On October 21st - 22nd, 2009, in Don Chan Place Hotel, Vientiane-Lao PDR, the First Regional Technical Forum on Control and Elimination of Parasitic Diseases among the countries in the Mekong-sub region and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) was held.
Participated in the forum were WHO's experts in the field of parasitic diseases control and other international organizations; experienced representatives from 5 countries of the Mekong-sub-region, such as Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam and other regional countries. The forum was held by the Institute of Malariology, Entomology and Parasitology of Laos with the expenditure support from the GMS CDC Project Fund of the Asian Development Bank.
The representatives of Vietnam included Le Thanh Dong, M.D, Ph.D., Director of IMPE - Ho Chi Minh city, Nguyen Van Chuong, M.D, Ph.D., Deputy Director of IMPE Quy Nhon, Dang Thi Cam Thach, M.D, Ph.D., Head of Department of Parasitology of NIMPE and Do Trung Dung, M.Sc., Deputy Head of Department of Parasitology of NIMPE.
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Dr. Samlane Phompida-Director of CMPE | (Lao PDR) in his report at the Forum. |
The objectives of the Forum:
(1) Evaluate the monitoring system of the present tropical diseases, including coverage level, impacts, shortcomings and discuss measures to overcome.
(2) Exchange the information and experience among the interrelated countries in terms of control and elimination of parasitic diseases basing on suitable recommendations.
(3) Propose stable coordination between the regional countries in the parasitic diseases control, especially create the association of the national control programmes of regional countries.
(4) Define the priority issues to develop the relationship between the countries in the region and all over the world.
After the opening speech of Kim Gil Hong - Executive Director of project programmes supported by ADB and Dr. Bounkouang Phichit - Deputy Minister of Health (Lao PDR), Dr. Antonio Montresor - Expert of WHO reported on epidemic and the global control of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD); Dr John Ehrenberg gave a report on the strategy and plan of NTD control of the Mekong-sub region. Later on, the representatives focussed on the issues given by the two reports.
Each country continued their presentation of some contents in epidemiology, control strategty, experiences, prospective solutions and recommendations for inter-areas cooperation on soil - Transmitted Helminthiasis, food-Transmitted Liver Fluke diseases, Filariasis, Schistosomiasis, and so on. From the countries' concrete reports, the representatives discussed and exchanged the control experiences and together brought prospective solutions and the idea of inter-areas cooperation out.
Apart from reports, every country also brought their documents of mass communication and education to display at the forum with the purpose of mutual learning and exchange.
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Participants to the Forum. |
In two days of the forum, the representatives also listened to several donors' reports which aimed at supporting possible countries in carrying out some research activities in the future. However, each country should assess the disease situation specifically and set up a plan close to reality.
As for Vietnam, it is necessary to hold a conference between three institutes of malariology, parasitology and entomology to concentrate on setting up the plan for the period 2010-2015 and propose the implementation through WHO in Vietnam.
The forum came to an end in the friendship atmosphere and promised a lot of sucessful results in the strategy of NTD control in the region as well as on over the world.