By Kangkyu Lee
While Ebola has been declared an acute health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO), foreign investors can feel confident that the virus will likely not spread in the Asia-Pacific. According to a WHO study, the region is one of the most well-fortified and prepared in the world to respond to Ebola. Ironically, this is because countries in the Asia-Pacific have previously been the breeding ground for world pathogens, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and bird flu.
In fact, the countries of the Asia-Pacific have been committed to using cooperative methods, frameworks, and contingency plans to improve disease surveillance since 2013. These mechanisms, precipitated through the ASEAN+3 (South Korea, Japan, and China) (APT) framework, have been instrumental in bringing together nations to cooperate on socio-economic and political issues in the past.
The economic consequences of diseases like Ebola should not be underestimated. The World Bank estimates that the epidemic can financially cripple the West African region by $32.6 billion in losses by the end of 2015. SARS set the East Asian region back by US$20 billion in economic losses and convinced countries to establish the regional framework to combat any future outbreak.
An example of the deployed mechanisms of Asia is the APT regional disease surveillance system, which utilizes standardized protocol for communication and information sharing between member states. This facilitates swift responses and formulation of backup plans and also encourages nations to submit all information available into a uniform, accessible database.
Another mechanism is the Regional Multi-Sectoral Pandemic Preparedness Strategic Framework (an evolution of the ASEAN Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Taskforce of 2004). With the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre) as the backbone, the system integrates collaborative preparedness with multi-level disaster management leveraging. To augment these results, professionals in joint disease surveillance and clinical management may conduct epidemiological studies to share treatment protocols to comply with the ASEAN Minimum Standards on Joint Multi-sectoral Outbreak Investigation and Response.
With such comprehensive response plans, it is no surprise that the WHO declared that the Asia-Pacific is more prepared than any other region to respond to Ebola. Experts pronounce that the region’s surveillance systems and transparency in dealing with the threat of disease is a model that no other region can emulate.
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Certain countries in Asia are also contributing significant numbers of qualified health workers and volunteers to stem the spread of the Ebola epidemic. For example, the Philippine government followed strict WHO protocol and put Philippine UN peacekeepers returning from a year in Liberia into a strict 21-day quarantine. At a remote Philippine island, systemic medical procedures and inspections are being made to ensure the peacekeepers are healthy before entering the country.
Individual countries have also been making impressive contributions in the fight against Ebola – namely Japan and South Korea. In response to America’s call for over $6 billion to combat Ebola, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan will be providing a total of US $140 million in aid, while South Korea has sent a medical team to West Africa and pledged $5.6 million to support the fight against the virus.
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