Implementing Agency: MBDS 

The MBDS is a self-organized sub-regional network commenced in 2001, it aims to strengthen national and sub-regional capabilities in infectious disease surveillance and outbreak response, especially on 18 currently designated priority diseases including Ebola, MERS, Zika, Malaria and Dengue to rapidly and effectively control them.

The cooperation focuses on collaborative cross-border disease surveillance and response activities and implementation of seven core strategies aimed at building capacity and advancing programming in the following areas: (1) cross-border cooperation, (2) animal-human interface and community surveillance, (3) human resources in epidemiology, (4) information and communications technologies, (5) laboratory, (6) risk communications, and (7) policy research.

On the development of early warning mechanism, in July 2019 – May 2020 the MBDS with its appointed developer currently developing the mobile application named Event Based Surveillance (EBS), while the launching and training of trainers (ToT) expected to be done in 2020. The EBS mobile application will support sharing of health event information among cross border provinces of CLMV countries in a timely manner so as public heath responses could be effectively mounted. It is led by Communicable Disease Control Department, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Cambodia.

On the establishment of an (EQA) network among Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam (CLMV), The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) of Viet Nam is a leading implementing organization to create an EQA network and provide EQA schemes nation- and region-wide for strengthening healthcare. The objective of this activity is to strengthen the quality of medical testing in disease control and responses as well as public health care. Two days workshop was planned to be organised in February 2020, however due to COVID-19 pandemic, the workshop will be conducted in the end of 2020 or early 2021.

On risk assessment training for public health events at cross border provinces in CLMV, The Ministry of Health and Sports (Myanmar) together with MBDS Secretariat organized a two-day workshop ‘MBDS Regional Risk Assessment Workshop for Cross Border Coordinators’ on the 10 – 11 December 2019. The workshop was attended by participants from five of the MBDS countries: Cambodia, Lao P.D.R, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam as well as members of the MBDS Secretariat, representatives from WHO (Myanmar) and officials from public health departments and ministries from Myanmar and other countries in the region.

The workshop was designed to 1) share the previous experiences of the MBDS member countries health risk assessment process at a national and cross border level; 2) identify the priority health hazards, threats and risks in cross border areas of MBDS countries; and 3) develop standard operation procedures (SOP) for the risk assessment process for cross border areas which can be implemented and sustained by cross border health authorities. During the workshop, the SOP for risk assessment processes at cross border areas in MBDS countries to be used as standardized methods for risk assessment of hazards in communicable diseases, zoonosis, environmental issues and other public health events, was drafted. Pilot testing of this Public Health Risk Assessment SOP will be conducted in the golden triangle area (the border between Lao P.D.R, Myanmar and Thailand) during the fourth quarter of 2020.

MBDS has created Biosafety website and continue updating Biosafety and Biosecurity web page with update information. Knowledge management is an integral part of MBDS regional approach to achieve efficiency and ensure that the right information is available to the right people. As a result, MBDS will continue maintaining and updating the website for MBDS Biosafety and Biosecurity with own resources.

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