UNDRR ONEA & GETI and WHO Webinar - Practical Experiences from P.R. China and the Republic of Korea with COVID-19

Objective

This webinar explores how P.R. China and the Republic of Korea have been dealing with COVID-19 and provides reflections on how to use disaster risk reduction strategies to scale these practices across countries.

Background

Recognizing the World Health Organization’s declaration of a pandemic in relation to the global outbreak of the COVID-19, UNDRR calls for disaster management agencies to give priority to biological hazards. Events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola epidemics and Zika virus outbreaks underline how important it is to break down the silos in disaster prevention and management. Ms Mami Mizutori, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, and head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, has stressed the importance to recognize the multiple ways in which such outbreaks can have a ripple effect across sectors of society and lead to the breakdown of systems that we take for granted - including health care, the provision of education, global supply chains, travel, trade and financial services.

National and local governments are working hard to ensure resilience of its health systems to combat COVID-19. It is essential that countries and cities harness the knowledge and learning from countries like P.R. China and the Republic of Korea. This webinar will also address the key challenges and the importance of preventive measures, risk information and dissemination for community preparedness and action.

Key Questions to be Addressed

1. What happened and what lessons can be drawn from COVID-19 in China, especially in Wuhan, and in the Republic of Korea?
2. What major prevention and control measures have been taken?
3. What were the key challenges in the process?
4. What potential improvements for coping with COVID-19 would you suggest based on experience?

Speakers:

P.R. China

Professor Saini Yang, Director, International Center for Collaborative Research on DRR, Beijing Normal University.

Republic of Korea

Doctor Wang-Jun Lee, M.D., Ph, D., CEO & Chairman of Myoungji Hospital, Myoungji Medical Foundation.Executive Chairman, Korean Hospital Association