TERMS OF COLLABORATION

Preamble

1. The Regional Public Health Laboratory Network (RPHL Network) is a voluntary collaboration of national public health laboratories across the Asia-Pacific region. Established in 2019 under an agreed Terms of Collaboration (TOC), the Network serves as a platform for health security cooperation and capacity-building, bringing together laboratory leaders and professionals to strengthen national public health laboratories for preparedness, prevention, and the timely detection of emerging infectious diseases and other public health threats. Through shared knowledge, coordinated action, and collective problem-solving, the Network facilitates timely information sharing, advances key technical priorities, and leverages regional expertise and resources to create more responsive laboratory systems across the region. It fosters alignment of national laboratory system development with global and regional strategic frameworks, complements other laboratory networks and platforms, and promotes multilateral cooperation that recognizes and builds on individual capacities to enhance regional capability.

2. As of March 2026, the RPHL Network includes the following members: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam. Thailand, through its Department of Medical Sciences (DMSc), serves as the Network’s permanent chair and hosts the Secretariat Office.

3. The Terms of Collaboration will replace the previous Terms of Collaboration, endorsed after 2019 under one of the GHSA Action Package, in providing the framework for the governance of the Network, guiding members in their engagement and participation.

RPHL Network’s Governance Structure