Project News

The 1st ASEAN Academic Conference on Disaster Health Management (DHM) was held online on December 1 - 2, 2021, with around 120 participants from 10 ASEAN Member States (AMS), ASEAN Secretariat, AHA Centre, and Japan.

The conference was launched with speeches by Dr. Atchariya Pangma, the Chairman of the Conference, the ARCH Project Director, and Secretary-General of the National Institute for Emergency Medicine, Thailand, and Dr Tatsuro Kai, the Chairperson of the Japan Advisory Committee on the Project for Strengthening the ASEAN Regional Capacity on Disaster Health Management (ARCH Project), and Ms. Rodora Turalde-Babaran, Director of Human Development, ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Department, ASEAN Secretariat.

Dr. Flavio SALIO, Network Lead, Emergency Medical Teams, World Health Organization (WHO) gave the keynote speech on the current status and future prospects of the WHO EMT Initiative and expectations for the ARCH Project.

Active discussions were exchanged in four sessions and panel discussions.

Session1: ARCH, ASEAN regional mechanism, and Global Initiatives for EMT

Discussions were held on the outcomes of the ARCH project, especially its impact and contributions to policies and capacity development on DHM within and outside of ASEAN and globally, as well as issues to be addressed through ASEAN plus Japan in the future.

Session2: Impact of ARCH on national capacities and policies in DHM in AMS and Japan

Experiences were shared on the impact of the ARCH Project in ASEAN member states (AMS), and whether the participation of 5 countries ^[1] including Thailand and Japan in the ARCH Project, especially in hosting the Regional Collaboration Drill (RCD), has resulted in any positive changes in national capacities and policies on DHM.

Session3: Experiences of DHM in actual disasters in AMS and Japan

The experience of 10 AMS countries and Japan on emergency medical response to actual large-scale disasters or public health emergencies that have occurred since the beginning of the ARCH Project implementation in 2016 were shared.

Session4: Academic network of DHM

The vision and strategic direction of the ASEAN Academic Network on DHM, which is being established with the support of the ARCH Project, and the launch of the ASEAN Academic Journal on DHM were discussed referring to the experiences and current status of the Japanese Association of Disaster Medicine (JADM), the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM), and the Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Research Network (Health EDRM RN), as well as other relevant networks in ASEAN.

Panel Discussion:

How can ASEAN realize "One ASEAN One Response in the field of disaster health management (DHM)?

Discussions were held on how the Phase 2 Project for strengthening the ASEAN Regional Capacity on Disaster Health Management (ARCH 2) shall contribute to capacity development of each AMS on DHM, and how to respond to public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Preparatory Meeting for the ASEAN Academic Network on DHM

Prior to the ASEAN Academic Conference on DHM, the Preparatory Meeting for ASEAN Academic Network was held online on November 30, 2021.

In November 2021, the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Health Development (SOMHD) endorsed the Terms of Reference of ASEAN Academic Network on DHM.

The preparatory meeting was held to bring together representatives of AMS in charge of training and education on DHM that are expected to play a central role in capacity development on DHM.

At the meeting, the objectives, functions, operational policy of the network, as well as the roles of each participating institute were discussed.

The establishment of a network of academic institutions along with organizing a regional conference on DHM is one of the regional targets of the Plan of Action to implement the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on DHM (POA/ ALD-DHM).

Following the completion of the ARCH Project at the end of December 2021, the Phase 2 Project for strengthening the ASEAN Regional Capacity on DHM (ARCH 2) will be launched in January 2022 to further support the implementation of the POA/ ALD-DHM.