The widespread exposure of COVID 19 resulting in a pandemic across the world has impacted many people and industries. Communities are concerned about how they can protect themselves from the virus and as a response to this, the VOHUN student network began engagement activities to raise awareness in the local communities.
In March 2020, the One Health Student Club at Hanoi Medical University (HOH) with the support from the Vietnam One Health University Network National Coordinating Office (VOHUN NCO) held an online community meeting on Facebook to provide information about COVID-19 and host a Q&A session on the club’s homepage. With support from the Institute of Preventive Medicine and Public Health (IPMPH) and the VOHUN NCO, the students produced a video clip on guidance for how to prevent exposure to COVID-19. The club also organized a Q&A for audiences to send in their questions related to the COVID-19 virus and COVID-19 outbreak. Answers were provided by the club with support from IPMPH lecturers and Public Health experts and made them available of the homepage. Questions included: How can medical students protect themselves while learning at hospital? Does Chloroquine use treat the COVID-19 virus?
Considering the zoonotic origins of COVID-19, and the complexity of the resources needed to combat the virus, it has become critical to involve various health sectors applying a One Health approach to outbreak response efforts. With support from VOHUN, the One Health Student Clubs using their One Health knowledge have helped to raise awareness around COVID 19 for other students and local people in communities. As result, through those activities, the students shared their passion to other students in different faculties, each of them an ambassador to provide COVID-19 information to others.