Last 26 August 2009, CISCAI Project Coordinator, Dr. Jose Edgardo Aban visited the headquarters of the  Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)  Secretariat in  South Jakarta, to initiate cooperative  projects between the two entities.  Dr. Alexander Lim and Mr. Emir Rio Krishna,  Head and Technical Officer, respectively, of the  Science and Technology Division of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Department  hosted the meeting. 

 

The meeting  was initiated  in  the light of the current developments  in the   emergence and spread of infectious diseases, particularly  the A (H1N1)  Swine Flu  and other emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). The meeting explored the possibility of  harmonizing  and  aligning the  initiatives  of the CISCAI project  with  the overall agenda of the ASEAN Plan of Action on Science and Technology  2007-2011 (APAST). The maiden  exploratory meeting had the following  basic objectives:

¢    To synchronize and/or  dovetail the activities and initiatives of CISCAIs  with those of the  COST; and
¢    To explore and stimulate the conceptualization and  development of a framework for  Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs)  Geo-Informatics within the context of the current thrusts of the COST.

The meeting was  also in response and in support to the  resolutions made during  the recently concluded ASEAN+3 Health Ministers Meeting  held  in May of  this year in Bangkok,  which underscored the need  and urgency for the establishment at  national levels  of pandemic preparedness plans  and for the continuous implementation of  such plans,  to further intensify the performance of surveillance of infections in human and animals,  as well as,  the establishment  of effective response mechanisms.     

The idea on the use and application of  geographic information systems  (GIS), satellite remote sensing  and the  prospect of being able to develop a  functioning model for prediction and  forecasting  of future health hotspots is indeed  wanting and timely.  For its part, the project dubbed, Communication and Information Systems for the Control of Avian Influenza (CISCAI), is in the process of integrating related technologies, geared towards  management and monitoring of  said  threat, which is the Bird Flu (H5N1), and has had substantial accomplishments, since its inception in the early part of fiscal year 2008.  More detailed information about CISCAIs accomplishments can be gleaned from the site http://www.ciscai.org.

Likewise, the application of knowledge-based information, particularly of geo-referenced  and space-based information  are congruent  with the initiatives of the Action Team 6 “ Public Health, established  in 1999, by the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) as a mechanism for initiating the implementation of the recommendations of  the Third United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space or UNISPACE III.