Regional meeting of centres of expertise in tropical diseases

Abstract

The South-East Asia (‎SEA)‎ Region has a huge burden of tropical diseases. Centres of expertise in tropical diseases in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand have been mapped. In order to setup a network of tropical diseases and priority diseases in the tropics. A Meeting of Centres of Expertise in Tropical Diseases was held during 28 to 30 November 2011 in Faridabad, Haryana, India. The specific objectives of the meeting were as follows: " to review the situation of tropical diseases in the Region; " to assess the capacity of countries to deal with the problem, particularly in training and research; and " to strengthen interinstitutional and intercountry collaboration through networking. Extensive discussions on the definition, scope and priority tropical diseases led to a consensus that tropical diseases are "diseases endemic in a tropical region that are of public health importance". The regional network is to be called "SEA Regional Network of Centres of Expertise in Tropical Diseases" and it was agreed that it should be set up as early as possible. WHO recommended the setting up of a Regional Steering Committee with representation from countries and a WHO Secretariat to oversee the launching of the virtual network. The mapped institutes in a few countries were appreciated, and it was recommended that centres of expertise in the remaining countries be mapped and the information shared through publication and setting up a web site.