The World Health Organization and partners have presented the first Pandemic Fund multi-country project in the Western Pacific, bringing together twelve countries to strengthen disease surveillance, laboratory capacity and the health emergency workforce.
The participating countries are Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Naoero, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Tonga, Tuvalu and Viet Nam.
The project uses a One Health approach linking human, animal and environmental health, with governments, technical institutions, civil society organizations and development partners contributing to its design.
WHO Regional Director Dr Saia Ma'u Piukala said the programme was built and shaped by the countries it serves, with data building the case and the solidarity to solve shared problems, and will strengthen multisource surveillance, expand laboratory networks and develop a skilled workforce able to respond to outbreaks before they grow into wider crises.
