Vietnam was one of the first countries in the world hit by highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) H5N1 outbreaks in 2003 and also reported the world’s first AI human case in that same year. Since then, Vietnam has experienced more than 3,000 animal outbreaks across the country and has had 124 human cases, half of which have been fatalities. While Vietnam is widely considered to be a model in terms of its response to AI, globally it currently ranks third behind Indonesia and Egypt in terms of human cases and deaths