MBDS

The Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance Foundation or MBDS comprises six countries: Cambodia, China (Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces), Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam and a growing number of development partners who all seek to reduce mortality caused by outbreak-prone diseases in the sub-region. In 2007 the Ministers of Health of the six participating countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding to continue cooperating indefinitely.

The 2006-2007 MBDS influenza country-level and regional pandemic preparedness exercises were the first of their kind anywhere in the world. We are well connected with the other CORDS networks and are currently working with:

• The Asia Partnership and CORDs on Emerging Infectious Diseases Research and a research project aiming to improve biosecurity
• The East African Integrated Disease Surveillance Network on implementing mobile phone technology to improve infectious disease surveillance and a project to improve surveillance of infections in maternal and child health.

For more information on our vital work visit our website.