DTRA-Laos partnership
VIENTIANE, Lao PDR – Dr. Robert Pope, Director, Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), met with government representatives in the Lao PDR, May 2-3, 2019. Dr. Pope’s engagements included meetings with members of the World Health Organization, where they discussed U.S. – Lao partnerships in health security.
“It is critically important,” said Pope, “that we work together to design an enduring solution to improve biosecurity and detect dangerous disease outbreaks in the Lao PDR before they become global pandemics.”
U.S. Ambassador to Laos, Rena Bitter, joined Dr. Pope on visits to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry where they met with senior officials to review partner efforts to strengthen training for both human and animal health surveillance to better protect both the Lao agricultural economy and the human population. Dr. Pope also met with officials from the Ministry of National Defense to discuss ways to grow capacity in military health security.
During the trip, Pope and the U.S. delegation also visited labs and medical research facilities to see how U.S.-Government funded training programs have strengthened Lao’s capacity to combat the infectious disease threat.
“The United States is a great partner for Laos as health experts from both countries work together on long term sustainable health security,” said U.S. Ambassador to the Lao PDR Rena Bitter. “Dr. Pope and his team’s visit, including their partnerships with both civilian and military health officials in Laos, shows our respect for Lao sovereignty by helping the country achieve its health security goals.”
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Mission
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency enables DoD, the U.S. Government, and international partners to counter and deter weapons of mass destruction and improvised threats networks.