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TRANSCRIPT
Report on Webinar Series “COVID-19 Pandemics and
Disaster Management”
2
Report on
Webinar Series “COVID-19 Pandemics
and Disaster Management”
Jointly Organized by
National Institute of Disaster
Management
Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of
India
World Health Organization
3
Organizing Team
Patron
Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM
Executive Director, NIDM (Email: [email protected])
Course Chair
Dr. Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM
Webinar Coordinators
Dr. Saurabh Dalal, NPO Emergency, WHO
Mr. Raju Thapa, Young Professional, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM
Webinar Moderators
Mr. Raju Thapa, Young Professional, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM
Dr. Harjeet Kaur, Young Professional, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM
Mr. Anil Kathait, Young Professional, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM
IT support
Mr. Shobhit Sharma, Young Professional, NIDM
Mr. Balaji Ariputhiran, GIS Analyst, NIDM
Mr. Gaurav Sinha, Young Professional, NIDM
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Contents
Sl No. Content Page No.
1
Webinar on “COVID-19: Global and National Perspective –
What we have learnt so far” on 02nd
June, 2020
5 - 7
2
Webinar on “Data Science and Role of Technology” on 9th
June
2020
8 - 10
3
Webinar on "Urban Issues and COVID-19 Management in
Densely Populated Settings” on 16th
June 2020
11 - 14
4
Webinar on "WASH, Infection Prevention and Control including
Biomedical Waste Management” on 23th
June 2020
15 – 17
5
Webinar on "Psycho-social Care and Gender based violence
(GBV) Issues” on 30th
June 2020
18 - 20
6 Way ahead
21 - 26
5
COVID-19: Global and National Perspective – What we have learnt so far
02nd
June, 2020
National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in collaboration with World Health
Organization (WHO) conducted webinar on “COVID-19: Global and National Perspective –
What we have learnt so far” on 2nd
June 2020. The aim of the webinar is to bring together all
the stakeholders in the same platform to analyze and reflect the lesson learnt so far and
integrating knowledge to understand the different aspects of COVID-19 at national and
international levels. Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, Executive Director, NIDM,
Professor Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM, Dr.
Tran Minh, Team Leader, Health Security and Emergency Response, WHO and Dr. Ritu
Chauhan, NPO IHR, WHO were the key speakers of the webinar that was moderated by Dr.
Harjeet Kaur, YP, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM.
Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, Executive Director, NIDM in his keynote address stated
that its nearly a century when the similar pandemic (Spanish flu) occurred in 1918 for two year
in three successive stage, but we have not learn our lesson thoroughly. Privatization of medicine
sector has denied the most vulnerable because of the cost involved and public health centre have
been affected right upto the community level. He also highlighted that researchers, scientist,
academician don’t find the right platform to share knowledge and information with policy
makers and limited expertise of the researchers is considered in policy formation and hence there
is a need to consult the academician, researchers, health workers etc to a large extend. Dr. Tran
Minh, WHO highlighted how WHO is working 24*7 to analyses data provide advices,
coordinate with partners, help countries prepare increase supplies and manage experts. He also
provided an insight of corona virus brief history, occurrence, transmission and its control. He
also explained how WHO is putting tremendous efforts on accelerating research and
development toward vaccine development. Dr. Ritu Chauhan, NPO IHR, WHO explained how
COVID-19 pandemic is triggering strong emotions among the Indian population and the
importance of emotional control. She also highlighted stigma induced problems and urged all the
participants to ensure that the facts should be checked for its authenticity. She also emphasized
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on health, safety and moral of health care workers and we have to fight the diseases, not the
workers. Professor Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division,
NIDM highlighted the disaster management perspective of COVID-19 pandemics and stressed
on strengthening collaboration, command, control and communication systems for efficient
prompt graded response and recovery. The webinar was supervised and guided by Major
General Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM Executive Director, NIDM and 260 participants from
various field and states.
