MARD awarded Commemorative Medal to Dr. James Wilson Smith and Dr. Nguyen Viet Hung

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said that the medal award ceremony was to recognize the contributions of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), a global research partnership toward the future of food security.

ILRI belongs to the system of Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (One CGIAR) along with individuals who have helped Vietnam in the past period.

Since 2007 ILRI Vietnam has implemented many research topics concerning animal health and food safety, climate change adaptation, emerging infectious diseases, livestock feed, genetics and value chains. Two priority areas of research include sustainable strengthening of livestock systems and mitigating the risks from the changes in agricultural systems.

Up to now, ILRI has implemented hundreds of projects and programs in Vietnam, serving farmers and government partners, especially institutes and schools under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

ILRI's long-term commitment and strategy to sustainably maintain the results achieved through partnerships with stakeholders is also a factor that helps Vietnam become one of the key agricultural countries.

Dr. James Wilson Smith has held the position of General Director of the International Livestock Research Institute from October 2011 to the present. With his position and role, Dr. Smith has helped strengthen the close cooperation relationship between ILRI, CGIAR, the World Bank and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; actively seek funding sources for the livestock industry in particular and the agricultural industry in general; at the same time offer many initiatives and provide experience to support the development of the agricultural sector in Vietnam.

Regarding Dr. Nguyen Viet Hung, he was the Chief Representative of ILRI in Vietnam from January 2014 to October 2020.

In October 2020, Dr. Hung was appointed Co-Leader of the Animal and Human Health Program of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya. From 2020-2021, he was the leader of the Food Safety segment of the CGIAR Research Program "Agriculture for Nutrition and Health", and is the coordinator of the One Health working group of CGIAR's COVID-19 Hub. In 2022 Dr. Hung became the leader of One CGIAR's One Health Initiative "Protecting Human Health Through a One Health Approach".

With his position and role at ILRI, he has helped strengthen the close cooperation relationship between ILRI/CGIAR and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, agencies, research institutes and schools in the field of livestock research, food safety, antibiotic resistance, zoonotic diseases, and development of Eco-Health and One Health networks in Vietnam.

Dr. Hung also actively seeks and brings many sources of funding for Vietnam's agricultural livestock, contributing many initiatives and experiences to Vietnam's agricultural industry.

At the Commemorative medal awarding ceremony, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that the MARD highly appreciated the contributions of the ILRI office and the One Health Initiative in Vietnam. In the process of cooperation, issues related to food safety, biosecurity, construction of a safe and sustainable food chain, approaches of the One Health Initiative, and capacity building for agricultural staff had received special attention.

In the near future the MARD expected that the two sides would strengthen cooperation on environmental issues, livestock technology, animal feed and antibiotics in animal husbandry.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. James Wilson Smith shared his impression when efforts and activities related to the One Health Initiative were actively implemented in many fields in Vietnam.

He affirmed that ILRI would continue to accompany and strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in priority areas under the impact of food insecurity and nutrition in the world.

The ILRI representative wished to receive policy support as well as coordination from MARD to enhance the effectiveness of cooperation among partners in implementing the efforts related to the One Health Initiative, which has a new initiative on "Protecting Human Health Through a One Health Approach", and the project “Improving human health through sustainable value chains in human-animal-environmental interactions using information communication technology in Vietnam (ICT4 Health)”.