The launching of the ASEAN-UK Health Security Partnership Programme (HSP) in Malaysia. — Photo Courtesy of British Embassy to Việt Nam

HCM CITY — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Kingdom on Monday officially launched the ASEAN-UK Health Security Partnership Programme (HSP) as a major new initiative aimed at strengthening Southeast Asia’s ability to prevent, detect, and respond to health threats. 

The UK-funded HSP programme, which will last five years, will provide grant funding for projects in the ASEAN region that can improve health systems, enhance access to healthcare and strengthen ASEAN capacity to respond to new threats, like the health impacts of climate change. 

HSP will also establish expert partnerships among institutions in ASEAN and other parts of the world, including the UK, enabling the exchange of knowledge and joint development of innovative solutions. A third component will work with the Quadripartite, which is made up of the World Health Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), to support the ASEAN One Health Joint Plan of Action, helping to tackle threats such as antimicrobial resistance that require a co-ordinated ‘One Health’ approach across human, animal, environmental and plant health.

Dr Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, welcomed the partnership: “The ASEAN-UK Health Security Partnership Programme is a timely initiative that complements ASEAN’s collective efforts in strengthening pandemic preparedness and building resilient healthcare systems. We value the UK’s commitment to meaningful and lasting cooperation with ASEAN.”

By focusing on issues such as pandemic preparedness, and emerging disease and health system resilience, the ASEAN-UK HSP programme will mobilise British and ASEAN expertise to tackle shared challenges and respond to the needs of ASEAN countries. This launch marks a key milestone under the ASEAN-UK Plan of Action (2022–2026), reinforcing the UK’s role as an ASEAN Dialogue Partner and its continued support for ASEAN’s priorities under the health co-operation pillar. 

UK Ambassador to ASEAN, Sarah Tiffin, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic showed us that no country is immune to global health threats. Through this programme, the UK is proud to work hand-in-hand with ASEAN to build long-term resilience and ensure a healthier, safer future for communities in the region and around the world.” 

HSP will improve capacity for the prevention, detection, and response to health threats in ASEAN and its 10 Member States plus Timor-Leste, contributing to improved regional and global health security. 

HSP aims to reduce the health, social and economic impacts of health emergencies in ASEAN and strengthen global health security. 

The programme has three intended outcomes including strengthened preparedness and response to health emergencies; improved health system resilience and equitable access to care; and a better understanding and improved action to address the health impacts of climate change. 

The programme will be providing grant funding to organisations in the ASEAN region, including ASEAN institutions, to support ASEAN’s regional health priorities. Opportunities for organisations to bid for grant funding will be announced later this year. 

It will provide a mechanism to support structured knowledge exchange, dissemination of best practices, technology transfer, cross-border collaboration, and One Health collaboration between organisations in ASEAN, the UK and elsewhere in the world, particularly the global south. 

In addition, the Quadripartite will provide technical support for the implementation of the ASEAN One Health Joint Plan of Action. This aims to enhance the health of humans, animals, plants, and the environment through cross-sectoral co-ordination and collaboration between the relevant sectors. — VNS