Speeches

Asia Pacific Military Medicine Conference
Remarks by Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold

April 17, 2008

 

Thank you, Brigadier General Jones.  Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.

I’m delighted to have been asked to make a few remarks this evening as you’re nearing the end of this important and timely conference, and I’m honored to address such an eminent group of senior medical professionals representing the vast Asia Pacific region.  First, let me offer my special thanks to the co-hosts of this conference, who were introduced to you earlier: Rear Admiral John Wong, and Brigadier General Steven Jones.

The collective knowledge in this room tonight is very impressive – around 600 delegates from 27 different countries.  I’m confident that this conference is giving all of you the opportunity to learn from each other and utilize that knowledge as you prepare your medical teams for future challenges.

"Learning from the Past, Transforming Medical Teams for the Future" is the theme of this conference, and it clearly expresses a commitment to enhance the interoperability and medical readiness of the Asia Pacific Region Armed Forces.

And as all of you know, this conference is part of a continuing series of conferences for military medical professionals, promoting cooperation and collegiality - with the goal of advancing military health care, by focusing on topics in comprehensive health services, clinical research, education and prevention.

Recent humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts within the region demonstrate the reality that military healthcare challenges and responsibilities are global in nature and require mutual cooperation and mutual planning.

Unfortunately, we all know too well what can happen when we are unprepared for a crisis.  It’s easy, in hindsight, to look back and say "If only …"   If only there had been enough lifeboats on the Titanic for all of the passengers, many hundreds more lives would have been saved.

In the case of military healthcare, our challenge is to provide - ahead of time - those lifeboats, the resources that can save lives.  Your lifeboats are coordinated preparation, along with immediate and effective response.

The world has changed dramatically since the Titanic sank almost 100 years ago.  Today, we can travel thousands of miles in a matter of hours instead of months and in an instant, we can speak to people on the other side of the world.

Technology facilitates transportation and communication, and it also allows us to plan ahead.

We can create networks between individuals, communities, and countries that will enable us to work together to anticipate and solve problems.  The tools are here: technology, expertise, and motivation.  What remains is for the pieces to be put together.  Events such as this conference will help us achieve that goal.

Let me briefly mention what we’re doing in the regional context.  In addition to our extensive bilateral relations with individual Southeast Asian countries, we also work closely with ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, comprised of 10 Southeast Asian countries.  ASEAN has taken recent steps to become a stronger organization and we eagerly support its efforts.

With our ASEAN partners, we’ve launched several important initiatives.  On the medical front, we’ve rapidly expanded our cooperation with countries in Southeast Asia on health issues - including avian influenza, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.  We’ve also supported an expert on pandemic preparedness and avian influenza at the ASEAN Secretariat.

The U. S. is working with ASEAN to assess and build capacity in the areas of information, communications technology, transport - and perhaps most significant to this audience, disaster management.  We’re also implementing a health assistance program in several Southeast Asia countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

The U. S. and Singapore have established and are jointly funding the Regional Emerging Diseases Intervention Center (commonly known as the REDI Center)  which is becoming a hub for improving detection, and enhancing the region's capacity to recognize and respond to the threat of emerging infectious diseases.

Although REDI began as a bilateral initiative, we expect other partners will join, thereby helping REDI to reach its full potential as a multilateral organization.

Let me conclude by saying that the U.S. is committed to the Asia-Pacific region and we’re confident in its bright future.  It’s a future that we very much intend to be part of.

I hope you’ve had a productive conference so far.  For those of you who don't reside in Singapore, I hope you’ve had sufficient breaks to experience the beauty and vitality of Singapore and its people.  Thank you very much for being here and for the work that you do.