July - September 2024
WHO responds to emergencies and outbreaks across the Region: mpox, measles and floods
Over the past three months, the Western Pacific Region has seen several outbreaks and health emergency events — and WHO has responded to these, promptly.
Viet Nam's Ministry of Health, in collaboration with WHO, launched a campaign to provide over a million doses of vaccine against measles across 100 districts in 18 localities at risk of measles outbreaks. WHO has procured an emergency supply of more than one million doses of measles-rubella vaccines, to be used for outbreak response and supplementary immunization activities in the highest-risk areas.
WHO declared the Mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on 14 August 2024. Over 1400 mpox cases have been reported in the Western Pacific Region (as of 30 September 2024). In response, WHO deployed lab supplies to Member States across the Region to strengthen collaborative surveillance and early detection. WHO also facilitated a 'Community of Practice' around mpox with participation of 3,500+ health professionals across 28 countries in the Region. Mpox Community of Practice sessions include: clinical management, laboratory diagnosis, surveillance, contact tracing, outbreak management and community engagement.
Typhoon Yagi impacted several countries in the Western Pacific region including the Philippines, Lao PDR, Viet Nam and China. In response, WHO is working with national and local authorities to ensure healthcare facilities and communities have access to safe drinking and potable water, emergency responses are coordinated, and impacted populations are aware of health-protecting behaviours. WHO provided water, sanitation and hygiene supplies (2,000,000+ water purification tablets and 1,500 portable jerry cans) to affected provinces in Viet Nam. In Lao PDR, WHO supported deployment of water purification teams and equipment and health education teams, as well as water quality testing and clean water storage supplies, in multiple impacted provinces.
WHO and partners across Asia and the Pacific discuss regional priority actions under the Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework (APHSAF)
Over 180 Health Security leaders, implementing partners and donors convened from 23-25 July 2024 to discuss regional priority actions under the Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework (APHSAF) — promoting better health emergency preparedness and response in the Region. APHSAF provides a regional platform for stakeholders working to advance health security to convene, co-create interventions, collaborate, share good practices, leverage common platforms and implement solutions.
During the APHSAF Stakeholders' Meeting, WHO, Member States and partners explored new frontiers in multi-source surveillance. WHO prioritizes a multi-source surveillance approach in which data and insights are gathered and synthesized from diverse sources across human, animal and environmental health. These include vaccine coverage, people movement, border crossings, transportation, economic data and social listening. Multi-source surveillance takes a whole-of-society approach, leveraging the strengths of multiple sectors, surveillance sources and methods, to inform comprehensive decision-making and response.
Pacific experts agree to further strengthen collaboration to protect communities from future outbreaks and pandemics
During a four-day meeting in Fiji, over 50 officials from health and other sectors, WHO experts, and partners discussed the critical role of IHR (2005) during public health emergencies, particularly important for Pacific islands, which, due to their size and location, are vulnerable to outbreaks of infectious diseases and diseases induced by climate change such as dengue or leptospirosis. As a result of the 20-23 August meeting, the participants agreed to strengthen Pacific-wide cooperation through IHR (2005) including with other sectors, continue sharing experience and lessons through regular meetings, and make use of available tools such as Joint External Evaluations (JEE) – an independent expert review of IHR capacities.
Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) in the Philippines and Singapore attain global classification
Singapore’s Emergency Medical Team (SGEMT), joined the ranks of quality-assured EMTs, prepared for self-sufficient and high-quality response to a wide range of health emergencies. This builds on years of work by Singapore's government to support emergency response regionally and globally. The classification followed two days of intense evaluation by a team of expert peer reviewers from EMTs in China and Thailand, along with EMT experts from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Three Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Teams (PEMAT) are now ready for international deployment based on WHO standards following a verification visit from September 16-20, 2024, which assessed their capabilities in clinical management, logistics, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). The WHO Singapore Emergency Medical Team, and Japan Disaster Relief awarded the EMT badge to these three teams, officially recognizing them for international humanitarian deployment.