Programme Schedule
Session Theme Speaker Duration
Inaugural Remarks Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, ED,
NIDM
10 mins
COVID-19: Global and
National Perspective Dr Tran Minh, Team Leader, Health Security
and Emergency Response, WHO
20 mins
COVID-19 Pandamic:
Communicating the risk
Dr Ritu Chauhan, NPO IHR, WHO
20 mins
Experience with COVID-19
Pandemics
Dr. Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-
Meteorological Risks Management Division,
NIDM
20 mins
Question and Answer Dr. Harjeet Kaur, NIDM (Moderator) 10 Mins
Summing Up and Conclusion Dr. Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-
Meteorological Risks Management Division,
NIDM
10 Mins
7
Photo Gallery
8
Data Science and Role of Technology
9th
June 2020
National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in collaboration with World Health Organization
(WHO) conducted webinar on “Data Science and Role of Technology” on 9th June 2020. The aim of
the webinar is to bring together all the stakeholders in the same platform and get an insight into
the role of technology and data science to anticipate, measure, tract and fight COVID-19. Maj.
Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, Executive Director, NIDM, Professor Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-
Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM, Dr. Pavana Murthy, NPO, IHIP, WHO and Dr.
Satish Ranjan, KMC Germany were the key speakers of the webinar that was moderated by Mr. Raju
Thapa, YP, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM.
Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, Executive Director, NIDM in his keynote address
highlighted that organizations, initiatives and networks that support evidence-informed policy-
making can play an important role in providing relevant and timely evidence to inform pandemic
responses and bridge the gap between science, policy and politics. He also stressed upon an
organised form of these aforementioned entities, will brings decision-makers, researchers,
practitioners, civil society groups and other stakeholders together to facilitate the process of
translating evidence into policy and action by aligning research topics with policy priorities,
responding to pressing issues through developing policy briefs, rapid responses and evidence
summaries, and convening dialogues to guide policy formulation and implementation. Dr. Satish
Ranjan, KMC suggested to adopt advance testing, completing tracking and treating otherwise it
will replicate and increase the cases. He also brought to the notice that the limitation of current
technologies to address COVID-19 is limited to testing, tracking and treating. He also stressed
upon Innovation as the need of the hour. He also highlighted the success story of South Korea in
combating the CoVID-19. Just to supplement to his points there is another example of effective
use of data comes from South Korea. The country’s sense of urgency escalated after “Patient 31”
became a “superspreader” and is thought to have caused the rapid rise in cases. Who was later
tracked down with a mobile app, developed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, South
Korea. It is during times like these that we realize how important data is in everything we do.
Combating this virus will depend upon accurate and timely data that will ultimately help medical
professionals and communities stem this crisis. The systemic impact of this crisis will require the
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curation and use of data to fully understand the financial scope of the crisis and help decision-
makers respond and secure our economy. Let there be no mistake about it, what we do as
researchers, information professionals impacts our businesses, our industries, and our entire
society.
Dr. Pavana Murthy, NPO, IHIP, WHO stressed into enhancing Special Surveillance System (S3),
and gave a detail indepth of Integrated Health Information Platform. He also highlighted the
need for event specific data. Dr Pavana Murthy has rightly pointed out the need for Intersectoral
coordination which is essential for managing large-scale outbreaks. The Intersectoral
coordination and approaches need to be integrated into a new model of governance for health
and well-being that is built around a stronger focus on partnerships, through a whole-of-society
approach, and increased governance coherence, both horizontally across sectors and vertically
through all levels of governance. He further pointed out that health systems preparedness is key
to timely emergency response. We can reduce our nation's risk by preparing our health facilities
and communities to treat the sick and protect the well. In the end, healthcare preparedness is
about saving lives and reducing the long-term health consequences of disasters. Professor Surya
Parkash, Head, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM discussed the
innovative technologies helping in the fight against Covid-19. Technology in itself cannot
replace or make up for other public policy measures but it does have an increasingly critical role
to play in emergency responses. Covid-19, as the first major epidemic of the 21st century,
represents an excellent opportunity for policy-makers and regulators to reflect on the legal
plausibility, ethical soundness and effectiveness deploying emerging technologies under time
pressure. Striking the right balance will be crucial for maintaining the public's trust in evidence-
based public health interventions.
The webinar was supervised and guided by Major General Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM
Executive Director, NIDM and about 402 participants from various field and states attended the
webinar.
