Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT) VIDRL Projects
The Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Centre for Health Security has established the Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative, to support development of resilient and equitable health systems in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, supporting partner countries to reduce disease risks, burdens and respond effectively to health emergencies.
The Doherty Institute has been awarded a Strategic Partnership under this initiative (2024-2027), “The Doherty Institute Strategic Partnership for prevention, surveillance and response to Infectious Diseases across the Indo-Pacific region” (Strategic Partnership). The Strategic Partnership will support workforce development, policy development, systems strengthening and partnerships, targeting five priority work areas: COMBAT-AMR, SPARKLE, eLABorate, BRDIGe, and HiT3. This comprehensive program will work closely with a number of Pacific Island countries to improve laboratory diagnosis and surveillance, outbreak and endemic pathogen response, pathogen genomic surveillance, antimicrobial resistance prevention and response, and the use of data for decision making. This multi-year program will conclude in 2027.
Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) is leading two priority work areas, eLABorate and HiT3.
eLABorate: “Enhancing laboratory accuracy and biosafety for outbreak response in the Asia-Pacific through education”
Program Leads: Professor Peter Revill and Mr Navin Karan
Project Officer: Dr. Sanjay Gautam
Medical Scientists: Ms Bridget Fraser and Ms Helen Toma
The eLABorate initiative will strengthen laboratory capacity and systems for infectious disease diagnoses, with a focus on molecular and serological testing capabilities.
This will be achieved through technical training to expand in-country testing capabilities, quality assurance and management. The program will be delivered in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Kiribati.
HIT3: “Hepatitis B integration into Triple Elimination”
Program Leads: Professor Ben Cowie and Dr. Nicole Allard.
Project Officer: Ms Eliza Copsey
HiT3 (Hepatitis B Integration into Triple Elimination), led by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis, aims to further incorporate hepatitis B into programs for the Triple Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B, in partner countries Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Cambodia and Fiji. The program will achieve this through the provision of technical support to assist in evaluation, development, and implementation of updated frameworks, guidelines and training, as guided by partner countries, alongside any other identified opportunities of integration into existing Triple Elimination programs.