GOARN leadership training seeks to unleash the potential of women leaders in emergency outbreak response
Although women comprise a significant proportion of the global health and social workforce, they hold only a small fraction of leadership roles. The first Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) Leadership Training for women is designed to bridge this gap by strengthening individual and collective emergency response leadership skills of women in outbreak response. This initiative underscores GOARN’s commitment to fostering gender equity and enhancing the leadership capacity of women in directing public health emergencies and outbreaks.
The training was hosted by the National Critical Care Trauma and Response Centre’s (NCCTRC), a GOARN partner based in Australia through their Public Health Operations in Emergencies for National Strengthening in the Indo-Pacific (PHOENIX) program, from 23 to 27 September 2024. It brought together 24 women leaders from 12 countries across Asia and the Pacific. Participants engaged in interactive discussions, case studies, and networking sessions designed to strengthen their strategic, operational, and decision-making skills in complex emergency settings.
Building skills for emergency management
WHO developed and launched a new training programme to enhance the skills necessary for operating public health emergency operations centres (PHEOCs) in the Western Pacific Region and the Western Balkans. The training was developed as part of an effort by the Global Public Health Emergency Operations Centre Network (EOC-NET) to enhance national emergency workforce coordination capacities.
The EOC-NET training uses simulation exercises – involving a disaster followed by a communicable disease outbreak – to allow participants to work through phases of an emergency response. Through this experiential learning approach, emergency responders were given the opportunity to develop and practise their knowledge and skills in a simulated environment. A total of 37 participants from 11 countries and areas across the Western Pacific and the Western Balkans attended the simulation exercise in Istanbul, Türkiye, from 1 to 3 July 2024.
Enhancing national laboratory capacities through leadership training
During outbreaks, such as the current surge of mpox cases, public health laboratories play a vital role in detection, confirmation, and monitoring of public health events. Recognizing the importance of laboratory workforce in public health, WHO, in partnership with the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH); developed the Global Laboratory Leadership Programme (GLLP), to enhance national laboratory capacities in outbreak response.
The WHO Regional Offices for the South-East Asia and Western Pacific, in collaboration with GLLP partners convened a workshop to provide targeted orientation to countries in preparation for the roll-out of GLLP at country level. The workshop was attended by 39 participants from 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific, from 27-30 August 2024. Participants were from Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Viet Nam.
Cambodia and the Solomon Islands seek to strengthen health security through Joint External Evaluations (JEEs)
Since 2023, Cambodia has faced multiple health-related events, including avian influenza, mpox, dengue, methanol poisoning and annual floods. To strengthen the country’s preparedness and response capabilities, Cambodia undertook a comprehensive assessment of its health security core capacities through the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) process. JEE findings will inform the identification and revision of priority activities in the upcoming iteration of Cambodia's National Action Plan for Health Security.
The Government of Solomon Islands completed its first Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of the national capacities required by the IHR (23-27 September 2024) in partnership with WHO, Australian Aid, and USAID. The Solomon Islands, like other small island developing states, faces challenges and is especially vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis. These recommendations will also help the Solomon Islands to implement regional commitments, including the Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework , to build stronger, more resilient systems in health and other areas.
Country updates
In June 2024, the Kiribati Government, in partnership with WHO, facilitated multisectoral consultations to undertake a review of the country’s existing Food Safety Act and Regulations., to identify areas in need of amendment. Whilst the Act has served as a robust basis for food safety activities, various stakeholders have raised concerns around its interpretation and problematic loopholes. Insights from this consultative, collaborative process will strengthen food safety legislation and enable stronger implementation of regulations.
In August, Tonga Ministry of Health launched the Multi-Hazard Risk Communication and Community Engagement Strategy, which guides governmental officials on how to effectively communicate risks, engage communities, and address false or misleading information before, during, and after health emergencies. The strategy, which is the first of its kind in the Pacific, outlines roles and responsibilities in communication during outbreaks of infectious diseases but also other emergencies such as natural disasters and includes ready-to-use templates to ensure timely and clear communication.
A three-day Strategic Toolkit for Assessing Risks (STAR) workshop in the Philippines, facilitated by WHO, examined risk factors associated with infectious diseases, including pertussis and measles, and better prepare for future outbreaks. Through the STAR toolkit, countries bring together stakeholders from different sectors to identify populations who are most at risk and estimate the potential impact on communities. The Philippines will integrate recommendations from STAR into national and sub-national health security action plans. By involving stakeholders from local, subnational and national levels, STAR enables a ground-up approach to strengthening emergency preparedness.
