Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases and Public Health Emergencies (APSED III): Advancing Implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005)

For the past decade, the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases (APSED) has provided a common framework for action in the Asia Pacific region for strengthening the core capacities required under IHR (2005). Results from the evaluation of APSED implementation conducted in 2015 confirmed that Member States viewed APSED as an important and relevant strategy for implementing IHR (2005). As a result, in 2005, the Technical Advisory Group on the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases (APSED TAG) recommended that WHO develop a new strategy for the Asia Pacific region. This new strategic framework, the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases and Public Health Emergencies (APSED III), reflects the all-hazards approach adopted by the Asia Pacific region and incorporates the lessons learnt from actual events. Extensive consultations with Member States, technical experts and partners reiterated the relevance of APSED as the common framework for action for working towards IHR (2005) core capacities and building national capacity to prevent, detect, respond to and mitigate health security threats.

The direction and structure of APSED III builds on APSED (2010), and also reflects the findings and recommendations of the 10-year APSED evaluation conducted in 2015. The upgraded APSED III aims to further enhance the core public health systems and regional collaboration and connectedness, as a priority for effective management of public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) and response through adoption of incident management systems for all hazards.

The vision for APSED III is an Asia Pacific region able to prevent, detect and respond to public health emergencies through collective responsibility for public health security. The goal is to strengthen PHEP and response capacity by improving core public health systems, increasing regional connectivity and coordination, and investing in ongoing performance improvement. APSED III aims to provide a strategic approach to guide collective efforts of all Member States, WHO and partners in implementing the obligations of IHR (2005) to attain core capacities and to further enhance gains made, and to ensure financial sustainability through actions that promote and protect the health of the people in the Asia Pacific region.