The Japanese government proposed a project to stockpile 500,000 doses of antiviral drug and personal protective equipment sets in Singapore, under ASEF supervision, pending its distribution on World Health Organisation (WHO) instructions.

Under the project, an ASEF Network for Public Health will be established, serving as a platform for enhanced collaboration on health-related issues between Asia and Europe. The network will support multi-stakeholder partnerships to meet the challenges of global health security and promote experience-sharing between primary players in both regions.

According to ASEF Executive Director Dominique Girard, this project is seen as an important milestone for the ASEM process in the future, as it combines the stockpiling of antiviral drugs with the creation of the first platform between Asia and Europe to deal with public health issues.

The ASEF Network for Public Health will work with partners and key health stakeholders, including the private sector, to put an action plan in place for the 5-year project, which is expected to run from 2009-2013.