The Regional Engagement in Surveillance and response to Priority diseases, providing Opportunities for National health system strengthening and Development (RESPOND) partnership will engage with key partners in the Asia-Pacific region, to support the development and implementation of initiatives that will build healthcare capacity and resilience in the region. Drawing on over 20 years of Menzies’ experience and established collaborations with Governments and other stakeholders, the RESPOND partnership will work with partner countries to help build capacity for health systems to anticipate, prevent, detect and control priority disease threats.

Overview:

Overall, RESPOND is designed to build more resilient and equitable health systems which are capable of reducing the burden of disease.

Objectives and priority areas of work (PAOW) have been developed through ongoing discussions with Government and in-country partners, and include strengthening clinical disease surveillance systems, population-based laboratory surveillance, One Health approaches, laboratory systems, point-of-care diagnostics, and case management of priority diseases. Across these PAOW, we will focus on health economic analysis and translation of evidence into impact on policy and practice. In addition, RESPOND will also provide an opportunity for First Nations researchers from Australia to participate in two-way learning opportunities co-designed with counterparts in the region, sharing experience and knowledge to tackle shared challenges.

We will ensure that improvements in gender equity, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) are integrated into all aspects of work and influence outcomes. 

The priority areas of work include:

  1. Strengthening clinical disease surveillance systems.
  2. Strengthening systems for population-based laboratory surveillance.
  3. Strengthening One Health approaches to surveillance.
  4. Strengthening laboratory systems in partner countries:  
  5. Improving access to Point of Care diagnostics:
  6. Optimising case management of priority diseases:
  7. Supporting Australian First Nations people and partners in other countries to share experience and knowledge in health system strengthening
Key Staff:

Menzies Investigators:

Contact Us:

Dr Deborah Hall, Business Manager, Global & Tropical Health (debbie.hall@menzies.edu.au)