APEIR Steering Committee Meeting, 28- 29 July 2017

Details: Category: Apeir Events; Published: Monday, 16 October 2017 23:37

APEIR Secretariat held APEIR Steering Committee Meeting on 28 – 29 July 2017 at the Century Park Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. The meeting title is Strengthening APEIR’s Role in the ASEAN and China Emerging Infectious Disease Research. The main objectives of the meeting were to incorporate APEIR’s research dissemination panel, conduct discussion among the APEIR country members and the ASEAN Secretariat, and APEIR’s internal business meeting.

Figure 1. Amin Soebandrio, chair of steering committee board

Participants to the meeting were the APEIR steering committee members, representatives of three APEIR regional research groups, Ministry of Health Republic of Indonesia, Ministry of Agriculture Republic of Indonesia, and development partners which are FAO and USAID. The first day was allocated for discussion with external partners and the second day was to conduct APEIR’s internal business. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Amin Soebandrio, the chair of steering committee board.

Pre- Steering Committee Meeting

The first day session consists of the APEIR’s research during 2013 – 2016 presentation and breakout discussion session. Dr. Suwit Chotinan, from Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University became the representatives of AMR Research Group to present their report entitled “Ecohealth Approach to Develop a Strategy for the Prudent Use of Antimicrobials to Control AMR in Human, Animal, and Environmental Health in Asia”. This research was conducted in Indonesia, Thailand, Lao PDR, Vietnam, and China. Then, Dr. Witthawat Wiriyarat, from Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University became the representatives of Wildlife Research Group to present their report entitled “Surveillance of Emerging Infectious Diseases in Wildlife Trade to Increase Awareness for Zoonoses Prevention and Wildlife Conservation”. This research was conducted in Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam. After that, the last presentation was from Prof. Prasit Palittapongarnpim from Faculty of Science, Mahidol University who became the representatives of Biosecurity Research Group. He presented their research progress entitled “Mitigating Biosecurity Threats in Southeast Asia”. This research was conducted in Thailand, Lao PDR, and Vietnam, with main activities consist of research, surveillance, and training.

Figure 2. Presentations from Research Group Representatives and Discussion Session

The afternoon session was a breakout session, led by Prof. Wiku Adisasmito, the APEIR Secretariat Chairman to briefly presented overview of Antimicrobial, Food Safety, and Food Security in South East Asia. In this this session, opinion was gathered from the participants regarding current problems, and relevant stakeholders to respond the AMR issues in South East Asia. The participants were divided into two smaller groups to discuss and share their opinion about factors contributing to AMR and potential research topics for collaboration among the South East Asian countries.

Figure 4. Day 1 Group Meeting Picture

APEIR Steering Committee Meeting

The second day started with Prof. Amin Soebandrio leading the APEIR’s internal business meeting to reflect on APEIR’s current situation, including to discuss APEIR’s Sustainability and future strategic plans.

The members agree to give input on the roles and responsibilities document and send their letter of commitment. Prasit Palittapongarnpim declared that he will no longer continue his position and have someone else from Thailand to take his place.

Towards the end of the meeting, the steering committee members elected for the chairman and chairman elect. According to the discussion, it was decided that Prof. Amin Soebandrio will continue to serve as SC Chairman for 2017 – 2019, and will work closely with Prof. Qiyong Liu who will be the next Chairman for 2019 – 2021. The internal meeting resulted some follow-up actions for the secretariat, which are to coordinate with the research teams to develop regional publications for each research project and expand the next research initiatives. The members also agree to have an online meeting every two months to maintain the communication and updated activities.

Meeting Outputs:

APEIR Steering Committee Board 2017- 2019