Strategic Partnership for prevention, surveillance and response to Infectious Diseases across the Indo-Pacific region

The Doherty Institute supports communicable diseases prevention, control, and response across the Pacific and Southeast Asia, through diagnosis, surveillance and outbreak investigation, and development of strategies to prevent, treat and eliminate infectious diseases.

The Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Centre for Health Security has established the Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative, to support development of resilient and equitable health systems in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, supporting partner countries to reduce disease risks, burdens and respond effectively to health emergencies.

The Doherty Institute has been awarded a Strategic Partnership under this initiative, the Doherty Institute Strategic Partnership for prevention, surveillance and response to Infectious Diseases across the Indo-Pacific region (Strategic Partnership). The Strategic Partnership will support workforce development, policy development, systems strengthening and partnerships, targeting five priority work areas to improve laboratory diagnosis and surveillance, pathogen genomic surveillance, antimicrobial resistance prevention and response, and use of data for decision making.

The five priority work areas are:

eLABorate: Enhancing laboratory accuracy and biosafety for outbreak response in the Asia-Pacific through education

The Doherty Institute’s public health laboratories will strengthen laboratory capacity and systems for infectious diseases diagnosis, with a focus on molecular and serological testing capabilities. This will be achieved through technical training to expand in-country testing capabilities, quality assurance and management.

COMBAT-AMR: Combating the threat of antimicrobial resistance across the Asia-Pacific

The WHO Collaborating Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance will build on the COMBAT-AMR program funded by DFAT, and continue to address AMR through; infection prevention and control, antimicrobial stewardship, laboratory diagnosis and surveillance using a people centred framework across human and animal health settings, prioritising a One Health approach and fostering regional collaboration.

BRIDGe: Building resilience to infectious diseases globally through genomics

We will support equitable access to and implementation of pathogen genomics through; development of genomic surveillance strategies, building capacity in laboratories and public health stakeholders, improve utilisation and integration of data, and enhanced networking and coordination across the region.

HIT3: Hepatitis B integration into Triple Elimination

We will provide comprehensive technical support focussed on incorporating hepatitis B prevention into programs for the Triple Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B through development, implementation, and evaluation of programs to enhance vaccination, diagnosis, and treatment.

SPARKLE: Supporting preparedness in the Asia-Pacific region through knowledge, learning and engagement

Building on SPARK, SPARKLE will use a participatory approach to develop capacity in the analysis and interpretation of data that informs policy and practice for infectious diseases control. SPARKLE will develop tools and frameworks, including health and economic models, with extension of existing methods to encompass a One Health approach.