CEBU, Philippines, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government will contribute up to 5 million Australian dollars to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to deal with the emerging infections that threaten the region, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer said Friday.
The Australian funding, to be announced at the coming second East Asian Summit in Cebu, Philippines, will be provided through AusAID and will help ASEAN countries enhance regional preparedness for and capacity to cope with emerging infectious diseases such as avian influenza, Downer said in a press release extended here Friday.
Activities will include workshops on strengthening regional and national laboratories, reviews of internet based surveillance networks, training of response team trainers and development of a ministerial agreement on deploying multinational response teams.
A new program management team will be established within the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN Expert Group on Communicable Diseases will provide strategic direction, Downer said.
The ASEAN Plus Three Emerging Infectious Diseases Program integrates surveillance, early recognition of outbreaks, diagnostic capability and timely response to emerging infectious diseases, and will respond to the regional priorities of ASEAN member countries.
The program is a joint initiative of the Australia aid agency, AusAID; the ASEAN Secretariat; and ASEAN Plus Three member countries, namely China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. It will also involve the World Heath Organization and animal health stakeholders.
ASEAN Plus Three health ministers endorsed the concept at their meeting in June 2006, recognizing the importance of scaling up individual and collective responses to tackle health emergency challenges in the region.
