Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) is an independent,
non-profit, non-government, pan-Asian organization that supports the
advancement of safer communities and sustainable development through
the implementation of public health emergency management, community
based disaster risk management, climate risk management and urban
disaster risk management programs. Established in 1986 by UNDRO, WMO
and UNDP, ADPC is currently governed and guided by a Board of
Trustees (of 21 members representing 15 countries) and advised by a
Regional Consultative Committee (29 members from 24 countries) and
Advisory Council (87 members from a wide range of agencies,
representing 32 countries). ADPC collaborates with WHO, FAO, OIE,
ASEAN, SAARC, national governments, and numerous international,
national and community organizations to make communities and
countries better prepared, safer, and more resilient to natural and
technological disasters, epidemics and pandemics, and complex
emergencies. ADPC focuses on developing and enhancing sustainable
disaster risk management capacities, frameworks and mechanisms,
particularly at the community level, and has made significant
technical contributions to the development of community-based
approaches to disaster risk reduction and sustainable development in
both rural and urban environments, focussing on Asia. As a resource
center for Asia, ADPC facilitates the dissemination, exchange and
development of innovation, knowledge, skills, experience and
information in health emergency management and other disaster
reduction activities. In support of government and non-government
organizations, ADPC’s Public Health in Emergencies team addresses
epidemic and pandemic preparedness in many training courses and
capacity building activities, such as workshops on health care
facility emergency preparedness and response to epidemics and human
influenza pandemics (in collaboration with SEARO, WPRO and WHO HQ),
and risk and capacity assessment for emerging zoonotic diseases (in
collaboration with WPRO and WR-Cambodia). ADPC has been partnering
with the IFRC and international NGOs such as the International
Rescue Committee and CARE, on capacity building projects and
continues to consolidate and develop relationships with
organizations working in evidence-based research, training and other
capacity building activities, such as curriculum development, good
practice guideline development, study tours, internships and
regional networking and information sharing.
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CARE has been working with communities in Asia on avian
influenza since 2001. CARE not only sees avian influenza as a
critical public health issue, but also as a crisis that could erase
hard-won development gains and push millions of people into extreme
poverty. As a poverty-fighting organization with significant
expertise in disaster preparedness and response, long-term presence
in over 70 countries and strong relationships with government and
community organizations. 60 of these country offices have appointed
an avian influenza point person to lead their preparedness and
response efforts and are working closely with officials from WHO,
FAO and their ministries of health and agriculture. They also have
developed avian influenza preparedness plans that cover issues such
as surveillance, reporting, education of farmers, coping with social
unrest, and staff protection. CARE is also providing farmers in
rural areas with information needed to minimize possibilities for
infection, assisting the development of national-level pandemic
preparedness plans, and establishing an online Avian Flu Resource
Center for staff. Currently, CARE is implementing avian and
pandemic influenza programs in Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Egypt, Uganda and Central
America; and is a direct partner in the H2P project (through the
CORE group), implementing H2P project activities in Nepal and
Uganda.
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The International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world's largest
humanitarian organization, with 186 member national Red Cross Red
Crescent (RC/RC) societies present in nearly every country of the
world.
Since the first outbreaks of avian influenza, the IFRC has been at
the forefront of avian influenza work at community level. Since
2004, many RC/RC national societies have initiated avian influenza
control activities and successfully integrated them into existing
programmes at community level. In Southeast Asia region alone, seven
national societies have avian influenza programmes that reach
millions of people annually. The IFRC, on behalf of its member
national societies raised significant amount of funding and provided
technical support to support the start up of these initiatives. The
IFRC has played an active role in facilitating information sharing
and promoting greater networking among non-governmental
organizations at both global and regional (Asia) levels, including
hosting the Asia Regional AHI Forum monthly meetings in Bangkok,
which brings together representatives of non-government, private
sector and international organizations to share information and
experience.
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The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been providing
one of the largest and programmatically diverse programs for
refugees in southeast Asia since 1976. Operating from its base in
Bangkok and four field offices in Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Mae Sot
and Ratchaburi in Thailand, the IRC currently provides essential
services to refugees and migrants from many ethnic groups from
Burma. IRC’s Support to Health, Institution Building, Education, and
Leadership in Policy Dialogue (SHIELD) program is a five-year
project that takes an integrated approach to improving quality of
life for 150,000 Burmese migrants across eight Thai provinces by
increasing access to education and healthcare services. IRC
collaborates with a wide range of partners, including the Thai
Education and Public Health Ministries, Burmese community-based
organizations and other international NGOs. The IRC also launched a
project in June 2006 with funding from USAID to strengthen
prevention and response mechanisms for potential outbreaks of AHI
among refugee and migrant populations along the Thai-Burma border.
The IRC also fosters coordination by chairing an Avian Influenza
task force that meets monthly to coordinate AI surveillance and
pandemic preparedness plans among all stakeholders along the
Thai-Burma border, including national- and provincial-level
government authorities and NGOs. This task force provides a forum
for sharing best practices among the participating organizations
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