The 6th Joint Project Working Group Meeting Convened, 25-28 August 2025 in Bangkok!

From 25 to 28 August 2025, the 6th Joint Project Working Group (PWG) Meeting was held in Bangkok, Thailand. This joint meeting brought together representatives from ASEAN member states (AMSs) of both PWG 1, which promotes regional coordination, and PWG 2, which leads knowledge management-related activities, on Disaster Health Management (DHM). As this meeting marked the final in-person gathering of the ARCH Project, a special program was also conducted to evaluate the achievements accomplished over the project’s ten-year implementation period.

The first day was convened as a PWG 1 meeting, during which updates were provided by key ASEAN-organization, including the ASEAN Secretariat, the RCCDHM Secretariat, and the AHA Centre. In addition, progress was reported on activities proposed under the ARCH Project, such as the implementation plan for the Peer Review programme and the Knowledge Co-creation Programme (KCCP) in Japan. Furthermore, in preparation for the conclusion of the project at the end of March of 2026, upcoming activities to be carried out during the remaining ARCH Project period were shared with the AMSs.

On the second day, an experience-sharing session on DHM was organized. The session was divided into three thematic areas: (1) Myanmar Earthquake response, (2) Typhoon Yagi response, and (3) Development and capacity building of EMTs and EMTCC. Relevant countries delivered presentations under each theme.
In particular, the response to the Myanmar Earthquake, which occurred in March 2025, provided an opportunity to apply the mechanisms that had been repeatedly reinforced through ARCH Project activities such as the Regional Collaboration Drills. These included the reception and deployment of international emergency medical teams (EMTs), the establishment and operation of the EMT Coordination Cell (EMTCC) in the affected country, and coordinated field activities made possible through the relationships and trust built through the ARCH Project.

On the third day, key achievements in DHM in each ASEAN country over the ten years since the launch of the ARCH Project were presented. In addition, the participants reviewed three thematic areas : (1) the regional collaboration framework, (2) national capacity development, and (3) Academic and Research activities, along with discussions on challenges and lessons learned for the next phase.

The final day was held as the PWG2 meeting, focusing on reports and discussions related to knowledge management including the ASEAN academic activities and training development, mainly centered on the ASEAN Institute for Disaster Health Management (AIDHM). With regard to ASEAN academic activities, in addition to the implementation of major initiatives—such as the expansion of the ASEAN academic network, the regular publication of the ASEAN Journal of Disaster Health Management, and the organization of the 3rd ASEAN Academic Conference on Disaster Health Management—progress on preliminary research related to the ASEAN research activities, the development of regional training courses and regional training center establishment were also discussed among the PWG members.