In a region with some of the lowest income levels in the world, VWB/VSF collaborates with regional and national partners to tackle problems associated with poverty, health and the environment. Launched in 2008, our Southeast Asia office is based in Singapore and manages programs which focus on local and regional capacity building and grassroots development; we are working to provide vision, technical support, training and great project management.
We help our partners respond to risks of emerging diseases, improve people’s livelihoods, and support links between people and institutions working in the fields of human, animal and environmental health. We believe veterinary public health plays a major role in protecting human health and minimizing environmental degradation in Southeast Asia.

“Health is both an outcome and a resource for sustainable development, and understanding its role calls for integrated thinking, innovative approaches, inclusive processes, partnerships and empowered communities." (IDRC)

VWB/VSF uses an ‘ecosystem’ approach to health—also referred to as Ecohealth; our activities are participatory and stakeholder-driven, sensitive to gender and equity, trans-disciplinary and sustainable.

One of our keystone projects, Building Ecohealth Capacity in Asia (BECA), works to build capacity in six Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. Through workshops, training events and resource development, the project (funded by the International Development Resource Centre, IDRC) builds knowledge and skills to help stakeholders identify and reduce factors that contribute to emerging infectious diseases in the region.

VWB/VSF also provides support to the project Ecosystem approaches to the better management of zoonotic emerging infectious diseases in the Southeast Asia region, coordinated by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). We are involved in a number of regional and country based initiatives, such as the Village Ecohealth and Veterinary Extension project in Lao PDR.  We have also been instrumental in launching Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health in South/Southeast Asia (CoPEH-SSEA).

Useful Links:

CoPEH-SSEA portal: www.copeh-ssea.org

Asian Partnership on Emerging Infectious Diseases Research (APEIR):www.apeiresearch.net

CoPEH Canada: www.copeh-canada.org

CoPEH Latin America and the Caribbean: www.insp.mx/copeh-tlac/eng/inf/index.php

CoPEH West and Central Africa:www.copes-aoc.org

CoPEH Middle East and North Africa: www.copeh-mena.org