The Philippines will chair a health ministers’ meeting next week in Bangkok, Thailand. This will be attended by the the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) health ministers who will craft the region’s collective response to the H1N1 influenza A strain (A/H1N1) or the swine influenza virus (SIV). The ASEAN health ministers’ meeting will be held on May 8 (Friday).
The ASEAN’s “Plus Three” dialogue partners — China, Japan, and South Korea — have also been invited to the meeting.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said, “The Philippines, led by Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, will preside over the meeting as the current chair of the ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting framework.”
The DFA said that a Coordinating Center has been established by the ASEAN Secretariat “to monitor developments related to A/H1N1 in the region.” The center “is tasked to monitor and collate information on situational updates and precautionary measures taken by the ASEAN member states.”
While no swine flu cases have been reported in Southeast Asia, measures have been put in place in the 10 ASEAN member countries “such as screening of arrivals from affected countries using thermal scanners and health declaration forms,” according to the DFA. (PIA)
