Policy Updates

Each week, Donor Tracker's team of country-based experts bring you the most important policy and funding news across issue areas in the form of Policy Updates.

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Full program released for 2024 World Health Summit Regional Meeting

March 25, 2024 | Australia, Global health R&D, Global Health, Climate, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health | Share this update

On March 25, 2024, the forthcoming World Health Summit in Melbourne released its final detailed program.

The forum is slated to be hosted by Monash University and will focus on health issues across the Pacific and Southeast Asia. The summit will run from April 22 to 24, 2024, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

A range of international and Australian speakers are listed for the three parallel sessions being held each day at the forum. Topics include drug policy, future proofing the health workforce and strengthening health care financing in the Asia-Pacific.

Speakers include Jed Carney, Australia’s Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, and Helen Clark, formerly Prime Minister of New Zealand and head of the UNDP.

Web Page - WHS Regional Meeting

Australia announces US$11 million in additional funding for TB treatment

March 24, 2024 | Australia, Global Health | Share this update

On March 24, 2024, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced Australia would provide AUD17 million (US$11 million) to the TB Alliance to improve access to tuberculosis treatments and develop more effective treatments, including new tuberculosis treatments for children.

The alliance has a new PeerLINC Hub in Manila, which has supported governments to introduce new treatments. Partner countries include Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

The new Australian funding would be provided through Partnerships for a Healthy Region program, which focuses on Pacific and South-East Asian countries to build equitable and resilient health systems.

Press release - Minister for Foreign Affairs

Australia launches interim national CDC

March 1, 2024 | Australia, Global Health | Share this update

On March 1, 2024, Australia launched of an interim CDC within the Department of Health and Aged Care in Canberra as part of its ongoing process to establish a national CDC.

The center aims to take a One Health approach and respond to increased global health risks, particularly from zoonotic diseases and climate change-driven vulnerabilities. The CDC is being gradually phased in.

The center is domestically focused, but many stakeholders have advocated that it should assist international development efforts by Australia, particularly in the Western Pacific region.

The CDC is intended to plan and prepare for potential health emergencies, as well as coordinate with the Australian States and Territories. It is slated to monitor and analyze surveillance data from Australian and international sources and advise governments on health issues.

The center’s work will occur in various parts of Australia, but the permanent headquarters’ location has not been determined. An active debate concerns the possible location in the national capital Canberra or a growing health precinct near Melbourne University in Victoria.

Web Page - Australian Centre for Disease Control

Australia announces new funding for major health challenges in Papua New Guinea, global vector control

February 19, 2024 | Australia, Global Health | Share this update

On February 19, 2024, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong announced Australia would increase its support for health programs in Papua New Guinea to address malaria, HIV and antimicrobial resistance.

Australia is also slated to support health research and training through the Institute of Medical Research in Papua New Guinea.

No specific figure was given for the support. The funds are to be drawn from the AUD620 million (US$410 million) Partnerships for Healthy Region initiative.

Wong also announced Australia would provide further funding for the Innovative Vector Control Consortium, which aims to develop new products to prevent dengue and malaria globally.

Press release - Minister for Foreign Affairs

Australia provides US$23 million for bioengineered cornea manufacturing facility

February 6, 2024 | Australia, Global health R&D, Global Health | Share this update

On February 6, 2024, Australian Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler announced AUD35 million (US$23 million) for the University of Sydney to establish a facility to manufacture, store, and ship bioengineered corneas across the world.

Butler announced that the next-generation technology aspires to make artificial corneas available to everybody.

There is a chronic shortage of corneas in low- and middle-income countries due to a lack of tissue banks, including many countries in Southeast Asia and Africa. Worldwide, only 1 donor cornea is currently available for every 70 patients seeking a transplant.

The initiative was announced as part of a research collaboration between five institutes. Funding for this initiative is to be provided by Australia’s Medical Research Future Fund.

Press release - Minister for Health and Aged CareNews article - Mirage

First sessions announced for 2024 World Health Summit Regional Meeting

January 17, 2024 | Australia, Gender Equality, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, Family Planning, Global Health, Nutrition | Share this update

On January 17, 2024, the first sessions for the upcoming WHS Regional meeting were announced, including sessions on climate change, First People’s health, accelerating net-zero healthcare, fighting cervical cancer, and preventing violence against women in the Pacific.

