July - September 2025

Cambodia–Thailand border conflict: WHO responds to the urgent health needs of displaced communities in Cambodia

Armed clashes in July 2025 along the Cambodia–Thailand border displaced over 170,000 people and triggered a huge influx of Cambodian migrants from Thailand, with over 860,000 coming back to the country.

WHO worked closely with the Ministry of Health, UN agencies, and humanitarian partners to respond to the urgent health needs of communities and provide technical support on response and recovery:

Assessed health needs of the displaced populations and health response capacities in three affected provinces: Siem Reap, Preah Vihear, and Oddar Meanchey.
Donated emergency supplies (valued at USD 330,000)—emergency health kits, trauma and emergency surgery kits, dengue rapid diagnostic kits, jerrycans, and water purification tablets—to the Ministry of Health.
Provided routine immunization—including COVID-19 and measles-rubella vaccines—at temporary shelters in Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey provinces, to help protect displaced children.
Built the capacity of lay counsellors and health professionals to provide psychological first aid and psychosocial support to civilians, frontline workers, and displaced persons.
Coordinated with partners under the Humanitarian Response Forum to maintain critical health services and address gaps in affected areas.

Measles in Viet Nam: Breaking the cycle for good

Viet Nam was grappling with a large number of measles cases when Australian global public health expert Dr Ann Burton and medical epidemiologist Dr Madeleine Marsland were deployed by the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). Working with the Ministry of Health and other partners, and drawing on global and Regional evidence, the two experts made recommendations to strengthen routine immunization coverage, surveillance systems, and outbreak response for measles and rubella.

“Viet Nam’s response to drops in routine childhood vaccination over the last two years has been incredibly impressive. Building on this success, WHO has been delighted to support the deployment of two experts through GOARN, with thanks to the Government of Australia, to help plan how to achieve measles elimination, for a safer and healthier future.” — Dr Angela Pratt, WHO Representative in Viet Nam

Samoa mobilizes dengue outbreak response with support from WHO and partners

In response to a dengue outbreak, Samoa's Ministry of Health teamed up with WHO, and partners, to roll out a coordinated response to contain the spread, support communities, and strengthen public health efforts. With technical support from WHO, Samoa has been strengthening its public health response to dengue, including testing, clinical care, and risk communication and community engagement.

Additionally, the Government of New Zealand and the Government of Australia deployed Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) to further bolster clinical capacity.

“Responding to an outbreak like this is never easy, and the challenges have been real. WHO is committed to standing alongside the Ministry of Health not just during this particular outbreak, but in building long-term resilience against future health threats.” — Dr Wendy Snowdon, WHO Representative to Samoa, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau. “

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) stands better prepared to face future emergencies after WHO-led risk profiling and emergency surge workforce exercise

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), in collaboration with WHO, hosted a five-day national workshop aimed at strengthening the country’s preparedness for health emergencies. Over 25 participants—representing multi-sectoral agencies—worked to identify hazards facing the country, prioritize actions to mitigate risks and strengthen emergency workforce capacities.

“In FSM, our communities are spread across many islands, which can make emergency coordination challenging. That’s why bringing together voices from across sectors is so important. This workshop helped us connect, plan together, and build a stronger foundation for responding to future emergencies as one.” — Marcus Samo, Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Affairs.

This work was made possible through contributions from the Gates Foundation and the Institute of Philanthropy.

Elevating emergency readiness: The Republic of the Marshall Islands’ One Health approach

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is enhancing its national emergency response and preparedness by applying the One Health approach, setting a precedent for other North Pacific islands. In September 2025, RMI collaborated with WHO to strengthen the country's capabilities in food safety and zoonotic disease preparedness, two significant action tracks under the One Health Joint Plan of Action.

RMI's unique geography and increasing vulnerability to climate change have intensified health risks, leading to a rise in foodborne illnesses, zoonotic spillovers, and respiratory epidemics. To tackle these multifaceted health security challenges, the WHO-led workshop united participants from diverse fields, including food safety, forestry, customs, agriculture and animal health, and natural resources.

As a result of these efforts, RIM developed a joint Preparedness and Response Framework for Zoonotic Diseases and became one of the first Northern Pacific nations to adopt the Global Strategy for Food Safety 2022–2030. The WHO-led workshop yielded additional concrete outcomes, including a multisectoral roadmap to enhance the capacities of national food safety systems.

