REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SINGAPORE – The US government has been supporting ASEAN member states in developing a regional pandemic preparedness and response plan. The pandemic, such as SARS, H5N1 and H1N1, had severe health impacts and it could affect the region again at any time.

“In the event that a pandemic occurs in the ASEAN region, the continuity of essential operations and services will depend on coordinated action from all segments of government, society, and the region at-large,” Deputy of the USAID Pandemic Influenza and Other Emerging Threats Unit, Bureau for Global Health, Washington DC, Dr Andrew Clements, said in the workshop entitled “Protecting ASEAN Member States from Pandemics: A High-Level Multi-Sectoral Consultation” in Singapore.

The US government has worked with ASEAN since 2008 to assess the level of preparedness in ASEAN countries and share best practices in the region. “Pandemic do not recognize national borders,” the United States Ambassador to ASEAN, David Carden, said. 

Pandemic could spread to other regions. In that case, the Director of Cross-Sectoral Cooperation at the ASEAN Secretariat, Larry Maramis, said, should pandemic affected the region, ASEAN had an obligation to ensure that the disease did not spread to other regions. 

ASEAN should have strong regional initiatives and mechanisms to tackle the pandemic. Before requesting assistance from others, the region will rely on the use of regional resources. 

“We have generated a recommended regional framework and a set of the next steps that each of us will be taking back to our respective countries,” the Deputy Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare and Secretary, National Commission for Zoonotic Control and Pandemic Preparedness of Indonesia, Dr Emil Agustiono, said. 

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