Key Recommendations: Strengthening Public Health Capacity and Fostering Regional Solidarity

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed global healthcare system vulnerabilities and societal impacts (1). Many countries experienced disruptions in health service delivery, exacerbating challenges in essential health services, human resources, and medical supply allocation (2, 3). As such, enhanced capabilities for crisis management and virus transmission control are warranted.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) region, including countries in Southeast Asia, faced significant financial losses and strains on healthcare infrastructure during the pandemic (4-6). International cooperation and coordination have been emphasised as key strategies for the region to strengthen collective and harmonised response measures to control future outbreaks (7, 8).

The Southeast Asia Health Security Roundtable Series was initiated to foster regional dialogue and share lessons learned from the pandemic, focusing on enhancing health security across ASEAN nations. This brief provides a summary of key recommendations from one of the series, specifically addressing the health system impact of pandemics.

For further information, you may read the full report here: https://www.hitap.net/en/documents/189899