Mérieux Foundation invited to OHSEA Capitalization Colloquium

The Mérieux Foundation was invited to participate in the OHSEA Capitalization Colloquium which was held in Hanoi from April 24-26, 2023.

The OHSEA project is co-led by the French National Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), the Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD) and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires the strengthening of the “One Health” approach, this project aimed to:

• Draw up an inventory of actions and research conducted in the field of “environment zoonoses” in Vietnam, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Malaysia,
• Strengthen the skills of students, professionals and decision-makers with regard to the “One Health” approach,
• Support emerging “One Health” projects,
• Develop data access tools to understand and act through the “One Health” environment approach.

The Merieux Foundation presented its expertise and methodology for strengthening laboratory systems and networking to improve surveillance, in the framework of SEALAB and QWArS projects in Cambodia and Lao PDR, challenges for a real “One Health” approach and how weaknesses have been addressed in the proposal for the second phase of SEALAB project.

The project is also a first step to structure a research community in the perspective of setting up actions under the PREZODE global program, an initiative to prevent emerging zoonotic risks and pandemics, launched at the One Planet Summit in January 2021.