ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group on Public Health Emergencies holds its Inaugural Meeting
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs and Temporary Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) Leader of the Philippines Junever M. Mahilum-West delivers the Philippine statement during the video conference to share the nation’s experience in addressing the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on 31 March 2020. (DFA photo)
MANILA 01 April 2020 – ASEAN Member States held the inaugural meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group on Public Health Emergencies (ACCWG-PHE) via video conferencing on 31 March 2020 to exchange ideas on measures to further manage the public health and socio-economic impacts of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the region.
The Working Group is composed of senior officials from all three ASEAN Community Pillars, with the mission to facilitate coordination and collaboration among relevant ASEAN sectors as the region responds to public health emergencies.
ASEAN Member States exchanged ideas on measures to prevent, contain, and manage the disease and their national efforts to “flatten the curve” of COVID-19 cases. Existing and proposed measures centered on quarantines, tightening border controls, safety nets especially for the most vulnerable, capacity building and training, and the next steps in a post-COVID-19 scenario. A tabletop exercise in June 2020 is being planned in collaboration with the ASEAN Center of Military Medicine in Bangkok.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs and Temporary Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) Leader of the Philippines Junever M. Mahilum-West conveyed the Philippines’ views on bolstering ASEAN’s response to COVID-19 and its overall preparedness for future pandemics. She also shared Philippine efforts to manage the disease.
The Philippine delegation to the video conference included Philippine Permanent Representative to ASEAN Ambassador Noel Servigon, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Lorraine T. Badoy as the Philippine Senior Officials’ Meeting Responsible for Information (SOMRI) Leader; Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Assistant Secretary Allan B. Gepty as the Philippine Senior Economic Officials’ Meeting (SEOM) Leader; Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Secretary Noel M. Macalalad as the Philippine Senior Officials’ Committee for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (SOCA) Leader; and Department of Health (DOH) Dr. Anjo Benedict R. Fabellon as the Philippine Focal Point for the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting on Health Development (SOMHD).
ASEAN Member States are expected to consider the various recommendations put forward during the meeting. END