As a follow-up to our Pandemic Readiness Enhancement Program training series in 2023 and 2024, we hosted a three-day Friends of Centre of Excellence for Pandemic Preparedness Dialogue 2025 at the Red Cross House's Hall for Humanity to discuss future plans and collaborative strategies in building community resilience.
The Centre of Excellence for Pandemic Preparedness (CoEPP) was established by the Singapore Red Cross in 2019 to advance pandemic preparedness in Southeast Asia through capacity building, regional collaboration, and thought leadership.
Therefore, it was with great pleasure that we welcomed regional health focal points from eight Southeast Asian National Societies, from 20 to 22 May 2025, to the Red Cross House's Hall for Humanity to chart the future of pandemic preparedness.
Present were representatives from Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent, Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), Lao Red Cross, Malaysia Red Crescent, Myanmar Red Cross, Thai Red Cross, Timor-Leste Red Cross (CVTL), and Viet Nam Red Cross.
Advancing Collective Action
The programme facilitated comprehensive discussions across four key areas. Participants shared insights and feedback on CoEPP's ongoing initiatives whilst exchanging knowledge on effective pandemic preparedness and response strategies tailored to their diverse national contexts. Together, they identified and co-strategised new initiatives under CoEPP to benefit the Southeast Asia Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, reviewing progress against CoEPP's Pandemic Preparedness Profile to ensure initiatives remain relevant and impactful.
A significant focus was placed on exploring avenues for regional fundraising and diversifying resource-building approaches to facilitate preparedness initiatives. This included a presentation by Professor Paul Tambyah from the National University Hospital, which provided cutting-edge insights into current infectious disease trends and preparedness strategies as well as a segment by the Timor-Leste Red Cross to capacity building efforts in enhancing auxiliary roles in pandemic response.
Learning Through Experience
The programme culminated with an experiential site visit to Singapore's National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), where participants deepened their understanding of how Singapore prepares for and responds to outbreaks. The visit included tours of negative pressure wards, interactive sessions at the NCID Gallery, and comprehensive discussions on disease surveillance methods, response protocols, and potential collaborative opportunities that could be adapted across the region.
This hands-on learning experience allowed participants to observe best practices in infectious disease management and explore how these approaches might be tailored for different resource settings and national contexts across Southeast Asia.
Shaping the Future
The rich discussions and findings from this dialogue will directly inform the CoEPP three-to-five year work plan, establishing clear targets to strengthen National Society auxiliary roles, drive greater inter-National Society collaboration, and expand community-level engagement through webinars, joint-trainings, and resource-building innovations.
CoEPP drives preparedness from a bottom-up approach, leveraging the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement's deep access to communities to strengthen community resilience and readiness in managing disease outbreaks of varying scales. Southeast Asia remains at the centre of global attention regarding emerging infectious diseases due to its diversity and dynamic landscape of rapid social, environmental and demographic change.
It is through this localised, inclusive, and sustained investment in preparedness that Southeast Asia can stand ready – before the next crisis strikes.
Photos by Allan Tee and Patrick Xu, volunteer photographers