Mongolia achieves a national health security milestone: a robust public health emergency operations center

Mongolia’s robust public health emergency operations center (PHEOC) represents a significant health security milestone for the country. Operational PHEOCs are the cornerstone for rapid, coordinated, and evidence-based emergency response that save lives and protect communities.

Since the inauguration of Mongolia’s Ministry of Health PHEOC in February 2025, with the technical guidance from WHO and support through the Pandemic Fund, Mongolia has demonstrated impressive leadership in advancing its public health emergency preparedness capacity. From 29 September to 4 October 2025, Mongolia progressed towards the third phase of strengthening its national PHEOC, which focuses on testing standard operating procedures and further strengthening coordination between national and subnational administrative levels.

“This mission is a critical step forward in strengthening the health security infrastructure of Mongolia. By reviewing our Public Health Emergency Operations Center protocols, assessing our training needs, and integrating new technology, we are systematically building a more resilient and responsive system." — Dr. Socorro Escalante, representative from WHO Country Office to Mongolia.

Preparing Lao PDR’s Emergency Medical Team

In times of crisis, Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) play a critical role providing life-saving medical care. Recognizing their importance, WHO Lao PDR and the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office have been actively working to strengthen the Lao Emergency Medical Team, equipping healthcare workers with the necessary skills and equipment to respond to emergency events. To date, more than 60 national and provincial health officials have been trained in Vientiane Capital, Savannakhet, Khammouan, Bokeo, Oudomxay, Luang Namtha and Phongsali provinces.

"EMT offers a critical surge capacity during disaster response. Our role is to initiate and enhance EMT capabilities at both central and provincial levels to ensure prompt and effective responses to domestic disasters.” — Dr. Sommana Rattana, Deputy Director of the Ministry’s Department of Healthcare and Rehabilitation (DHR).

Global partnerships boost Indonesia's Muhammadiyah Emergency Medical Team readiness for WHO classification

In July 2025, Indonesia's Muhammadiyah Emergency Medical Team (EMT) hosted a full-scale field simulation in Yogyakarta in the lead up to its WHO classification – the international benchmark for quality, accountability and self-sufficiency in emergency medical response. Over three days, more than 30 Muhammadiyah volunteers conducted rapid deployment drills, setting up a Type 1 Fixed EMT field hospital and responding to simulated mass casualty incidents and trauma scenarios – including cases with combined medical and mental health needs – while also delivering real health services to the local community in Kulon Progo.

This activity was supported by WHO, Germany’s Global Health Protection Programme, the Robert Koch Institute and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with technical guidance from International Search and Rescue Germany and the Australian Medical Assistance Team/Australian National Critical Care & Trauma Response Centre.

Strengthening Vanuatu's health resilience with better data collection

As one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, Vanuatu is highly vulnerable to disease outbreaks, which can quickly overwhelm its health-care system. In response, the Ministry of Health has been enhancing its public health capabilities through digital innovation.

A key part of this strategy is Go.Data —a digital tool that supports case investigation and contact tracing through real-time data entry—is a critical platform in the Vanuatu's surveillance toolkit. Before Go.Data, disease surveillance in Vanuatu was a more fragmented and labour-intensive process.

"By working with the Ministry of Health and our global partners, we’re not just addressing today’s health challenges, we’re building a resilient, innovative future for Vanuatu. This collaboration ensures that Vanuatu’s health system is ready to face whatever comes next, with the strength and support of a united global community." — Dr Revite Kirition, Liaison Officer, WHO Country office, Vanuatu.

Harnessing global standards to make food safer in the Solomon Islands

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS), through its Food Safety Unit, in partnership with Honiara City Council and Guadalcanal Province, successfully conducted a two-day Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) Training Program for hotel and restaurant personnel in Honiara.

Held from 23-24 September, and attended by over 60 individuals, the training will build the capacity of hotel and restaurant managers, chefs, supervisors, food handlers, environmental health and food inspection officers to implement HACCP — an internationally recognized food safety system that prevents foodborne illnesses and strengthens preparedness for significant events and public health emergencies.

