National Environmental Health Action Plan and the First National Forum on Environmental Health in Vietnam

1. National Environmental Health Action Plan and the First National Forum on Environmental Health in Vietnam Duong Thi To Center for Environmental consulting, training and technology transfer (CECT) Vietnam Environment Protection Agency (VEPA)

2. MONRE in collaboration with MOH Has conducted a small program on environmental health in Vietnam in 2005. This program has been co-financed by Governmental budget and WHO support To follow up the recommendations derived from 1st ASEAN meeting on environmental health review on existing studies on environmental health in Vietnam web-page on environment and health in Vietnam Draft NEHAP SETTING UP AN WORKING GROUP ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALT TO PREPARE FOR the first National Forum on Environmental Health Draft Inter-ministerial Circular on strengthening environmental health activities in Vietnam.

3. National Environmental Health Action Plan Overall Objective To ensure people live in safe environment that benefits their health and simultaneously prevent and minimize hazardous health impacts induced by environmental factors.

4. Approval cooperative mechanisms in controlling and minimizing health risks induced by environmental factors among related parties, institutionalize these mechanism, enhancing data-sharing mechanism. • Increase public awareness and enhance capacity of related bodies supporting for effective implementation of surveillance and control activities harmful to community health due to environmental factors. • Consolidate and strengthen policy and legal document systems in relation to EH issues. 2006-2010 • Strengthen research capacity on health impacts and influences induced environmental factors of governmental bodies. • Establish surveillance and monitoring systems supporting for controlling and minimizing health risks caused by environmental factors with infrastructure and technical capacity equal to those of regional countries as well as adequate activity mechanisms so that can provide information for decision making and policy development. 2010-2020 National Environmental Health Action Plan Specific objective

5. Drafting and issuing a Inter – Ministerial Circular (MoNRE & MoH) to define coordinative activities between two sectors in the field of environmental health. • Developing and approving National Environmental Health Action Plan to 2020 2006-2008 • Strengthening institutional and technical capacity serving for EH state management • Integrating EH Impact Assessment (EHIA) into Environmental Impacts Assessment (EIA), Health Impact Assessment (HIA) into Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for socio-economical development programs and projects (Drafting and issuing instructive circulars) • Develop and consolidate legislative basis to regulate, diminish and protect population from health risks induced by Environmental factors (Studying and drafting and submitting to get approvals of the Congress for State Ordinance on EH . 2008-2010 National Environmental Health Action Plan Priority Action 1 Improve policy, institutional and legislative systems serving for the EH state management

6. Studying and creating EHIA indicators, institutionalizing and legitimizing inter-sectoral mechanisms supporting for data collection, analysis and evaluation; developing and announcing National EH Profile annually. • Drafting overall projects of establishment and development a network for EHIA and submitting to the government to get approval. 2006-2008 • Investing to develop infrastructures and facilities for a surveillance and assessment EH network. • Developing and announcing National EH Profile annually 2008-2020 National Environmental Health Action Plan Priority Action 2 Establishing and developing surveillance and monitoring systems on EH impacts serving for prevention and control risks and emergencies.

7. Drafting an overall project to increase capacity and investment for EH research work and then submitting to the Government for an approval. • Developing a specific planning for implementation of research on EH prioritized areas to ensure providing firm scientific basis according to the requests of state management and policy development. 2006-2008 • Increasing capacity and developing technical infrastructure serving to EH research work following the plan orientation approved by the Government. • Carrying out priority research projects and programs approved by the the Government. 2008-2020 National Environmental Health Action Plan Priority action 3 Increasing capacity, comprehensively planning, and investing to enhancing reserch works on Environmental Health Impact Assessment (EHIA)

8. Integrating EH issues into training courses and workshops for natural resource and environment state management officers as well as healthcare officers at related ministries and sectors. • Studying and developing projects to integrate EH issues into school curriculum and developing EH speciality in tertiary and post graduate education programs • Establishing and Developing information and early warning systems on health risks and disseminating EH research information to the public. 2006-2008 2008-2020 • Implementing education programs on EH at all educational levels. • Implementing research and priority research projects approved by the Goverment. • Implementing dissemination and communication programs, information exchange mechanism in the field of Environmental health. National Environmental Health Action Plan Priority action 4 Increasing awareness of the leaderships at all levels and community of Envionmental health

9. The first National Forum on Environmental Health • Follow up the recommendations of the High - level Meeting on Health and Environment in ASEAN and East Asian countries with the support from WHO, VEPA-MoNRE,in close cooperation with Department of Preventive Medicine (DPM)-MoH, has organized the first National Forum on Environmental Health in 29 November 2005 in Hanoi. • The Forum has successfully taken placed, marking a breakthrough in dealing with Environmental health (EH) problems in Vietnam. • The great success of this Forum is because of: • Enormous efforts made by relevant parties particularly by VEPA (with CECT as a focal point)– MoNRE and DPM – MoH. CECT have carried out many activities responding to the recommendations given in the Meeting to prepare for the Forum as follows:

10. working group 19 experts from MoNRE and environment-related institutions, 20 experts from MoH and health-related institutions 10 representatives from mass media and legislative institutions. This working group has substantially contributed in the process of NEHAP and Inter-ministerial Circular formulation Two Consulting workshops and three technical meetings had been organized to gather comments on draft NEHAP and Inter-ministerial Circular formulation

11. The First National Forum on Environmental Health Over 140 participants from relevant parties, international organizations, NGOs etc. Co-chaired by Deputy Ministers of MoNRE and MoH • A wide range of EH issues has been raised at the forum: • Orientation of EH activities at global and regional level. • Cooperative mechanism • EH related researches • HIA • Draft NEHAP Many comments on issues raised at the Forum

12. Major comments and recommendations 1. The NEHAP should be developed to serve for lager scope of activities and longer time-frame. Technical and financial support from international communities is essentially needed to help Vietnam in the preparation of its NEHAP for better outcomes. 2. The development of National Environmental Health Profile (NEHP) and Database (NEHD) should be given with highest priority to conduct on regular basis. 3. Annually develop the map of EH hot-spots in Vietnam to serve for decision-making 4. Cooperative mechanisms among relevant stakeholders should be created and facilitated to strengthen environmental health activities in Vietnam 5. National Forum on EH should be organized on regular basis (annually or quarterly) to facilitate information sharing and experience exchange among relevant stakeholders 6. The establishment of a National Center for Environmental health as a national focal point in terms of environmental health should be taken into account

13. Thank you very much !