Our partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) is addressing the chronic shortage of qualified animal health workers across the Pacific and Timor-Leste. Together, we are working towards the regional goal of a paraveterinary workforce that is adequately and sustainably trained to support local livestock productivity and regional biosecurity. 

The Asia Pacific Consortium of Veterinary Epidemiology (APCOVE) was established in 2020 to build veterinary epidemiology capacity across the Asia Pacific region. Led by the University of Sydney, APCOVE brings together over 50 animal health experts from all veterinary schools in Australia and New Zealand, and eight partner countries: Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

This project was developed in response to an identified need within the Pacific to increase diagnostic capacity for animal and zoonotic diseases. The establishment of a Pacific Laboratory Network, including reference laboratories in Australia and New Zealand, will ensure regional coordination, consistent diagnostic approaches, and timely support for animal disease investigations.

This project aims to support laboratory placements and leadership within the Southeast Asian and Pacific region with a focus on Vietnam, in particular Regional Animal Health Office 6 (RAHO6) in HCMC and the National Centre for Veterinary Diagnosis in Hanoi.

This project will provide targeted training of laboratory leaders in biorisk management and development of a community of biorisk practitioners in the region.

BICOLLAB II is a bilateral laboratory collaboration with Indonesia (laboratory strengthening through twinning) project with the Animal Disease Investigation Centre Wates (DIC Wates), Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Indonesia. Phase One was funded through the Health Security Initiative, the predecessor of the Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative.

The Strengthening Standards Capability Project (SSCP) will support partner countries to improve adoption and development of digital health data and interoperability standards.

We are partnering with CSIRO’s Biomedical Manufacturing team to improve the capacity for Thai state-owned organisations to manufacture essential drugs to improve local and equitable access to medicines. This project will focus on training and development in two areas: 1) Biologic drug development using the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell platform; and 2) Small molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) drug development using continuous flow processing.

Malaysia imports 100% of its vaccines. Australia provided vaccines and technical assistance to support Malaysia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of the pandemic, this support pivoted to meet Malaysia’s ambitions at developing local capacity for vaccine development, including a national pilot-scale vaccine manufacturing facility at the Malaysia Genome and Vaccine Institute (MGVI).

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.