The ASEAN Member States (AMS) are undergoing rapid economic growth, urbanization, and a demographic shift toward ageing populations. These transitions are contributing to a rise in lifestyle related risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) ¹. The current NCD landscape in the AMS is characterized by high mortality rates. In the WHO South-East Asia Region, 62% of all deaths are attributable to NCDs². The burden of NCDs is disproportionately affected by younger populations in the South-East Asia Region compared to other WHO regions³. Similarly, in the WHO Western Pacific Region, the pace of progress in combating NCDs remains slow⁴.

The urgency of addressing NCDs in AMS is further reinf/orced by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly SDG indicator 3.4.1, which targets a one-third reduction in premature mortality from NCDs between 2015 and 2030⁵. However, many AMS countries face significant challenges in accurately estimating the burden of these diseases, mainly due to limitations in data availability, quality, and analytical capacity. These challenges hinder effective policymaking and resource allocation, as governments struggle to prioritize interventions without a clear understanding of the health burden.

To address this problem, the ASEAN Burden of Disease (BOD) Network was established to foster regional collaboration and capacity building for BOD studies. In the first network workshop held in 2021, the ASEAN BOD Network highlighted gaps across AMS, with a key priority being the accurate and timely reporting of health-related SDG indicators, particularly premature mortality attributable to the four major NCDs. Three countries—Brunei, Singapore, and Thailand—were identified as being able to report the SDG 3.4.1 indicator regularly. However, several AMS face challenges in this area: Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines struggle with the consistency of their reporting, while Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam lack available data for this specific indicator. In addition, country-assessment of ASEAN capacities pointed that there is limited capacity to produce BOD estimation. ⁶

Building on the action plans developed during the first workshop, the workshop aims to equip AMS
participants with the tools and knowledge needed to assess the availability and quality on the SDG
indicator 3.4.1 as well as to calculate and monitor the indicator using standardized method in
accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.⁷ This is crucial for generating reliable data across the region, thereby enabling better policy-making and more effective interventions to reduce premature mortality from NCDs.

This initiative also aligns with the SDG 2030 agenda, the WHO NCD Global Monitoring Framework, and the WHO Regional Action Framework on NCDs, contributing to healthier populations and more resilient health systems in ASEAN.

Objectives

1. To assess the current situation in terms of data availability and quality on the SDG indicator 3.4.1 and discuss how data gaps can be closed
2. To enhance the capacity of AMS participants in estimating, analyzing and interpreting premature mortality resulting from NCDs
3. To build network for further BOD research among AMS
4. To establish some key indicators that would be monitored among AMS