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Building a Resilient ASEAN Health System: One Health and Pandemic Preparedness in Focus at AFPC 2025

Updated: 11 hours ago

Jakarta, October 5th 2025 – Health issues took center stage at the ASEAN for the Peoples Conference (AFPC) 2025, organized by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) on October 4–5, 2025, at the The Sultan Hotel, Jakarta.


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The conference brought together over 6,000 participants and around 120 civil society organizations (CSOs) from across ASEAN countries in a vibrant two-day event.


Among the 24 discussion sessions, one focused on the theme “Closing the Gaps: How to Achieve a Robust Health System Throughout Southeast Asia.”


In this session, Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, Chief Medical Officer of Indonesia Inovasi Sehat (IIS), was invited as one of the speakers to share his insights on regional health resilience and pandemic preparedness.


One Health and Pandemic Preparedness


In his presentation, Prof. Tjandra highlighted two key topics: One Health and pandemic preparedness in the ASEAN region.“One Health represents collaborative efforts between human, animal, and environmental health sectors, including agriculture and food safety,” he explained.


He stressed the importance of a cross-sectoral approach in preventing and addressing health issues, such as food poisoning, which often involves both food and environmental sanitation factors.


Prof. Tjandra also reminded participants that ASEAN had already adopted a Leaders’ Declaration on One Health Implementation during Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023.


“The declaration was a major step forward, but what truly matters is its real implementation on the ground,” he emphasized.


The World Still Unprepared for Pandemics


As a member of the WHO Review Team for both the 2009 H1N1 and COVID-19 pandemics, Prof. Tjandra pointed out that the world had twice demonstrated its lack of readiness.

“Our team concluded that the world is ill-prepared during H1N1, and the world was not prepared during COVID-19. The world has fallen into the same trap twice — it must not happen a third time,” he warned.


He also underscored the importance of the ASEAN Center for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED) as a crucial step in strengthening regional preparedness.


The center’s work is built on three key pillars coordinated by different member states:

  • Vietnam – Prevention and Preparedness

  • Indonesia – Detection and Risk Assessment

  • Thailand – Response


“These three areas must be implemented effectively so that ASEAN can be truly prepared for the next pandemic threat,” he added.


ASEAN Collaboration as the Foundation of Health Resilience


Prof. Tjandra concluded by emphasizing that cross-sectoral and inter-country collaboration is the key to building a resilient health system in Southeast Asia.


“Declarations and institutions are only the foundation. It is concrete action on the ground that will ultimately shape the region’s health future,” he concluded.


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