The Strategic Framework guides the investment of resources and a linked suite of programs under the Australian Government’s Health Security Initiative for the Indo-Pacific region (the Initiative). The goal of the Initiative is:
To contribute to the avoidance and containment of infectious disease threats with the potential to cause social and economic harms on a national, regional or global scale.
Funding of $300 million has been allocated to the Initiative over the five years to mid-2022 from Australia’s international development assistance budget.
Following the launch of the Initiative in October 2017, investment priorities were progressively established during 2018 with reference to the central international normative frameworks for assessing public health capacity, and on the basis of consultations with partner governments, regional, international and non-governmental development organisations engaged in the provision of health security assistance, and key Australian research and operational agencies active in the field of infectious disease prevention, detection and response.
This framework is also based on reviews of evidence and practice from Australia’s long history of support for infectious disease management.
Country and multi-country investments under the Initiative are concentrated in Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Pacific island countries, and fall under one or more of three overarching objectives:
Anticipate: To help countries assess their infectious disease threats and capacity deficits, and equip themselves with appropriate policy and regulatory arrangements, particularly with respect to access to medicines and vector control technologies.
Avert: To mitigate infectious disease threats through support for improved infection prevention and control; vector control; and surveillance with respect to infectious diseases, immunisation coverage and treatment-resistance in pathogens and vectors.
Arrest: To build capacity to detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks through laboratory strengthening; targeted public health workforce development; and support for improved outbreak detection and management.
Download the Framework documents: