Bandar Seri Begawan, 18 August 2026: ERIA, in collaboration with the Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines – the lead country for the ASEAN Essential Diagnostics Lists Initiative (AEDLI) – and the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Brunei Darussalam, co-hosted the ‘Workshop on the Implementation and Monitoring of National Essential Diagnostics Lists (NEDLs) in ASEAN’ on 17–18 August 2026.

The workshop brought together delegates from ASEAN Member States (AMS) and international health development partners to exchange country experiences, challenges, innovations, and good practices, while promoting the use of regional guidance and monitoring approaches. It also sought to identify practical strategies to improve the availability of and access to essential diagnostic tests and support future regional collaboration on diagnostic network optimisation.

Building on the outcomes of four previous Regional Consultative Meetings – held in Bangkok in June 2024, Manila in December 2024, Bali in June 2025, and Siem Reap in December 2025 – the workshop provided technical guidance to further advance the implementation and monitoring of the AEDLI across ASEAN.

Opening remarks were delivered virtually by Dr Melissa T. Sena, OIC-Assistant Secretary of Health at DOH Philippines, followed by in-person remarks from Dr Manami Uechi, Director of Health and Social Welfare at ERIA, and Ms Syaswani Abu Bakar, Acting Assistant Secretary of Health at MoH Brunei Darussalam. The speakers highlighted the importance of NEDLs in strengthening health systems, improving equitable access to diagnostics, and advancing Universal Health Coverage (UHC) across ASEAN. They also emphasised the value of regional collaboration, knowledge sharing, and practical implementation of NEDLs to enhance procurement, resource allocation, and healthcare delivery.

Dr Norielyn Evangelista, Division Chief of the Health Facility Development Bureau–Office of Health Laboratories at DOH Philippines, formally opened the workshop as Chair. Sessions with development partners were moderated by Dr Carmelli R. Veleza of DOH Philippines and featured presentations from experts on topics including updating regional risk assessments, operationalising NEDLs across AMS, and findings from NEDL pilot projects and gap assessments. ERIA proposed a policy on annual diagnostics screening with Lao PDR and Indonesia based on the life cycle approach to enhance UHC and decrease financial health burdens.

The second day featured country progress updates and a closing plenary moderated by Mr Muhd Amirul Fazleen Haji Khalidin of MoH Brunei Darussalam, as well as an interactive project proposal session moderated by Dr Hiroyuki Kiyohara, ERIA Programme Manager for Health Development and Policy.

During the country report session, AMS shared updates on their national progress. Timor-Leste officially approved and launched its NEDL, while Indonesia endorsed its list covering 14 priority disease areas alongside major health initiatives. Malaysia advanced its diagnostic infrastructure through the development of my NEDL, amongst other initiatives. The Philippines demonstrated implementation progress through pilot testing and site visits, while Thailand conducted a survey and dissemination activities.

Other AMS also reported targeted steps to strengthen their diagnostic frameworks. Brunei Darussalam focused on integrating both in vitro diagnostics (IVD) and non-IVD diagnostics, while Myanmar presented initiatives for its NEDL action plan. Cambodia and Lao PDR shared findings from their national online gap assessment surveys, with Lao PDR also conducting public consultations and technical working group workshops to refine its implementation.

The workshop concluded with remarks from Dr Evangelista and Dr Kiyohara, who thanked participants for their active engagement and technical contributions. Dr Evangelista emphasised the importance of continued commitment from AMS to advance the AEDLI, while Dr Kiyohara highlighted recent regional developments and partnerships supporting stronger diagnostics policies and implementation across ASEAN.