The ASEAN Institute for Disaster Health Management, hereinafter referred to as “AIDHM”, shall be established to support the Regional Coordination Committee on Disaster Health Management (RCCDHM), the current mechanism of the ASEAN Health Sector in the operationalisation of the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Disaster Health Management (POA/ALD on DHM). The operationalisation of the Declaration is under the purview of the ASEAN Health Cluster 2 on Responding to All Hazards and Emerging Threats and the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Health Development (SOMHD) based on the Governance and Implementation Mechanism (GIM) for the ASEAN Post 2015 Health Development Agenda 2021-2025. The ALD on DHM was adopted at the 31st ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in November 2017 in Manila, Philippines, and the POA was adopted by the 14th ASEAN Health Ministers’ Meeting in August 2019 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The AIDHM shall execute mandates and functions that support the RCC-DHM which are related to training, academic and research programmes and initiatives on disaster health management in the ASEAN.

Disaster Health Management (DHM) is one of the Health Priorities of the ASEAN Post-2015 Health Development Agenda (APHDA). Under the purview of ASEAN Health Cluster 2, DHM aims to strengthen regional prevention, preparedness and response to disaster and achieve disaster resilient health system in the ASEAN Community through capacity building as well as enhancing operation of the DHM at national and regional levels. In the context of the ASEAN Health Cooperation, DHM encompasses the coordinated and organized actions of various sectors and stakeholders aimed at preventing or mitigating the impact of, preparing for and responding to, and facilitating immediate recovery from, disasters, emergencies and other health-related crises.