop the first curriculum for a course on One Health for Master of Public Health and Master of Science in Public Health programs. The project team under the leadership of Professor Vicente Belizario, Dean of the College of Public Health of the University of the Philippines Manila, will also develop and pilot a short course on One Health for professionals working in various areas. After the implementation, this small grant project has the potential to be scaled up in the Philippines through engaging other Universities and adapting of the pilot course for their needs. In Cambodia, a project team led by Dr Bunna Chea, Lecturer, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Royal University of Agriculture, will implement inclusive awareness training on Rabies among rural communities, including village animal health workers and health volunteers. Four out of eight supported projects are focusing on different types of research. In Myanmar, Dr Mya Thandar, the Head of the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health of the University of Public Health in Yangon, will lead a research on AMR in wastewater of Yangon region. There is no routine surveillance of AMR in animal and agricultural sectors in Myanmar. This study findings will serve as a good baseline data for the development of the national AMR monitoring plan on One Health perspective. In Vietnam, a team of researchers will pilot and assess the potential of probiotic bedding usage in poultry farming to reduce environmental pollution. If demonstrated to be cost-effective, this project can be replicated widely by small farms with positive impact. The project team is led by Ms. Hoang Thi Thanh Huong, researcher from Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF). In Malaysia, a team will conduct a Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) study for alleviating rodent-borne diseases among public low-cost housing (PPR) community. This project is led by Dr. Farah Shafawati Mohd Taib, Senior Lecturer from the Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The project aims to address the emerging issues of urbanization and PPR communities. There will be a One Health module developed for risk mitigation and health promotion, which can be utilized to scale up the health campaign in other low-cost housing communities. The other supported project in Malaysia is going to conduct bat coronavirus surveillance in Wind Cave Nature Reserve in order to inform the public on the diversity of coronaviruses found in bats from Sarawak. The project leader is Dr Cheng-Siang Tan, Head, Centre for Tropical and Emerging Diseases, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The findings will be used to develop cave-based ecotourism guideline. Factsheets on the importance of bats and findings from this study will be made available online to provide first-hand information to the public, especially tourists visiting these caves. Two supported projects use innovative approaches to improve policy regulations and build community of practice. In Indonesia, the small grant project will contribute to the Indonesian strategy of controlling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). The project team led by Dr. Teuku Reza Ferasyi, Director of Center for Tropical Veterinary Studies-One Health Collaboration Center (Centrovets-OHCC) Universitas Syiah Kuala, will revise, improve and disseminate the AMS Guidance materials for the three sectors (veterinary, human health, and livestock and fishery). They will also establish a web platform through which updated AMS programs can be shared in the future. The innovative idea that comes from Thailand focuses on establishment of a community of practice among young researchers interested in zoonotic diseases. Dr. Morakot Kaewthamasorn, Associate Professor from the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University will lead the project to enable young academic staff from different Southeast Asian countries receive a training on both conventional and molecular techniques in the field and in laboratory. They will also have an opportunity to further bond and form a community to exchange ideas beyond this small grant project. All the supported projects utilize multi-sectoral approach through collaboration with relevant ministries, government agencies and community groups. Most teams engage faculty from different Universities, promoting cooperation and knowledge exchange between different educational institutions.

Malaysia One Health University Network (MyOHUN) in conjunction with the celebration of One Health Day on 3rd November, invites you to a webinar on “Vilifying Wildlife in the Age of Pandemics: Confronting Fears and Misconceptions.” In this webinar, MyOHUN brings together renowned global wildlife veterinarian /epidemiologists, wildlife conservationists and journalists to share their thoughts and research on the ecology of disease emergence, wildlife conservation and the role of the media in shaping public perception about pandemic emergence. So if you are a public health specialist, wildlife enthusiast, veterinarian, epidemiologist, virologist, ecologist, social scientist, or zoologist…be sure not to miss this event! Preserving the health and well-being of all animals, including wildlife and the entire ecosystem, is the ultimate way to attain global human health. Date 3 November 2020 Time 9am - 12pm (GMT+8) Register here: https://myohun.com/go/ohday-webinar/ Topic 1: Understanding the Ecology of Disease Emergence Panelist: Dr. Jonathan Epstein Vice President, Science and Outreach EcoHealth Alliance. Topic 2: Confronting Public Fear: Risk Communication 101 Panelist: Simone McCarthy Journalist, South China Morning Post Topic 3: Wildlife Conservation in the Age of Pandemics Panelist: Prof. Dato' Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah Professor, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Fellow, Academy of Sciences Malaysia Moderator: Prof. Dr. Latifah Hassan Professor in Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology, UPM Coordinator Malaysia One Health University Network (MyOHUN) If you have any questions please contact eddie@myohun.com / nco@myohun.com