Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to Beijing for the third annual meeting of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network for partners in the Western Pacific region.
I am quite new to Beijing myself, having arrived two weeks ago from Cambodia. But I am no stranger to this region, where I have worked for almost 20 years.
In fact, GOARN is something close to my heart. As an epidemiologist working in the Pacific Islands from the mid-1980s to 2002, my job was to investigate outbreaks and to build capacity on clinical and program management of infectious diseases. At the time, a global network like GOARN could have provided much-needed rapid technical support in the face of epidemic threats.
While in Cambodia, I saw first hand the potential for this network especially when challenged by H5N1 avian influenza and more recently, pandemic H1N1.
The current pandemic has elicited an unprecedented level of international cooperation in the sharing of virus cultures, information and experiences. It has also reinforced the need for a global network of partners. In many countries, despite years of planning, the pandemic response has stretched and overwhelmed many of the health services. GOARN has been very active in supporting laboratory strengthening, situational analysis and severity assessments.
At the same time, the mission requests have changed as capacity grows in the member states. Large outbreak teams are no longer in demand. Instead, there are now more requests for small teams comprising one or two people with specialist skills in one or two areas.
Of the 150 GOARN partner institutes worldwide, 40 are from the Western Pacific region. More technical expertise is needed to meet the region's growing needs.
A country like China is important because of its large population and its breadth of technical knowledge and experience. China can help the world by keeping its infectious diseases in check, and by providing more experts for the region. More institutes like the Chinese and Guangdong Centres for Disease Control and Prevention should participate in the network to assist other countries and strengthen the region's ability to respond effectively and efficiently to outbreaks. It would also build capacity.
Over the next two days, we hope to encourage enrolment by more partner institutions in the region, especially in China. We will also hear first-hand experiences about how the network has helped countries like China and Indonesia.
Pandemic H1N1 has proven that no single institution or country has all the capacities to respond to international public health emergencies caused by new and emerging infectious diseases. By joining hands, we can meet these challenges together.
I wish you a collaborative and successful meeting ahead.
Thank you.