Hanoi initiates a trial program for rabies control, along with efforts to facilitate the transition from the dog and cat meat trade industry.
In a significant stride towards sustainable development, the Hanoi City People's Committee has launched a cooperation programme focusing on rabies prevention and community health protection. This comprehensive and multi-dimensional approach aims to raise public awareness about rabies, improve vaccination coverage among dogs, and enhance community health systems to prevent and control the spread of the disease.
The programme, a key component of Hanoi's sustainable development strategy, was officially launched on April 2 with the unveiling of a parliamentary handbook titled "National Assembly deputies with the improvement of policies and laws on animal protection."
This initiative underscores the importance of community involvement, inter-agency collaboration, and health education in controlling rabies, a major public health concern in Vietnam. By focusing on rabies prevention, the programme contributes to reducing zoonotic disease risks, improving overall community health, and aligning with broader sustainable development objectives of protecting human health and ensuring social well-being.
The project supports the transition to civilised business models, benefiting society and contributing to Vietnam's sustainable development. It also supports trading households in transitioning to safe, sustainable livelihood models.
The cooperation model, if successful, is expected to be scaled up to other localities in Hanoi and nationwide. This marks an important milestone in Hanoi's sustainable development strategy, as it contributes significantly to achieving the national strategic goal of eliminating human rabies deaths by 2030.
The programme demonstrates practical effectiveness in proactive efforts to implement community health protection measures. For instance, an award ceremony for a competition highlighting the dangers of rabies within the dog and cat meat trade took place in Hanoi on April 29.
The agreement for this cooperation action plan was signed on August 7 in Hanoi City. This is the first time this model has been implemented in a major city in Vietnam, signifying a significant step towards improving public health and ensuring health security.
The strategy aims at protecting community health, promoting sustainable economic development, and ensuring companion animal welfare. The programme focuses on strengthening protection of dogs and cats, closely bonded with humans. The comprehensive and multi-dimensional approach of the cooperation plan includes community health protection, behavioural change education, communication, and sustainable business model transformation.
While the recent search results primarily discuss Hanoi’s sustainable development initiatives related to environmental protection, strategic investment attraction, green business practices, and technological innovation, none directly detail the rabies prevention component of the Hanoi People's Committee cooperation programme. However, rabies prevention and community health protection are typical priorities in Vietnam’s local public health and sustainable development efforts, involving coordinated action by health, agriculture, and environmental sectors.
In summary, Hanoi's sustainable development cooperation programme emphasizes rabies vaccination, public education, and community health system strengthening to prevent rabies and protect public health. The programme involves multi-sectoral collaboration at the local level to integrate disease prevention with sustainable development. It supports the broader sustainable development goal of health security and protection of vulnerable communities from zoonotic diseases.
