Introduction
SEAOHUN, established in late 2011 with support of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is the regional network of 95 universities in eight Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, and 6 universities in an associate member country of Taiwan. SEAOHUN is a leading regional network of universities contributing to making our world safer by developing a resilient and competent One Health* workforce to effectively prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease threats by leveraging education, research, and training excellence. SEAOHUN advocates the role of universities to build the capacity of professionals across sectors to solve complex One Health issues, conduct research for evidence-based decision making, and assist governments with public health surge capacity.
SEAOHUN Executive Board agreed to organize an international conference every other year hosted by the country chairing the Network. The conference would convene interested One Health professionals, including faculty members, researchers, government officials, students from SEAOHUN member countries, One Health partners, stakeholders, and potential donors to exchange ideas and good practices on One Health related issues.
The first SEAOHUN conference was organized as a closed side-meeting in Bangkok during the Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC) on 29-30 January 2017 with the theme “One Health University Network: From Concept to Impact.” The second SEAOHUN conference was open to public and hosted by VOHUN at Hanoi Medical University on 6-9 November 2018 with the theme “One Health Academic Challenges: Preparing Today’s Workforce to Combat Tomorrow’s Infectious Diseases.” SEAOHUN did not plan for the third conference until 2022 due to the pandemic. We expected that international travels would be possible in late 2022; therefore, SEAOHUN plans to organize its third conference on 5 – 7 September 2022.
In consultation with SEAOHUN Chairperson, Chulabhorn Royal Academy (CRA) will co-host the conference. In the spirit of One Health, SEAOHUN cordially extended our collaboration to Thai Association for Laboratory Animal Science (TALAS), South East Asia Veterinary School Association (SEAVSA), and the Monitoring and Surveillance Center for Zoonotic Diseases in Wildlife and Exotic Animals (MoZWE) to organize joint conferences with overlapping opening ceremony and luncheons.
The SEAOHUN International Conference 2022 is a live, knowledge-sharing event for current and aspiring One Health practitioners, educators and researchers. With the theme 'Catalyzing One Health Citizens of the Future’, the conference seeks to bring together students, academicians, One Health practitioners and advocates those with diverse backgrounds to share their experience, research findings, and perspectives to discuss One Health education and complex health threat issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Immediately after the conference on 8 September 2022, SEAOHUN will organize a partnership meeting for SEAOHUN current and prospect partners to synergize our efforts in the region to advance the development of One Health workforce and address prioritized One Health challenges in Southeast Asia. The partnership meeting is by invitation only.
The conference will be primarily supported by the USAID One Health Workforce – Next Generation (OHW-NG) project and Chevron in close collaboration with CRA, TALAS, SEAVSA, and MoZWE.
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[*] “One Health”, defined by World Health Organization (WHO) One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP), stands for an integrative and systemic approach to health, grounded on the understanding that human health is closely linked to the healthiness of food, animals and the environment, and the healthy balance of their impact on the ecosystems they share, everywhere in the world.
Objectives
The SEAOHUN International Conference 2022 aims to:
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Reflect on future capacity building goals and One Health education.
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Explore policy gaps and institutional responses to promote effective and coordinated One Health efforts.
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Examine the research findings and societal responses to the important global health challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and AMR, from broader, cross-sectoral perspectives.
The four KEY TRACKS of the Conference
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One Health Education:
This track will present the current practices in One Health education and training, and how the core competencies applied to the COVID-19 pandemic response and to efforts for mitigating AMR. It encourages presentations on:
1) innovation in university teaching or professional training for One Health;
2) strategies for inspiring students or early-career professionals to utilize the One Health approach to characterize health challenges and formulate response strategies in real-world (field) settings;
3) examples for establishing and sustaining One Health Student Clubs in universities;
4) promoting lifelong learning in One Health; and
5) engaging current and potential employers of the One Health workforce.
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Policy Gaps and Partnership Needs in One Health:
This track will bring together policy makers, government officials, academicians, researchers, regional and global intergovernmental bodies, international donor agencies, NGOs, and the private sector to discuss policy gaps for One Health as a multi-sectoral approach necessary for promoting global health security. Emphasis will be made for supporting evidence-based policymaking and decision-making for:
1) detecting zoonotic spillover and spillback;
2) operationalizing One Health coordination and collaboration as a cross-sectoral approach;
3) supporting sustainable production and nature-positive food production systems; and
4) translating One Health research into One Health Policy.
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Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic:
This track will document experiences and identify good practices in past pandemic responses that can be part of the pandemic response for the future. Submissions may look into:
1) success stories of One Health workforce involvement in the COVID-19 response;
2) community- or student-led responses during the pandemic;
3) innovative tools and technologies for pandemic response;
4) social, cultural and country comparisons of COVID-19 risks; and
5) studies of effectiveness of COVID-19 risk communication.
Combating Antimicrobial Resistance using One Health Approach:
This track will provide research findings on the trends and drivers of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), AMR surveillance methods and information systems, examples of multi-disciplinary methods for analyzing relevant data, and documentation of efforts to address this critical issue. Scientists and policymakers are invited to present recommendations to significantly reduce AMR.
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CONFERENCE SPONSORS:
DIAMOND
GOLD
