Australia is supporting the second phase of the Sydney Asia-Pacific Partnership for Health Innovations and Resilient Ecosystems (SAPPHIRE) to expand beyond Fiji, Kiribati and Vietnam and into Cambodia. In partnership with the University of Sydney, SAPPHIRE emphasises community participation, infectious and chronic disease control, health system strengthening, One Health adoption, climate change adaptation, and GEDSI integration for regional health security.

Our partnership with Australian Red Cross (ARC) is strengthening community capacity to prepare for and respond to epidemic disease threats in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. ARC and its partners, Fiji Red Cross, Solomon Islands Red Cross and Vanuatu Red Cross, will work with communities to increase knowledge and skills on epidemic disease awareness-raising, prevention and control, thereby improving disease surveillance and enhancing and extending national surveillance systems.

Australia’s partnership with Regional Emergency and Critical Care Systems Strengthening Initiative (RECSI) consortium will produce more resilient and equitable health systems across the Pacific and Timor-Leste by strengthening emergency and critical care capacity. RECSI will address capability gaps highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and advance World Health Assembly recommendations to strengthen universal health coverage.

Australia is partnering with the WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Development (WHO CCNM (UTS)) at the University of Technology Sydney, working with the South Pacific Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers Alliance (SPCNMOA) to improve nursing and midwifery leadership, education, standards, and practice, through the Strengthening Health Workforce in the Pacific (SHWP) initiative.

This partnership develops and implement innovative open-source digital health tools suitable for our region, to improve health outcomes in low-resource settings. This includes Open mSupply, Tamanu, Tupaia, Tupaia MediTrak and DataTrak, and the SENAITE Laboratory Information System and Health Supply Hub. These tools enhance healthcare delivery and data management, making health systems more efficient and effective.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is partnering with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to co-deliver the Indo-Pacific Regulatory Strengthening Program (RSP). This program extends the previous TGA-led RSP and covers 22 countries across our region.

Australia is recommitting its support to the PNG Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR) to continue institutional strengthening via the Strengthening Research and Operational Needs through Good Infrastructure and Modernisation (STRONGIM IMR) program. This investment builds on our partnership dating back to 2019, with a focus on building safe, accessible and productive workplaces; installing IT improvements and upgrades; strengthening the capacity to conduct collaborative and impactful research in emerging fields ; and fortifying administrative and support services.

Australia is advancing regional health security through the University of Newcastle Field Epidemiology in Action (FEiA) program, supporting public health systems in Papua