Sydney Asia-Pacific Partnership for Health Innovations and Resilient Ecosystems – Asia
About us
Sydney Asia-Pacific Partnership for Health Innovations and Resilient Ecosystems (SAPPHIRE) Asia is an integrated four-year program of research and program delivery that will generate new knowledge and transform health practice relating to infectious and chronic diseases in Vietnam and Cambodia. Building upon longstanding partnerships with leading government academic and healthcare organisations in the two countries, SAPPHIRE will support the scale-up of evidence-based health interventions in the healthcare sector and the community.
The program will establish Australia as a trusted partner through strong institutional partnerships, in-country capacity, and timely strategic advice. Our partnership supports the prevention, detection, and control of high burden communicable diseases, including drug resistant organisms and tuberculosis. Our chronic disease strategy targets COPD, asthma, smoking, and enhanced cancer detection. We will improve data systems and workforce capacity through an embedded partnership model.
SAPPHIRE Asia is part of the wider SAPPHIRE program that builds on the successes of the DFAT-funded VQUIN and V-RESIST (Vietnam) and WISH-Fiji projects, and the MRFF-funded PEARL study in Kiribati. Taken together into this next phase, these projects emphasise community participation, infectious and chronic disease control, health system strengthening, One Health adoption, climate change adaptation, and GEDSI integration for regional health security.
Our partnership supports the prevention, detection, and control of high burden communicable diseases, including drug resistant organisms and resilience against COVID-19. Our chronic disease strategy targets COPD, asthma, smoking, and enhanced cancer detection. We will improve data systems and workforce capacity in all sites through an embedded partnership model. In addition, we will establish a One/Planetary Health action and policy hub in the Pacific.
The SAPPHIRE projects are ambitious in scope including efforts to: to implement community-based solutions to AMR, tuberculosis and chronic lung disease in Vietnam; develop an integrative approach to One/Planetary Health surveillance and action in the Pacific; and create a pathway to tuberculosis and leprosy elimination in South Tarawa, Kiribati. Our local partnerships are well established and strong, working with Ministries of Health, national universities, different levels of hospitals and local health services, as well as communities. We are committed to transitioning capacity to local institutions over the life of the project to ensure sustainability and ownership.