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MEKONG BASIN DISEASE
SURVEILLANCE NETWORK SIGNS NEW MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT AT THE WORLD HEALTH
ASSEMBLY: 28/5/2007 (MaximsNews.com,
U.N.) |
UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com@
U.N./
- 28
May 2007 –
A new memorandum of
understanding (MOU) for the Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance Network (MBDS) was
signed in May at the Palais de Nation in Geneva. The original MOU among the six
participating countries was signed in 2001.
Health
ministers from the network’s six partner countries-- the Kingdom of Cambodia,
the People’s Republic of China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Union
of Myanmar, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and the Kingdom of Thailand--
gathered at Palais de Nation, in Geneva, Switzerland, for the signing.
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Officials from the World
Health Organization and The Rockefeller
Foundation Foundation were also on hand to witness the ceremony.
The MBDS was established in
1999 with support from the World Health Organization, the Rockefeller
Foundation, and other partners, to encourage sharing of information and
biological materials on disease outbreaks and to develop the capacity to
respond effectively.
MBDS member countries share
land borders crossed daily by tens of thousands of people and animals,
making the control of communicable disease a major logistical challenge.
The activities of the MBDS
include regular, cross-border information exchange; training of health
workers in epidemiology and disease surveillance and response; and joint
outbreak investigation and response.
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The MBDS provides a neutral
mechanism for information-exchange and cooperation among six countries with
different political structures.
In March 2007, with support
from the Nuclear Threat Initiative’s Global and Health Security Initiative,
the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Rockefeller
Foundation, the MBDS organized a table-top exercise to test the preparedness of
the region.
Using techniques similar to
those in modern war-gaming, the exercise participants from MBDS member countries
responded to a plausible scenario involving a flu virus that threatens to spread
into a pandemic.
The successful exercise helped
to foster cooperation among members as well as identify gaps and weaknesses in
systems for detecting, monitoring, tracking and containing the deadly disease.
The new MOU for the MBDS calls
for the establishment of a coordination office for the Network in Thailand. In
addition, the MOU notes that the priority diseases for the MBDS include
dengue fever, malaria, SARS, and HIV/AIDS, as well as other emerging infectious
diseases, such as H5N1 influenza.
In June, several
representatives of the MBDS will travel to the Pacific Health Summit in Seattle
to present their work and future plans.
"The trust and friendship
that has been built from several years of close cooperation among the
epidemiologists and outbreak investigators from the six MBDS countries has
greatly increased the capacity and efficiency for cross-border disease control
in the region," said Dr. Suwit Wibulpolprasert, Executive Board Chair of
the MDBS.
"This network is an
excellent example of effective implementation of the International Health
Regulations, with rapid formal and informal reporting of diseases of public
health emergencies across borders. I am thrilled at the re-commitment of the
MBDS leaders to protect the health of populations throughout the Mekong Basin
region, and throughout the region and the world," said Wibulpolprasert.
"The MBDS has already
demonstrated plausible approaches to multi-country and cross-border
collaboration in disease reporting and outbreak response," said Judith
Rodin, President of the Rockefeller
Foundation.
"The Network proved to be
crucial in the response to SARS in 2003, and to catalyzing pandemic preparedness
for future outbreaks in the region. The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to
support the work of the MDBS, which can serve as a model for building the
capacity of pandemic preparedness in other vulnerable regions around the
globe," she said.
The
Rockefeller Foundation was established in 1913 by John D. Rockefeller, Sr.,
to "promote the well-being" of humanity by addressing the root causes
of serious problems.
The Foundation
works around the world to expand opportunities for poor or vulnerable people and
to help ensure that globalization’s benefits are more widely shared. With
assets of more than $3.5 billion, it is one of the few institutions to conduct
such work both within the United States and internationally.
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