By Jimmy Lee and Tom Hughes, Conservation Medicine

In September 2022 several partners organized a training to strengthen disease risk reduction and One Health coordination capacity for protected area managers in Vietnam. This training, co-organised by IUCN secretariat and IUCN Vietnam, Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW), Conservation Medicine and EcoHealth Alliance focused on IUCN guidelines for disease prevention, detection, response and recovery in protected and conserved areas (PCAs) and One Health best practice guidance for sustainable and healthy tourism in Vietnam. The training was led by experts from Conservation Medicine, an NGO based in Malaysia and a leader in applied wildlife health and disease surveillance, risk assessment, and biosafety processes.

The two days training was participated in by 40 individuals from Cat Tien National Park, Centre for Rescue, Conservation of Species of Cat Tien National Park, Cuc Phuong National Park, Endangered Primate Rescue Centre, Pu Mat National Park, Rescue Centre, Conservation and Biological Development of Cuc Phuong National Park, Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, Turtle Conservation Centre, U Minh Thuong National Park and Wildlife Rescue Centre and Conservation Centre – Cuc Phuong National Park.

The objective of this training was to build capacity with our partners from Vietnam so that they understood the overall scope of the IUCN guidelines for disease prevention, detection, response and recovery in protected and conserved areas and the One Health best practice guidance for sustainable and healthy tourism in Vietnam.

This training has supported the development of a broader effort with our partners to increase capacity building in the field of One Health. It included an introduction to One Health; Overview of the IUCN Green List standard and its link with One Health; discussion of the PANAROMA webpage on the establishment of Sabah Wildlife Departments Wildlife Health, Genetic and Forensic Laboratory; IUCN guidelines for prevention, detection, response and recovery from disease risks in protected and conserved areas (PCAs); diseases risk reduction guidelines related to tourism; an introduction to zoonotic diseases from bats, rodents, non-human primates and other small mammals; Biosafety; Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and biohazard waste disposal; an introduction to human safety; and risk assessment training. There were also group discussions on risk assessments and practical lessons on first aid procedures, cage disinfection, and donning and doffing of Personal Protective Equipment. A pre- and post-training exam to measure the participants understanding of the theories and techniques taught was also administered. This initial training can serve as a basis for future skills and awareness building, particularly through additional practical exercises that solidify knowledge and uptake.