The Cascading Disaster of COVID-19 Renewed Calls for a More Robust Regional Coordination System
Critical to effort in developing ASEAN Public Health Emergency Coordination System (APHECS) is ensuring alignment with several new and ongoing initiatives of the ASEAN Health sector and its partners to fortify regional preparedness and response capacity. The design of APHECS will seek to complement the planned ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED), which is being supported by Japan, through Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF). The establishment of ACPHEED was announced by the ASEAN Leaders during the 37th Summit under Viet Nam’s Chairmanship on 12 November 2020. According to Mr. Dhannan Sunoto, former Director of the ASEAN Secretariat Cross-Sectoral Cooperation Department, helping to lead this USAID effort, discussions with representatives of the Japan-supported initiative were initiated last year and will continue. “When working with multiple partners, there is a risk of duplication or even contradiction across initiatives,” Mr. Sunoto explained. “At the same time, there is greater opportunity to achieve synergies and tap into a broader set of expertise, ideas, and resources.” He added, “Resources are a challenge for everyone these days; it is imperative we work smarter by working together and realising efficiencies.”