Bridging the gap in genomic equity: WHO and partners collaborate to advance genomic capabilities and access across the Western Pacific Region

Despite the crucial role that genomic surveillance plays in protecting public health, the COVID-19 pandemic brought to light the pervasive inequity that persists in access to innovative tools such as genomic sequencing.

From April to September 2025 − with funding from the German Government and in partnership with the International Pathogen Surveillance Network and the Centre for Pathogen Genomics (CPG) in Australia − WHO trained and mentored 25 public health laboratory representatives from Cambodia, Fiji, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Viet Nam in genomic sequencing for high-threat pathogens. Targeting the ongoing global mpox outbreak, the programme focused on teaching participants about laboratory procedures for mpox as a high-threat pathogen, innovative tools and approaches, and data-driven public health actions.

“Papua New Guinea is vulnerable to many diseases that require genomic sequencing for identification. However, at present, there is no in-country sequencing capacity, which leaves us dependent on external laboratories. Through the WHO−CPG-led training programme, we are now on our way to establishing sequencing capacity.” — Janlyn Kemoi-Kumbu, a laboratory manager at Papua New Guinea’s central public health laboratory at the National Department of Health.

Strengthening risk assessment and risk communication in the Asia Pacific region

Countries face increasing threats from infectious diseases, climate-related disasters, and cross-border public health events. To effectively address these challenges, WHO led a training in risk assessment and risk communication methodologies and related tools designed to facilitate quick actions during emergencies.

The Risk Assessment and Risk Communication Training of Trainers introduced 22 representatives from across ASEAN to the Behavioural Research and Intelligence for Directed Guidance in Emergencies (BRIDGE) approach that WHO has promoted across the Western Pacific. BRIDGE provides open-source, adaptable behavioral science data-collection tools, ensuring rapid, high-quality insights.

Led by WHO, the workshop took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia under the ASEAN Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Network initiative, with funding support from Global Affairs Canada and guidance from the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UK-HSA). WHO’s initiative to strengthen emergency workforce capacities in the Western Pacific region through BRIDGE is supported by the Gates Foundation and Institute of Philanthropy.

One Region, One Health: A joint Quadripartite approach to complex health challenges in the Western Pacific

The close links between humans, animals and the environment demand ever greater collaboration, communication and coordination among all relevant sectors. The One Health approach enables experts across disciplines to harness collective action, build synergies and collaboratively tackle complex health challenges.

The One Health Quadripartite – comprising the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) – exemplifies the One Health approach. Members of the Quadripartite work cohesively to support One Health-related activities, coordinate inter-agency engagement and promote partnerships that address common challenges.

On 12 August 2025, WHO and other Quadripartite members convened more than 140 representatives from across the Western Pacific Region to advance priority actions under One Health, reiterate the role of the Quadripartite and facilitate cross-learning. Country examples shared during the Member State briefing showcased the contribution of the One Health Quadripartite and the key role it plays in advancing related priorities in the Western Pacific Region.

Connected to protect: strengthening emergency health workforce through a strong community of practice

In times of health emergencies, every second matters. Rapid access to accurate information and effective tools for those on the front lines can be the difference between swift containment and an escalating crisis. In the Asia Pacific region, the Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework (APHSAF) Community of Practice is proving just how vital a professional network can be in accelerating response and strengthening coordination.

Within the past year, over 7000 participants from more than 45 countries and areas in the Asia Pacific region have engaged in activities organized by the APHSAF Community of Practice. These include sharing knowledge through the joint platform, learning from one another and building the collective capacity to respond smarter and faster to health emergencies.

This work was made possible through contributions from the Gates Foundation and the Institute of Philanthropy.

Western Pacific Surveillance and Response Journal

The Editorial Team of Western Pacific Surveillance and Response (WPSAR) is pleased to announce the publication of latest issue of 2025, Volume 16 Issue 3.

WPSAR is an open access, peer-reviewed journal housed in WPRO/WHE that serves as an information-sharing platform, publishing articles on health security activities for public health emergencies and events in the Region. Our contributors include WPRO and CO staff and consultants, as well as MOH/DOH staff, health-care practitioners and field epidemiologists from across the Region.

If you have an idea for an article, please feel free to consult us by emailing wpsar@who.int.

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