Bandar Seri Begawan, 19–20 August 2026: ERIA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Indonesia – the lead country for the ASEAN Diagnostics Security and Self-Reliance (ADx SSR) initiative – and the MoH of Brunei Darussalam, co-hosted the Workshop on Regional Diagnostics Security and Self-Reliance in ASEAN.

The event brought together ASEAN Member States and international health development partners to advance the ADx SSR Framework, discuss priorities for its Plan of Action, and support the development of the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration (ALD), with the aim of strengthening regional diagnostics security, self-reliance, resilience, and pandemic preparedness.

Following the endorsement of the project proposal at the 2nd Regional Consultative Meeting in June 2026, the workshop focused on further developing the ADx SSR Framework, identifying implementation priorities, strengthening co-ordination across relevant ASEAN health initiatives, and gathering inputs for the ALD.

Opening the workshop, Dr Rizka Andalucia, Director General for Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices, MoH Indonesia, highlighted the importance of diagnostics security and self-reliance in addressing gaps in access, local production, and supply chain capacity.

Ms Syazwani Abu Bakar, Acting Assistant Director for Health Technology, MoH Brunei Darussalam, emphasised the need to address supply chain vulnerabilities and use diagnostics landscape assessments to guide practical actions.

Dr Manami Uechi, Director for Health and Social Welfare at ERIA, underscored the fundamental role of diagnostics in resilient health systems and reaffirmed ERIA’s commitment to supporting ADx SSR and AEDLI through regional collaboration.

Day 1

Day 1 began with an opening session chaired by Ms Wenny Indriasari, Director for Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Resilience at MoH Indonesia, alongside Ms Jennifer Dela Rosa, Assistant Director/Head of the Health Division at the ASEAN Secretariat. Ms Indriasari updated participants on the initiative’s progress, objectives, and expected outputs. Ms Dela Rosa highlighted the evolution of ASEAN’s Vaccine, Therapeutics and Diagnostics (VTD) agenda through AVSSR, ADSSR, and ADx SSR, and its alignment with the ASEAN Post-2025 Health Development Agenda and ASEAN Community Vision 2045.

Presentations covered key areas related to diagnostics security and access:

• Dr Jinho Shin (WHO-WPRO) virtually presented the proposed Roadmap 2026–2030 for the Western Pacific region to strengthen access to quality-assured diagnostics and support the implementation of National Essential Diagnostics Lists (NEDLs).
• Mr Mohammad Ameel (WHO-SEARO) explained the Regional Guidance on Operationalising NEDLs, noting that a key challenge remains translating NEDLs from policy into implementation.
• Dr Sarabjit S. Chadha (FIND) emphasised the importance of ensuring equitable access to quality diagnostics.
• Mr Sameer Kanwar (PATH) showcased PATH’s work on diagnostics, medical technologies, digital health, and artificial intelligence across the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting its support for health system strengthening, diagnostics innovation, digital transformation, and technology transfer in several ASEAN Member States.

In the subsequent session, Dr Antonio Villanueva (ERIA) shared findings from the ADx SSR Regional Report. Ms Indriasari then introduced the draft ADx SSR Framework, outlining its strategic objectives, pillars, implementation strategies, and key references.

During an ERIA-moderated Focus Group Discussion, participants reviewed the draft Framework and identified priority activities and potential partners for the Plan of Action. Participants recommended clarifying the Framework’s scope, definitions, priorities, structure, and monitoring mechanisms, while strengthening regional connectivity, partnerships, digital information-sharing, and diagnostics ecosystem integration.

Day 2

Day 2 included a panel on ‘Implementation Pathway: Opportunities for Collaboration and Partnership for ADx SSR Implementation’, featuring perspectives from WHO-SEARO, ACPHEED, ERIA, FIND, PATH, and JIHS. This was followed by a closed session on the draft ALD, with invited speakers from AVSSR, ADSSR, and the Department of Health of the Philippines, this year’s ASEAN Chair.

The final session introduced proposed regional programmes, including Diagnostic Network Optimisation with Demonstration, presented by Dr Chadha (FIND), followed by the Online Diagnostic Gaps Surveys led by Dr Shogo Kanamori (JIHS). The sessions presented approaches to identifying diagnostics gaps and strengthening regional diagnostic networks to support future ADx SSR activities.

Before the closing, ASEC-HD outlined the workshop’s key outcomes and the way forward. Discussions focused on strengthening regional diagnostic capacity while fostering linkages with partners. Priorities include finalising the ALD and advancing phased implementation of the ADx SSR Framework to ensure equitable access to diagnostics across ASEAN.

Closing

In the closing session, Ms Indriasari (MoH Indonesia) highlighted progress on the ADx SSR Framework, while Dr Villanueva (ERIA) reaffirmed ERIA’s commitment to supporting the initiative, including framework refinement, cross-sectoral consultations, and the ALD process.