Public Health

Overview

The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) is an intergovernmental, not-for-profit organisation bringing together the people of Asia and Europe to address common global challenges. It is the only permanent institution of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) political dialogue Process and is publicly funded by voluntary contributions from 53 ASEM Partners.

Public Health is one of ASEF’s seven key thematic areas. Following the 6th ASEM Summit (ASEM6; 2006; Helsinki, Finland), where the leaders expressed their determination to combat avian influenza and a possible human influenza pandemic, the “ASEM Initiative for the Rapid Containment of Pandemic Influenza”, financially supported by the Government of Japan, was launched at the 9th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM FMM9; 2009; Hanoi, Viet Nam). Since then, the two components of the Initiative, ASEM stockpile of anti-viral drugs and personal protective equipment, as well as ASEF Public Health Network (ASEF PHN), have been contributing to strengthening ASEM Partners’ capacity to manage Public Health Emergencies (PHEs).

Under ASEF’s thematic area of Public Health, ASEF PHN engages governments, international organisations and civil society to share best practices and lessons learnt on public health issues with a focus on Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs), including pandemic influenza. We foster capacity-building and knowledge-sharing platforms to strengthen ASEM Partner’s capacity in fighting against pandemics.The outcome of our activities results in policy brief papers and/or publications with recommended solutions for challenges related to our focus areas.

Our Work

ASEF PHN works on the following topics.

• Risk Communication for Public Health Emergencies

  Since 2013, ASEF PHN has been organising workshops, trainings, and high-level meetings on Risk Communication to advance ASEM Partners’ capacities when tackling PHEs.
  Risk Communication is one of the 13 core capacities under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005).

• Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

  “Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat.” (WHO, 2022)

  According to WHO, AMR is one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity.

  ASEF PHN’s work in this area focuses on:

  • Increasing awareness of AMR, especially among non-health sectors
  • Addressing AMR using a health system approach
  • One Health
• Universal Health Coverage (UHC)

  “Universal health coverage means that all people have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship. It includes the full range of essential health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care.” (WHO, 2022)

  ASEF PHN addresses UHC as it is an important element in pandemic preparedness and response.

• Pandemic and the Economy

  ASEF PHN aims to facilitate a much-needed dialogue between the public health and non-health sectors in Asian and European countries on how to best address the health-economy trade off during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. By bringing together governments, public health authorities and non-health sectors’ representatives, ASEF PHN creates a platform for primary stakeholders to exchange policy guidelines and best practices on how to overcome the economic difficulties brought about by the pandemic whilst protecting public health.

ASEF PHN is also actively involved in various international fora on global health security such as WHO’s Bi-regional/Regional Technical Advisory Group on the Asia-Pacific Stategy for Emerging Diseases and Public Health Emergencies (APSED III) Partners’ Forum.

ASEF PHN is a member of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) since June 2021 and a member of UHC2030 since July 2022.