On 12 November 2020, the ASEAN Leaders during the 37th Summit under the Chairmanship of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam announced the establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED).
ACPHEED will serve as a centre of excellence and regional hub to strengthen ASEAN’s regional capabilities to prepare for, prevent, detect and respond to public health emergencies and emerging diseases.
The Chairman’s Statement of the 37th ASEAN Summit also emphasised that the ACPHEED will complement the national health sector, national centres for disease control (CDCs), and other regional platforms relevant to ensuring public health and safety.
The proposal to establish the ACPHEED resulted from the Feasibility Study on the Establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases that was supported by the Government of Japan. It was conducted by the implementing agency, McKinsey and Company-Japan, from June to October 2020.
Further support from the Government of Japan amounting to 50 million US dollars will be committed to the operationalisation of ACPHEED in 2021 once a host country among the ASEAN Member States is chosen. Other Dialogue Partners have pledged similar assistance. Australia, for example, announced a commitment of 21 million Australian dollars to support the ACPHEED.
The ACPHEED has undergone numerous consultations among various key experts from Member States; regional and international organisations such as Centres for Disease Prevention and Control; WHO regional offices; academia; and other subject matter experts. The Feasibility Study and its results came from an objective consultative process as shown in this multi-stakeholder structure of the Feasibility Study.
Based on the results and recommendations of the final report of the study, the ASEAN Health Sector through the ASEAN Health Ministers endorsed the establishment of the ACPHEED; noted the final report of the Feasibility Study; the agreed scope of work of the ACPHEED which includes the mission, strategic focus pillars, overarching themes, and priority minimum and intermediate capabilities; and the agreed critical criteria of host country selection. The establishment of the ACPHEED and relevant recommendations have been reported to the ASEAN Leaders as well as Japan’s Leader around the time of the 37th ASEAN Summit and its Related Meetings on 11-15 November 2020.