In a significant move to enhance emergency workforce response capacities, 67 health emergency responders from 10 countries across the Asia Pacific region took part in a training on international outbreak response in Guangzhou, China, in June 2024. The training was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Western Pacific and led by the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). Five GOARN partners jointly delivered the training, including China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC); Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases; the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan; and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Germany. Participants were introduced to the realities of working as part of an international multidisciplinary outbreak response team on a GOARN deployment with WHO – including the challenges and opportunities.
An oxygen plant – a key for supplying life-saving medical oxygen to patients, who suffer from COVID-19, pneumonia or other respiratory diseases – is now operational in Kiritimati, one of the world's largest and most remote atolls in the Pacific region with thanks to funding support from the European Union (EU). As of July, the oxygen plant in Kiritimati can fill up to 24 oxygen cylinders with medical oxygen in 24 hours. This means, that the facility can now support four patients with severe COVID-19 simultaneously, providing much-needed relief to the local healthcare system.
Since early 2023, Cambodia has reported 15 human cases of avian influenza, five of which have been fatal. To combat this worrying trend, WHO and the Ministry of Health have designed proactive short- and medium-term communication strategies. Utilizing the Communication for Health (C4H) approach, these strategies aim to raise awareness of avian influenza risks among citizens and empower them to adopt preventive behaviours.
Epidemic Intelligence from Open Source (EIOS) is a WHO initiative that uses open-source data to identify potential disease outbreaks in real-time. WHO trained national and subnational health surveillance officers from Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam to improve their readiness and response to health emergencies.
Mongolia One Health Joint Plan of Action Workshop
Mongolia's One Health Joint Plan of Action Workshop from 11-13 September 2024 provided an opportunity to reflect on achievements, gaps, and lessons learned through multi-sectoral collaboration on One Health. One Health is an integrated approach aimed at preventing and mitigating health threats at the interface of humans, animals, plants, and the broader environment. Mongolia will leverage insights from the workshop to develop a joint plan of action for implementation.
The Solomon Islands fortifies food safety regulations in partnership with WHO
The Solomon Islands rely heavily on imported food to sustain their population. The country has several laws in place to regulate imported foods, however these are outdated and require to be aligned with WHO’s Regional Framework for Action on Food Safety in the Western Pacific. In partnership with WHO, the Ministry of Health and Medical services worked to develop standard operating procedures related to food imports, focusing on risk-based food inspection actions. Workshops on Procedures for Food Imports in the Solomon Islands saw the participation of around 40 government agencies involved in the food safety system, importers and brokers, customs officers, biosecurity officers and health inspectors.
Western Pacific Surveillance and Response Journal
The Western Pacific Surveillance and Response (WPSAR) journal is pleased to announce the publication of its third issue of 2024, Volume 15 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.
- A case study of the Philippines’ COVID-19 after action review by Elliot Brennan et al.
- Surveillance for respiratory viruses in freshwater bodies visited by migratory birds, the Philippines by Romeo S Gundran et al.
- Harnessing the power of mobile and messaging apps for risk communication and intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons from the Western Pacific by Fernan Talamayan et al.
- Sorcery and witchcraft beliefs on the front line of public health response in Papua New Guinea and beyond by Miranda Forsyth et al.
- Within-household SARS-CoV-2 transmission and vaccine effectiveness in the first three COVID-19 school outbreaks in northern Viet Nam, September–December 2021 by Trang Thu Vu et al.
- Typhoid fever: the challenging diagnosis of a pseudo-outbreak in Benguet, Philippines by Jorah May Guzman et al.
- Large-scale salmonella outbreak associated with banh mi, Viet Nam, 2024 by Tinh Huu Ho et al.
- Tuberculosis in Solomon Islands: why declining case notifications may not reflect true incidence by Dylan M Bush et al.
If you have an idea for an article, please feel free to consult us by emailing wpsar@who.int.
World Health Organization, Western Pacific Regional Office
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