Department of Medical Sciences joined the coordination meeting with the ASEAN Member States and the Government of Canada to mitigate of biological threats

During 2-3 March 2023, Dr. Athiwat Primsirikunawut, Director of the Division of International Cooperation, and the representatives from the National Institute of Health, the Department of Medical Sciences (DMSc) attended the 1st 2023 Mitigation of Biological Threats (MBT) Programme Coordination Meeting at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Sukhumvit Bangkok. The meeting was attended on-site and virtually by the delegates from 10 ASEAN Member States (AMS), and the representatives from the Government of Canada, Japan and the Republic of Korea as well as development partners including WHO, Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance Foundation (MBDS), etc. The objectives of the coordination meeting were to review, assess, and identify the conclusion/ways forward for all ongoing MBT Phase 2 projects and to discuss and agree on the list of project activities to be included as part of the MBT Phase 3 and its relevant transition phase into the operation of ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED) for ensuring health security at all levels of AMS.

Dr. Athiwat presented the updates and ways forward of the project “Enhancing Biosafety, Biosecurity and Bioengineering for Health Laboratories in ASEAN” which was funded by the Government of Canada. The implementation of this project highlighted the strengthening of biosafety and biosecurity laboratory capacity through the workshops and training for bioengineering concepts; Biosafety Cabinet (BSC), the primary containment that facilitates to protect of either humans or environment from infectious pathogens, and Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) facilities, the secondary containment which is important for emerging or high-risk infectious agents’ detection. Both bioengineering concepts provide protection from the leakage of high-risk infectious agents outside of the laboratory which is a health threat to the communities.

Dr. Athiwat also discussed the potential of the new project “Strengthening Capacity and Sustainability on Biosafety, Biosecurity and Biorisk Management for Health Laboratories in ASEAN” under the MBT Phase 3 that will utilize the DMSc Regional Training Centers which are located at the DMSc, Nonthaburi and the Regional Medical Sciences Center (RMSc) 8 Udon Thani as workshops and training arrangements of the proposed project, such as Train-the-Trainer course for Specimen Referral System, etc. which aims to sustainably strengthen biosafety and biosecurity laboratory capacity for effectively preventing from any possible biological threats intended for