Programme Schedule
Session Theme Speaker Duration
Inaugural Remarks Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, ED,
NIDM
5 mins
10
Session Theme Speaker Duration
Data science and role of
technology
Dr. Pavana Murthy, NPO, IHIP, WHO 25 mins
Dr. Satish Ranjan, KMC Germany 25 mins
Dr. Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-
Meteorological Risks Management Division,
NIDM
25 mins
Question and Answer Mr. Raju Thapa (Moderator) 5 Mins
Summing Up and Conclusion Mr. Raju Thapa (Moderator) 5 Mins
Photo Gallery
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"Urban Issues and COVID-19 Management in Densely Populated Settings”
16th
June 2020
National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in collaboration with World Health Organization
(WHO) conducted webinar on "Urban Issues and COVID-19 Management in Densely
Populated Settings” on 16th June 2020. The aim of the webinar is to bring together all the
stakeholders in the same platform and is to emphasize and translate the urban dimension of the
COVID-19 issues and assess the measures that need to be taken for COVID-19 Management in
Densely Populated Settings in India. Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, Executive Director,
NIDM, Professor Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM, Dr.
Krishna S. Vatsa, Member NDMA, Dr. Martina Spies, Austrian architect, activist and social designer,
Anukruti, Dr. Saurabh Dalal, NPO Emergency, WHO and Dr. Sachin Rewaria, NPO Training, WHO
were the key speakers of the webinar that was moderated by Mr. Anil Kathait, YP, Geo-Meteorological
Risks Management Division, NIDM.
Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, Executive Director, NIDM in his keynote address
highlighted that In India, unprecedented urban sprawling already impedes intensification of
complex, urban issues including but not limited to land, water and sanitation. He also mentioned
that Slums in India majorly consist of migrant workers who are engaged is short- and long-term
employment in the unorganized economy which is very sporadic in nature, with constant job
insecurity. The unprecedented lockdown in the country to prevent the spread of the virus may be
well-intentioned but not adequate for this section of the population. While Dharavi is famous as
Asia’s largest slum, there are many other similar or smaller zones spread across the urban
landscape of India where media outreach is minimal, and it is unclear whether the virus has made
its way to those slums. Dr. Krishna S. Vatsa, Member NDMA shared his views in Urban Issues
and COVID-19 Management in Densely Populated Settings. He highlighted that the pandemic
has been treated as a societal emergency, as it should be and as it should continue to be before it
can be contained and, hopefully, treated and cured. Infectious diseases, especially those like
COVID-19, are societal reminders that health and medical research remain as vital as ever. They
serve as a reminder that we as a society are not invincible and have a long way to go in
understanding not only the human body but how it reacts to and manifests different diseases. Dr.
Saurabh Dalal, NPO Emergency, WHO delivered his lecture on “COVID 19 Pandemic Key Lessons
& Management: Urban Settlements. During his lecture he discussed the transmission of COVID-
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19 in Urban Settlements, Slums, and densely populated areas is a major challenge. He also
focused on the Transmission dynamics, Susceptibility and Severity. He also stressed upon the
need for prioritizing the COVID-19 prevention and control in informal settlements and
highlighted the major risk factors for people living in the informal settlements. He also discussed
about the Pilot Urban Slum Survey which was rolled as part of Social Listening System where
the survey questions were developed in consultation with all partners and interagency
involvement, to bring in the holistic perspective and expertise of various agencies to assess the
community risk perception and thought process. Dr. Sachin Rewaria, NPO Training, WHO gave an
detail presentation on “Urban issue & COVID-19: Delhi”. He presented the COVID-19 situation report of
Delhi as on 15th June, 2020. He also discussed number of cases in high burden states, status of COVID-19
cases & death, projected versus actual cases in Delhi, challenges, support from partners and way forward:
health system response. Dr. Martina spies, Anukruti presented her presentation on “Learning from
Dharavi, Mumbai: Challenges and suggestions in the current scenario of Covid-19”. In her
presentation, she stressed upon the challenge as not only to reduce the number of patients but
also to increase the number of discharges. She presented the detail scenario of Dharavi and
mentioned that, “Social distancing is all but impossible, where multiple people live together in
tiny rooms and residents have no option but to rely on public toilets. The strategy for the area
focuses on screening and isolating potential patients. The city formed teams of doctors and
volunteers to go door-to-door checking for people with symptoms. More than 100,000 people
have been screened, Dighavkar said, and nearly 2,500 have been placed in government-run
quarantine facilities. All of Dharavi’s more than 450 public toilets are being disinfected daily.”
