Mobilizing multi-sectoral coordination and multi-stakeholder cooperation in the field of food safety

This morning, September 28th, 2023, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the leading chair of the One Health Partnership Framework on Zoonoses in coordination with the International Livestock Institute (ILRI), One-CGIAR/CGIAR-OH Initiative to co-chair the 1st Food Safety Technical Working Group under the OHP Framework. (The OHP is co-chaired by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development).

Mr. Fred Unger, Chief Representative of the International Livestock Institute for Southeast Asia, co-chaired on behalf of the International Development Partners, happily spoke at the Conference: The Food Safety Technical Working Group was initially established in 2015, as a result of the interaction process between development partners (ADB, WB, Canada, New Zealand Embassy, ​​Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations-FAO, World Health Organization -WHO, Japan International Development Agency-JICA and International Livestock Research Institute-ILRI), private sector organizations along with the line Ministries (MARD, MOH, MOIT). Today, this Working Group is unified under the One Health Partnership Framework.

The mission of the FSWG is a mechanism to gather relevant parties, share experiences and propose initiatives, and further strengthen multi-sectoral coordination and multi-stakeholder cooperation for MSK to ensure food safety for humans, livestock and protect ecosystems according to the goals of the the One Health Partnership Framework and in accordance with the key tasks for UN SDGs for Food Systems.

Mr. Vu Thanh Liem, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation - Head of the OH Partnership Secretariat, chaired the meeting, said: Vietnam has a fairly complete system of legal documents on food safety, however, difficulties always lie in issues of application, implementation and enforcement. Currently, there are about 25 legal documents on food safety including 01 Law, 15 Decrees, 07 Circulars, 02 Directives of the Prime Minister. National security strategy for the period 2011-2020 and vision to 2030, Joint Circular No. 13/2014 between the three managing ministries, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade clearly stated the role of presiding and coordinating Multi-sectoral cooperation between ministries and sectors.

Regarding the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, most recently, since Vietnam hosted the Global Food Summit within the framework of the UN initiative on sustainable food transformation, the Prime Minister approved the National Action Plan to transform the food system into a transparent, responsible and sustainable one by 2030 in accordance with the spirit and commitments at the 2021 UN Summit joint statement on food. Specifically, there are clearly states that one of the important solutions for a transparent, responsible, and sustainable food system is to strengthen inter-sectoral coordination by using the One Health approach (including human, animal, plant health, and environment) in food supply chain management.

Under the context of limited domestic resources and allocation to many priority areas, this meeting was organized with the direct support and co-chairing of the International Livestock Institute under the One-CGIAR calling for unanimous cooperation of ministries, branches and international development partners for food safety in Vietnam, creating opportunities to: share responsibility, Propose policies and institutional recommendations on food safety. Propose a multi-sectoral coordination mechanism on food safety; Mobilize domestic and international resources for food safety in health, agriculture and industry and trade sectors under the current context of limited domestic resources.  

Faced with the current status of food safety, people are faced with commercial products that do not ensure hygiene in terms of quality and safety. Food is widespread on the market with unknown origins, making it difficult for many consumers to choose safe products; More and more food manufacturers and traders are using growth stimulants, growth bran in livestock farming, banned chemicals, a variety of detergents for spoiled meat and fish, etc;

The processing process is not strict or due to contamination from an unhygienic environment; Using domestic wastewater in processing; Livestock wastewater used to irrigate vegetables causes the content of heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms in vegetables, tubers, and fruits to be much higher than prescribed, or foods of unknown origin.... These are painful issues that require the cooperation of not only one individual or one ministry but also the cooperation of all relevant parties from individuals to organizations, especially multi-sectoral coordination and multi-stakeholder cooperation in which state management responsibility plays an important role.  

The workshop attracted attendances from MOH, MOIT, and MONRE presenting the food safety status and calling for increased domestic and international cooperation in the field of food safety within the framework of the OH Partnership Framework on Zoonoses. The Representative of the WB, Mr. Gou Li, Senior Economic Expert and Agriculture Program Coordinator, presented and emphasized the role of digital technology in food safety traceability. International partners appreciate the efforts of the OH Partnership Framework in creating coordination mechanisms for multi-sectors, multi-partners and multi-nations working on food safety. International Partners are committed to accompanying the OH Food Safety Technical Group to contribute to the implementation of national and sectoral duties and goals on food safety.

The One Health Partnership Framework commits to playing a good coordination role, creating mechanisms and forums to share and replicate research results, lessons, experiences, and practical experience on international and national food safety activities and programs, and at the same time, acting as a bridge to connect domestic stakeholders and international development partners to understand the actual needs from Vietnamese government agencies for future technical support and allocate resources appropriate to the actual situation and conditions of Vietnam.