Meeting of programme managers and the Regional Technical Advisory Group on dengue and other arboviruses in the South-East Asia Region, Kathmandu, Nepal, 14–16 June 2023

Overview

Dengue has emerged as the most widespread and rapidly increasing vector-borne disease (VBD) in the world. With dengue endemic in 10 of the 11 Member States, the WHO South-East Asia Region records one of the highest burdens of dengue in the world. There has been an increase in the geospatial distribution, and also the scale and frequency of dengue outbreaks in the Region in the recent past. In particular, five Member States, namely India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand, are among the 30 most highly endemic countries in the world. Furthermore, chikungunya and Zika having the potential for outbreaks, with deaths and disability reported in eight and three Member States of the Region respectively.

The Regional Technical Advisory Group (RTAG) on dengue and other arboviruses was re-established in 2021. The RTAG meets bi-annually to review the emerging scenario of dengue in the Region, and advise appropriate mechanisms and priorities for prevention and control. In March 2022, the WHO headquarters (WHO HQ) launched the Global Arbovirus Initiative (GLAI) to strengthen the coordination, communication, capacity-building, research, preparedness and response necessary to mitigate the growing risk of epidemics due to arboviral diseases.

The meeting of programme managers and the Regional Technical Advisory Group on dengue and other arboviruses in the South-East Asia Region was convened in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 14–16 June 2023. The meeting was attended by the Regional Technical Advisory Group members and programme managers, along with other representatives from the Member States and officers from WHO HQ, the Regional Office and the WHO country offices. In addition, several experts from different technical areas participated physically or virtually in the meeting as resource persons