WHO and partners showcase first Pandemic Fund multi-country project in the Western Pacific

A  landmark pandemic preparedness project spanning 12 Western Pacific countries was introduced by the World Health Organization, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Pandemic Fund Secretariat.

The project — Data to Action: Stronger Pandemic Preparedness and Response Systems in the Western Pacific Region — is the Pandemic Fund’s first multi-country project in the Western Pacific Region. Launched in 2022, the Fund is a global financing mechanism to assist low- and middle-income countries to strengthen capacities to prevent, prepare for and respond to pandemics.

Government leaders, technical experts and development partners assembled virtually for the inaugural presentation as an advance side event to the upcoming session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, to be held from 19 to 22 October at the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific in Manila, Philippines.

A country-led response

 The project brings together Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Naoero, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Tonga, Tuvalu and Viet Nam. They will pool experiences and best practices to close persistent gaps in surveillance, laboratory capacity and emergency workforce readiness through building and strengthening capacity.

Reflecting regional solidarity, governments used a multisectoral process that engaged governments, technical institutions, civil society organizations and development partners. The project design also emphasizes the importance of the One Health approach connecting human, animal and environmental health to strengthen health emergency preparedness and response efforts.

In his opening remarks, WHO Regional Director Dr Saia Ma'u Piukala praised the process: “What makes Data to Action different is that it was built and shaped by the countries it serves. Through dialogue and consultations, countries identified common priorities and opportunities to work together. Data did not just describe the problem: data built the case, and the solidarity, to solve it.”

Collaboration and sustained investment

The project will strengthen multisource surveillance systems, expand laboratory networks and diagnostic capacity while also improving the capacity of a One Health workforce to be able to respond to outbreaks before they become crises.

Dr Gina Samaan, WHO Regional Emergency Director for the Western Pacific, highlighted the on-the-ground impact the project is expected to deliver. “Data to Action is a milestone for our Region. It is proof that regional collaboration, paired with sustained investment, is one of the most powerful tools we have to protect the health and security of our communities.

“By strengthening multisource surveillance systems, expanding laboratory networks and diagnostic capacity, and building a skilled One Health workforce, our Region will be better able to respond to outbreaks before they escalate into wider crises, safeguarding health and saving lives.”

Dr Samaan noted that the project's regional architecture — linking national laboratory networks, specimen referral systems and communities of practice across diverse countries — will help ensure that a disease outbreak detected in one country can trigger a coordinated regional response before it spreads.

Shared commitments from partners

Backed by a US$ 35.99 million grant from the Pandemic Fund, the project has already catalysed more than US$ 151 million in additional co-financing from multilateral organizations, the private sector, philanthropic institutions and other international partners, alongside more than US$ 37 million in co-investment from the participating governments.

“Data to Action is exactly the kind of bold, country-led collaboration the Pandemic Fund was created to catalyze,” said Dr Priya Basu, Executive Head of the Pandemic Fund Secretariat. “Bringing together 12 governments and a diverse group of partners, this project demonstrates how the Pandemic Fund’s catalytic model can help translate shared ambition into coordinated investments—connecting countries and partners around a common goal of strengthening health security within and across borders. We are proud to support our first multi-country project in the Western Pacific and look forward to what this partnership can achieve for communities across the region,” she added.

The scale of co-financing shows partners’ confidence in the model of country ownership and exemplifies what catalytic financing can accomplish, that is, the ability of modest seed funding to unlock much larger, sustained commitments to preparedness.

Note to editors

Data to Action: Stronger Pandemic Preparedness and Response Systems in the Western Pacific Region was approved under the Pandemic Fund's third call for proposals. More information on the project is available here. More information on the introductory event is available on the WHO Western Pacific website.

About the Pandemic Fund

The Pandemic Fund is a first-of-its-kind multilateral financing mechanism dedicated exclusively to strengthening critical pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) capacities of low- and middle-income countries through investments at the national, regional, and global levels. The Fund provides a dedicated stream of additional, long-term financing for investments in areas such as infectious diseases surveillance, laboratories and diagnostics, and health workforce strengthening. Under its first three funding rounds, the Pandemic Fund is supporting 128 countries across six regions through 67 projects. Of these, 91 countries are accelerating investments in national and cross-border capacities for PPR, and six regional entities are bolstering regional PPR capacities that together reach 85 countries. These projects are country driven, aligned with national and regional priorities. They take a disease-agnostic approach and promote collaboration across sectors, borders, and partners—including civil society— through a One Health approach.

Media contacts

WHO Western Pacific Communications: wprocom@who.int

Ara Johannes: johannesa@who.int