Step towards Regional Strategic Collaboration in Asia-Pacific on Workforce Development, National Laboratory System Strengthening & Antimicrobial Resistance Prevention to Respond Global Challenges

Background

To address the challenges of new emerging microbes, drug resistance and biosecurity in laboratories, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC), in collaboration with other US government agencies and global partners, has launched the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) on 13 February 2014 to accelerate progress toward a safe world and promote global health security as an international priority.

GHSA aims to elevate political attention and encourage multi-stakeholder participation, coordination and collaboration while leveraging previously existing commitments and multilateral efforts such as the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Performance of Veterinary Services (PVS) pathway of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

In 2014, 11 lines of effort were developed in support of the GHSA – known as Action Packages. The Action Packages are designed to outline tangible, measurable steps required to prevent outbreaks, detect threats in real time, and rapidly respond to infectious disease threats whether naturally occurring, the result of laboratory accidents, or an act of bioterrorism. Total 39 countries have committed to contribute to the Action Packages, and others are encouraged to join as the GHSA moves forward. Thailand is one of the leading countries for “Detect 1: National Laboratory System” and “Detect 5: Workforce Development”, and one of the contributing countries for “Prevent 1: Antimicrobial Resistance”.

The Cabinet Ministries of Thailand has approved the Ministry of Public Health Thailand (MoPH) to host the GHSA Meeting on “Step towards Regional Strategic Collaboration in Asia-Pacific on Workforce Development, National Laboratory System Strengthening & Antimicrobial Resistance Prevention to Respond Global Challenges” on 6-8 May 2015 in Mandarin Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand. Under this approval, the MoPH will coordinate with other relevant ministries and stakeholders, including Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC), US CDC, USAID, WHO and FAO.

This meeting will focus initially in Asia-Pacific Region with stepwise approach to the global health security. It is intended to provide opportunities for leading countries, contributing countries and participating countries to discuss the regional mechanism that can help bridging the gaps of the existing frameworks.

This meeting will lay emphasis on the three Action Packages of “National Laboratory System”, “Workforce Development” and “Antimicrobial Resistance”. The Action Packages on “National Laboratory System” and “Antimicrobial Resistance” will be coordinated by National Institute of Health (NIH), Department of Medical Sciences, MoPH while the Bureau of Epidemiology (BOE), Department of Disease Control, MoPH will be responsible for the “Workforce Development”.

 GHSA and the IHR (2005) are platforms for actions that will complement each other. Mechanisms that measure the progress under these 2 overlapping frameworks will aid in focusing resources and sustaining political momentum for IHR implementation after 2016. Thus, to move forward, a regional collaboration mechanism should be established to unveil direction, facilitate communication and accelerate implementation. The mechanism should also focus on minimize duplications to facilitate effective use of the resources.

Full information please download: Concept paper (pdf 430.45 KB)