Healthcare systems are at the frontline of delivering critical care during emergencies. From flood-induced cholera outbreaks to earthquake casualties and zoonotic diseases, health care systems play a crucial role in mitigating the illnesses and deaths caused by emergencies. Yet, already before the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries were struggling to meet even routine demands for health care. Climate change, disasters, pandemics, and demographic changes will increase pressures on already strained health systems. Large systemic shocks — like pandemics or natural disasters — highlight the urgent need for governments to invest in resilient health systems for mitigating the loss of lives and prolonged impacts on people’s livelihoods. The World Bank’s report “Frontline: Preparing Healthcare Systems for Shocks from Disasters to Pandemic” attention to the importance of the interdependence of health systems and other sectors, particularly infrastructure systems and broader emergency response and fiscal governance frameworks.
In this session we hear from leading experts working at the nexus of public health and disaster risk management. We learn from successful country implementation cases and show how existing information can be the basis for innovative data-driven decision-making. It shows how leveraging cross-sectoral knowledge and collaborations can help to improve health system planning, facility upgrading, and emergency preparedness and response based on evolving risk exposure. The session will showcase the World Bank’s work in investing health system resilience and disaster risk management in developing countries, as well as lessons from Japan’s pioneering approaches in this field.
This seminar will be held in hybrid manner (participation at the venue – up to 15 people, and online participation) English without interpretation into Japanese.
Date/Time:
4pm-5:30pm, Monday June 24, 2024 (Japan Standard Time)
Speakers:
Atsuhiro Nakagawa
Special Appointed Professor of Clinical Research, Innovation, and Education, Tohoku University Hospital (CRIETO) and Assistant to Hospital Director for Industry Alliance, and Technology Introduction
Jun Rentschler
Senior Economist, World Bank
Mersedeh Tariverdi
Senior Data Scientist, World Bank