Blog Archives: April

April 24, 2012 -

Le Thanh Hai, PREVENT's program coordinator in Vietnam, shares the snapshot of the field rice rat trade captured during rapid market mapping of district and commune markets in 11 provinces of the Mekong Delta Region.

The Mekong Delta Region is considered a hometown of rice field rats (Chuot Dong in Vietnamese). In the past, Chuot Dong meat was very cheap so there were few farmers who caught rats. But to-date, rat meat has become a special dish on the menu of many restaurants in the big cities of the Mekong. Some people speculate that as bird flu continues to limit the supply of poultry meat, rat meat has become more and more expensive. Consequently, rat catching has become a full-time job with a reasonable income for many farmers. More...

April 23, 2012 -

Cecile Lantican, MID-BCC Country Coordinator Lao PDR, was among the 200 people from around the world who attended the Sixth International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation (CBA6) in Hanoi, Vietnam from April 16-20, 2012.

Like the highly pathogenic avian influenza and H1N1, climate change faces the challenge of how science and technology could be made available to and utilized by vulnerable and at risk communities so that they can manage and cope with the impact of adverse events.  

I was nominated by my office to attend the Sixth International Conference on Community-based Adaptation in Hanoi, Vietnam. My part in this forum was to share the community-level communication approaches that were tested and found useful to help communities address pandemic threats and emergencies.

Pandemic infectious diseases and climate change have things in common: both recognize no boundaries. They are events that are unusual and unexpected and may happen anytime. More...

April 17, 2012 -

Tongngy Kaing, MID-BCC consultant, shares his visits to community forums in four H5N1 high-risk provinces in Cambodia.

I traveled to Kampot, Svay Rieng, Kandal and Battambang the last week of March and first of April - just before New Years - to help organize and facilitate community forums on prevention related to bird flu (H5N1 virus).

Because these communities have most recently had outbreaks of the virus or remained as gateways of poultry transportation from other countries, there was a lot of public interest. About 500 people joined the forum in each of the four border provinces, and local TV stations such as CTN, Bayon and TVK also covered the forums. More...

April 4, 2012 -

Cecile Lantican, MID-BCC Country Coordinator LAO PDR revisits the wet markets and green markets prior to Pi Mai (Lao New Year) in Vientaine, Lao PDR where risk reduction campaigns for the H5N1 virus were conducted.

I find this project activity very interesting. All my life, the market has been a significant part of my role as a mother --- and now as a country manager of an infectious diseases project.

I always go to the market to buy fresh fish, meat, vegetables, fruits and other commodities to suit my requirements in preparing food for my family, but I never realized that the market means more than a place where exchange of commodities and services takes place. More...