Participants of the ASEF Network for Public Health Expert Meeting in Luxembourg
Initiated during the 1st Advisory Group Meeting of the ASEF Network for Public Health in November 2009, the Expert Meeting on Regional Integration and Infectious Diseases was held on 18-20 May 2010 in Luxembourg, at the premises of the Directorate-General for Health and Consumers of the European Commission.
The meeting offered participants a better understanding of EU and ASEAN activities in controlling infectious diseases. It served as an opportunity to exchange experiences and working mechanisms through a platform for discussing priorities and identifying synergies for Asia-Europe cooperation in this field.
While there were underlying differences between the two regions, participants highlighted common challenges and concerns in various areas, such as communication, regulation, harmonisation, vaccine coverage and its effectiveness or equitability. Participants also demonstrated their desire to promote greater bi-regional collaboration on the surveillance and control of infectious diseases.
The proceedings of this meeting will be published as part of the research study on Regional and Cross-regional Integration on Surveillance, Detection and Containment of Emerging Infectious Diseases. This study is initiated by ASEF and implemented by the London School for Hygiene and Tropical Diseases.