Asia Regional Integration Center

In response to the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the Special ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 29 April 2003. The ASEAN Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Containment Information Network was established as a result of the Special ASEAN Leaders Meeting. The network shares information, best practices, and new findings on SARS transparently, helping each member contain SARS domestically and across borders.

The 7th ASEAN Summit on HIV/AIDS adopted the ASEAN Work Programme on HIV/AIDS II (2002-2005) and identified access to essential HIV/AIDS drugs as a priority area for ASEAN cooperation. The ASEAN-Disease-Surveillance.Net was established to promote Regional Infectious Disease Outbreak Recognition and Response Activities.

The 12th Meeting of the ASEAN Experts Group on Disaster Management (AEGDM), held on 16-18 September 2002 in Viet Nam, agreed to restructure the AEGDM into an ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM). To intensify ASEAN cooperation in disaster management, the Committee also decided to meet annually instead of once every two years. The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, which was signed in June 2002, signifies the culmination of concerted and intensive regional efforts over the years to address transboundary haze pollution since the 1997-98 severe haze episodes. The agreement seeks to institutionalize and enhance existing arrangements under the Regional Haze Action Plan (RHAP) and to provide a legal framework to better facilitate regional and international cooperation in addressing transboundary haze pollution problem more effectively.