Policy Brief Day 1 | Policy Brief Day 2 | Policy Brief Day 3
Working together during the COVID-19 pandemic
ASEF PHN has been working on Risk Communication for PHEs since 2013. Risk Communication is one of the 8 core capacities defined in the International Health Regulations (IHR) which all WHO Member States are required to comply with. Between 2017 to 2019, ASEF PHN implemented a series of High-level Meetings focusing on Risk Communication & Leadership (2017), How Can We Include Migrants & Ethnic Minorities (2018), and Risk Communication Beyond the Country Borders (2019) for effective Risk Communication during PHEs. On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel-coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulation (2005) (IHR). The outbreak caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continued to spread across the continents, including Asia and Europe. On 11 March 2020, WHO announced COVID-19 as a pandemic. This previously unknown virus with no effective treatment options has been posing significant challenges with its uncertain nature and rapidly evolving information. In 2021, ASEF PHN will continue to work on Risk Communication for PHEs with a focus on how we can work together during the COVID-19 pandemic by sharing best practices and lessons learnt.
About the online conference
The overall aim of the online conference is to strengthen countries’ capacity to support Risk Communication for PHEs. It provides a platform for bi-regional exchange on the best practices and lessons learnt related to Risk Communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a closed-door event via invitation only and goes online for approximately 1.5 hours each day for 3 days. The session themes of each day were selected through a survey disseminated among ASEF PHN alumni prior to the conference.
Objectives of the online conference
- To address the challenges in Risk Communication identified during the COVID-19 pandemic;
- To develop recommendations from the best Risk Communication practices and lessons learnt; and
- To identify the areas of inter-national/inter-sectoral collaboration to improve Risk Communication for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well as other EIDs in the future
Themes of the conference
- [Day 1] How can we communicate about the pandemic during high uncertainty? Policy Brief
- [Day 2] Combatting infodemic & effective use of social media → Policy Brief
- [Day 3] How can we increase “vaccine confidence”? → Policy Brief
All 3 days programme is available here
Snippets from the conference : Communicating PHEs with high uncertainties [ Video 1] [Video 2]
Target Audience
The online conference will aim to include the following audiences: i) Government officials in charge of health emergencies and emergency risk communication; ii) Government officials from sectors other than health that are involved in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and iii) representatives from civil society, including Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), International Organisations (IOs) and academia. More specifically, the Conference would aim to reach:
- Senior-level officials, advisors and/or other decision-makers from ASEM Partners’ Ministries of Health or equivalent
- Spokespersons/senior-level media personnel from ASEM Partners’ Ministries of Health or equivalent
- Senior-level officials, advisors and/or other decision-makers from ASEM Partners’ Ministries of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Tourism and other related Ministries
- Representatives of NGOs, IOs and academics whose work is related to Risk Communication and the COVID-19 pandemic
Expected Outcomes
The online conference will foster the exchange of good practices and lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic in establishing and improving Risk Communication processes between Asia and Europe. The outcome of the conference will be summarised as a report containing the key recommendations.
Conference Details
This online conference will use Webex. This event is via invitation only – Participants are required to register prior to the conference.
Conference time : 16:00-17:30 SGT ( each day)
