Vietnamese News
Massey University to Help Stop Global Pandemics
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Massey University has landed a contract with the World Bank to limit the spread of infectious diseases. The university plans to train 250 veterinarians and doctors across Asia and Eastern Europe to reduce the deadly effects of diseases like Sars, H1N1 (swine flu) and bird flu.
(via Manawatu Standard) About 70 Asian students are already undertaking the course at Massey as part of the first phase of agreements.
The World Bank - which offers financial and technical assistance to developing countries is in final negotiations with Massey to support the deal for two years.
It was initially planned as a small project until the outbreak of H1N1 added urgency and cash. "Suddenly, I had the World Bank on the phone saying we wanted to go ahead on a much larger scale," Professor Roger Morris said.
He hopes more than 40 countries will eventually take part in the programme. "Part of the project is sharing knowledge between countries. The people from one country will learn from the experiences in other countries." He is not aware of a training programme of this scale between doctors and veterinarians ever being run before.
The Massey training combines veterinarian knowledge from the Epicentre in Palmerston North and health expertise from the Centre of Public Health in Wellington.
Students will graduate with either a Masters Degree in Veterinary Medicine or Public Health, with a focus on biosecurity. They receive training in implementing effective disease surveillance and risk management strategies.
This includes using computer programmes to measure disease outbreaks and analysing data to improve approaches. Online and inclass lessons will be offered in English, Chinese and Russian.
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