The International Workshop “Study on dengue in the context of climate change using geospatial data and modelling for Vietnam and Philippines” was held on 15 September 2017 at Vietnam National Space Center (VNSC), Hanoi, Vietnam.
Attending the workshop were participants from Dokkyo University (Japan), University of Santo Tomas and College of Public Health, UP Manila (Philippines), National institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur Institute from Ho Chi Minh city, Pasteur Institute from Nha Trang city, other institutes, particularly representatives from Department of Health Environment Management and Department of Preventive Medicine under Vietnam Ministry of Health. It was also our honor to have Prof. Ngo Kim Chi, a focal point of APN in Vietnam at the workshop.
In the framework of APN Project for dengue study which is to improve the knowledge of the above vector-borne diseases and their vulnerability to climate variability for the rural population in both countries by using advanced geospatial technology, the workshop presented the outcomes of the project. The outputs contributes to APN’s high priority activities in development and utilization of vulnerability and risk assessments, and utilization of available information including climate data in applications for adaptation, and support adaptive planning and decision making in the health sector.
The workshop program consisted of two sessions: presentation and discussion. The presentment part included 7 presentations from the host and participants: Introduction – APN Project for dengue study (Dr. Pham Thi Thanh Nga), Dengue prevalence in Vietnam (Dr. Vu Trong Duoc), Dengue prevalence in Philippines (Ms. Kim Carmela), JAXA effort of using geospatial data for vector-born diseases (Prof. Nakamura Kenji), Statistical Models for Dengue and Malaria Cases in the Philippines (Dr. Maria-Ruth) Mathematical approach for dengue prediction by using remote sensing data (Dr. Pham Thi Thanh Nga), Mapping vulnerability to dengue in Mekong Delta region (Mr. Nguyen Tien Cong). The discussion focused on the challenges in projecting vector-born diseases in the context of climate change. The participants addressed the importance of enhancing the use of earth observation data, and more importantly the details of disease-related data.
Concludingly, the first workshop for finalizing the APN project was successful. The second workshop is planned to be held in Philippines in November, 2017.
Group photo of workshop participants
Warm welcome speech by Dr. Vu Anh Tuan, Vice Director General of VNSC
