Government agencies from eight Asia-Pacific countries will launch an international framework next month to prepare for future pandemics, with vaccine development cooperation at its core, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on September 29.

The initiative is led by the Strategic Center of Biomedical Advanced Vaccine Research and Development for Preparedness and Response (SCARDA), the Japanese government's vaccine development hub. It comes as governments across the region confront gaps in surveillance and information sharing that were exposed during the coronavirus pandemic, and as funding for epidemic preparedness has flowed disproportionately towards Africa.

The first meeting is scheduled for early October in Tokyo. It will bring together the agencies responsible for infectious disease control in Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Representatives of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the international fund that finances vaccine development by pharmaceutical companies and other developers, will also attend.

Participants will exchange information on the spread of infectious diseases that threaten the Asia-Pacific region, including dengue and Zika fever, along with the measures each country is taking against them. Discussions will cover strategies for developing vaccines and diagnostic tests, and how to bring them into practical use.

The countries intend to press CEPI, which has tended to give priority to Africa, to allocate a larger share of its funding to infectious disease control in Asia.