In light of the renewed three-year funding cycle, the IHR Strengthening project has an opportunity to expand the reach of its capacity strengthening activities. From 2018-2020 the project was active in Myanmar, working closely with the Ministry of Health and Sports to implement IHR strengthening activities. 

Building on the successes of the projects work in Myanmar and historical engagement of PHE/UKHSA in the Indo Pacific region the project has initiated scoping activities to explore potential bilateral and regional IHR strengthening work in the Indo Pacific. To that end, members of the projects leadership team visited Jakarta, Indonesia, home of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat in early May 2022 to initiate discussions with FCDO and key regional stakeholders. The team met with representatives from the British Embassy, the UK Mission to ASEAN, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Fleming Fund and WHO. The team were grateful of the very warm welcome to Indonesia and the fruitful discussions had with all stakeholders. Further discussions and scoping visits will occur over the coming weeks as the project refines its plans for future collaborative working in the region. Look out for further updates!