The Thai government, as the lead country in promoting disaster medical care in the ASEAN region, aims to strengthen the disaster medical care system in Thailand and to enhance the disaster response capability in the region by strengthening cooperation among ASEAN members. However, there are significant gaps in the understanding of disaster medical care, implementation capabilities, and support systems among ASEAN member countries, and it is necessary to promote the establishment of regional-level cooperation and mechanisms. Under these circumstances, at the request of the Thai government, the Japanese government has initiated cooperation to strengthen cooperation in disaster medicine in the ASEAN region through the “ASEAN Disaster Medical Cooperation Enhancement Project” (ARCH). The “ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Disaster Medicine” (ALD), adopted at the 31st ASEAN Summit in 2017, includes ARCH’s regional collaboration efforts on disaster medicine, and ARCH supported the development of a draft Plan of Action (POA) for the realization of the ALD. It was necessary to consolidate the activities initiated in ARCH, improve regional coordination tools and new common rules, and develop disaster medical personnel in each country.
This cooperation will support the smooth implementation of the Action Plan to Implement the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Disaster Health and Medical Management (ALD) in the ASEAN region and Thailand, a leader in the field of disaster medicine in the region, thereby strengthening the capacity for disaster health and medical management in the ASEAN region. and contribute to the establishment of a disaster resilient healthcare system in the ASEAN region.
© Source JICA