Session Overview and Key Discussion Highlights

The pre-conference session on “Building Regional Capacity in Infectious Disease Modelling: Shared Insights, Challenges, and Opportunities” was held on 5 November 2024, at Millenium Hilton Bangkok, Thailand, alongside the Infectious Disease Modelling (IDM) Conference 2024. The aims of this session were to 1) explore and understand the landscape of infectious disease modelling in Southeast Asia in terms of current practices, capacity, available resources, and challenges; 2) identify opportunities for multilateral collaboration within key areas where regional strategies and capacity building in infectious disease modelling can be strengthened; 3) share knowledge and experiences among participants; and 4) understand regional needs for strengthening capacity and developing leaders in modelling for regional and global policy.

The session included an overview of the Global South Leaders in Epidemic Analytics and Response Network (GS LEARN) initiative, followed by an introduction of the Modelling Infectious Diseases in Southeast Asia (MIDSEA) network. A presentation was then made on a study on the situation analysis of infectious disease modelling in Thailand. In the second half of the session, participants engaged in a World Café discussion on key questions related to challenges and capacity building for infectious disease modelling in the region. This session convened 17 participants and speakers from 10 institutions across different regions.

This report is a summary of the proceedings of the session, with the agenda and list of participants in the Appendix.