Detailed Design and Preparation Support for the “ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases”

ASEAN has synergised and scaled up its cooperation in responding to the recent Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and future public health emergencies. There are 11 new health initiatives, including the establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED) as the first organisational instrument to manage and coordinate resources of health response¹.

The Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) supported the implementation of A Feasibility Study on the Establishment of “ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases” in November 2020. The project produced a feasibility report which was subsequently submitted to the ASEAN Health Sector and circulated to the ASEAN Member States through the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Health Development (SOMHD). The report includes recommendations on the financial, technical and organisational feasibilities of the ACPHEED as well as the enabling and required criteria for host country selection. The new JAIF project Detailed Design and Preparation Support for the “ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases” was launched as a direct response to the outcome of the feasibility study.