Vietnamese delegation visits ATAGI

Official visit of the senior Vietnamese health and NITAG delegation to Australia: strengthening collaboration on immunisation policy and research

NCIRS was proud to host a high-level delegation of senior health officials from Vietnam last month, as part of a five-day study visit to Sydney and Canberra. 

The visit of the delegation – which included representatives of Vietnam’s Administration of Disease Prevention and Advisory Committee on Vaccine Use – marked a significant milestone in the ongoing, NCIRS-led ‘Multi-country Technical Assistance to Middle-Income Countries in the Asia Pacific Region’ program. 

That ongoing initiative – which is focused on strengthening institutional capacity, fostering research collaboration and enhancing evidence-based decision-making relating to immunisation in Vietnam – has informed multiple research activities, technical workshops, regional and global networking, and scoping and study visits to date.

The NITAG strengthening project is being conducted in partnership with the Sydney Vietnam Institute (University of Sydney) and with funding from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Australian Government. 

The aims of this official visit were to exchange knowledge and identify opportunities for collaboration between Vietnamese and Australian immunisation experts, policymakers and researchers. 

Delegates undertook a diverse five-day agenda, exploring how technical and administrative NITAG functions operate in Australia and sharing Vietnam’s current immunisation-related priorities and progress.
 

Day 1: Welcome to NCIRS; visit to UNSW RNA Institute

The visit began with a warm welcome to NCIRS’ headquarters at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, where delegates met with NCIRS Associate Directors to exchange information on Australia and Vietnam’s immunisation programs and discuss NCIRS’ role as the technical secretariat for Australia’s NITAG, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

Later in the day, the delegation visited the UNSW RNA Institute, where they toured cutting-edge research facilities and learned about innovative science that is supporting future vaccine development and delivery, before attending an Investment NSW networking event at Parliament House.
 

Day 2: NSW Ministry of Health, University of Sydney

The next day, delegates visited the Ministry of Health to gain insights into the role of the state in delivering immunisation programs within Australia’s federated health system and how federal and state policies work in concert to achieve high vaccination coverage rates in the country.

Later, the group visited the University of Sydney to meet with leading researchers in immunisation policy and public health, strengthening academic connections and exploring potential future research collaborations.
 

Day 3: Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

In Canberra, the delegation met with senior officials from the Australian Department of Health, Disability and Ageing – including Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Michael Kidd – for a roundtable discussion that emphasised the intersection of national policy, regulation and implementation. 

Conversations centred on Australia and Vietnam’s respective immunisation programs and disease surveillance systems, as well as the Australian Immunisation Register and vaccine safety monitoring.
 

Days 4 and 5: Observing ATAGI meeting

The last two days of the visit were dedicated to observing a full official meeting of ATAGI. Delegates observed ATAGI’s operational processes and saw how vaccine evidence is reviewed and recommendations are formulated in Australia. These insights are directly aligned with their objective to strengthen Vietnam’s NITAG processes using the Evidence-to-Recommendation (EtR) framework.
 

Looking ahead

This visit builds on almost two years of technical and operational strengthening activities and reinforces Australia and Vietnam’s shared commitment to improving immunisation outcomes across the region. 

The partnership is building enduring links between Australian and Vietnamese institutions and enabling the sharing of technical expertise and collaboration to ensure robust, evidence-based immunisation policymaking.

As the project moves ahead, lessons from this visit will play an important role in helping shape operational reforms and research priorities in Vietnam, with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes through strengthened immunisation systems.