The Regional Meeting is slated to focus on shaping the future of health across the Pacific and Asia. The meeting will run from April 22-24, 2024, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

In addition to senior health academics, the meeting will be addressed by Australian Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney and former New Zealand Prime Minister and former UNDP Administrator Helen Clark.

World Health Summit Melbourne

Australia appoints first female Chief Veterinary Officer

January 3, 2024 | Australia, Agriculture, Nutritious Food Systems, Global Health | Share this update

On January 3, 2024, Beth Cookson was appointed as Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer following her role as deputy Chief Veterinary Officer with a focus on tropical Australia.

Cookson's work included designing animal health surveillance in northern Australia and undertaking capacity building programs on biosecurity in neighboring low- and middle-income countries.

The Chief Veterinary Officer role has a major focus on antimicrobial resistance. Cookson indicated she would take on her role with a One Health mindset and will be involved with the World Organisation for Animal Health and the FAO on projects combating antimicrobial resistance.

News article - dvm360Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Australia to host two major 2024 health conferences

December 18, 2023 | Australia, Global Health, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health | Share this update

On December 18, 2023, a World Health Summit Regional Meeting in Melbourne from April 22-24, 2024, organized in conjunction with Melbourne's Monash University, and a Global Security Conference in Sydney from June 18-21, 2024, were announced.

Informed Prevention, Informed Care is the theme of the World Health Summit Regional Meeting, which will focus on health across the Asia-Pacific and the critical health challenges facing the region. Invited speakers include Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and former administrator of the UNDP.

The Global Security Conference is the third in a series of global health security conferences, the last of which was held in Singapore in 2022. The conferences have provided a forum for researchers, civil society, government officials, and international organizations to discuss policy innovations and solutions to health challenges.

Co-conveners for the security conference are Professor Rebecca Katz, Director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University, and Professor Adam Kamradt-Scott, based in Sydney.

Advocates are able to register for both conferences.

Web Page - World Health Summit Regional MeetingWeb Page - Global Security Conference

South Korea hosts 2023 Health Cooperation Forum

December 13, 2023 | South Korea, US, Australia, Global Health | Share this update

On December 13, 2023, the South Korean MOFA co-hosted 2023 Health Cooperation Forum in the Indo-Pacific Region with US Department of State and the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The forum marked the third time that the South Korean MOFA has organized a forum on health cooperation with key partner countries in the Indo-Pacific region. South Korean Global Health Security Ambassador Jaewook Choi highlighted the importance of international health cooperation partnerships in the post-pandemic era based on the lessons about the power of science and technology in vaccine development.

Experts from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and nine ASEAN member states held an in-depth discussion on ways to strengthen ASEAN-Korea health cooperation. The forum was an example of cooperation between South Korea, Australia, and the US. It served as an opportunity for ASEAN and Korean health experts to discuss concrete ways to cooperate on healthcare information, infectious disease crisis response, and health workforce capacity building as one of the key priorities of the KASI.

Press release - Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Korean)News article - Sisamirae (in Korean)

Australia announces new regional initiative to reduce HIV transmission

November 30, 2023 | Australia, Global Health | Share this update

On November 30, 2023, the Australian government announced that it will provide up to AUD12 million (US$8 million) to support governments and local communities in the Pacific and Southeast Asia to lower HIV transmission, reduce stigma, and improve testing and treatment.

The initiative was announced by Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong at a World AIDS Day event in Canberra.

The funding is slated to be provided through UNAIDS and the Australian NGO Health Equity Matters, previously called the Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations. The funding has the stated goal of accelerating access to new HIV treatment and prevention through community-led activities.

The funding is to be provided from the government’s AUD620 million (US$470 million) Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative, which is being undertaken over the span of five years.

Press release - Minister for Foreign Affairs

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US$ amounts are cited directly from sources; in the absence of an official conversion, they are calculated using the previous week's average of the US Federal Reserve's daily exchange rates.

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