Professor Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM
discussed the Preparedness and response to COVID-19 in Urban Settlements. He highlighted
various ways for preparing urban settlements for prevention and control of COVID-19 such as
Institutional mechanism, COVID-19 containment plan etc. He also discussed the response to
COVID-19 outbreak in Urban settlements where he spoke about the trigger for Action,
implementation of Cluster Containment plan, Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI), Risk
Communication, Supervising, monitoring and reporting. The webinar was supervised and guided
by Major General Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM Executive Director, NIDM and about 406
participants from various field and states attended the webinar.
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Programme Schedule
Session Theme Speaker Duration
Inaugural Remarks Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, ED,
NIDM
5 mins
Urban Issues and COVID-19
Management in Densely
Populated Settings
Dr. Saurabh Dalal, NPO Emergency, WHO 20 mins
Dr. Sachin Rewaria, NPO Training, WHO 20 mins
Dr. Martina Spies,
Austrian architect, activist and social designer,
Anukruti
20 mins
Dr. Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-
Meteorological Risks Management Division,
NIDM
10 mins
Question and Answer Mr. Anil Kathait (Moderator) 10 Mins
Summing Up and Conclusion Mr. Anil Kathait (Moderator) 5 Mins
Photo Gallery
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15
"WASH, Infection Prevention and Control including Biomedical Waste Management”
on 23th
June 2020.
National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in collaboration with World Health Organization
(WHO) conducted webinar on "WASH, Infection Prevention and Control including Biomedical
Waste Management” on 23th
June 2020. The aim of the webinar is to emphasize on Infection
Prevention and Control (IPC) measures required in order to be prepared and ready to respond to
an outbreak due to COVID-19 and understanding ways of implementing WHO recommended
IPC interventions. The aim of the webinar is to emphasize on Infection Prevention and Control
(IPC) measures required in order to be prepared and ready to respond to an outbreak due to
COVID-19 and understanding ways of implementing WHO recommended IPC interventions.
Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, Executive Director, NIDM; Professor Surya Parkash,
Head, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM; Dr. Anuj Sharma, NPO, AMR,
WHO; Dr. Manjeet Saluja, NPO, WASH, WHO; Dr. Pratibha Singh, WASH Specialist -
UNICEF India and Dr Apurva Chaturvedi, Health Specialist, UNICEF India were the key
speakers of the webinar that was moderated by Mr. Raju Thapa, YP, Geo-Meteorological Risks
Management Division, NIDM. Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, Executive Director,
NIDM in his keynote address highlighted that India has specific rules to deal with biomedical
waste, but the Covid-19 presented a unique challenge before the country where it has currently to
deal with unestimated amount of biomedical waste (BMW) exclusively from dedicated Covid
hospitals, quarantine centres and home quarantine facilities in cities/towns and district/block
headquarters. The task has become all the more difficult as many states lack strict monitoring
mechanism. Best practices for safely managing health-care waste should be followed, including
assigning responsibility and sufficient human and material resources to segregate and dispose of
waste safely. There is no evidence that direct, unprotected human contact during the handling of
health-care waste has resulted in the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. He also mentioned
that all health-care waste produced during patient care, including those with confirmed COVID-
19 infection, is considered to be infectious (infectious, sharps and pathological waste) and should
be collected safely in clearly marked lined containers and sharp safe boxes. This waste should be
treated, preferably on site, and then safely disposed. Dr. Anuj Sharma, NPO, AMR, WHO
highlighted Hand Hygiene as one of the most effective actions we can take to reduce the spread
of pathogens and prevent infections, including the COVID-19 virus. Hand hygiene is the most
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effective single measure to reduce the spread of infections through multimodal strategies,
including access to the appropriate supplies. Dr. Manjeet S Saluja, WHO gave his presentation
on “Achieving WASH at scale: Primary prevention of COVID-19 and other infectious disease”.
He mentioned that WASH is vital to COVID-19 response and recovery. WHO Strategic
Response Plan, Operational GL strategic preparedness and response plan outlines the public
health measures that the international community stands ready to provide to support all countries
to prepare for and respond to COVID-19. He also highlighted the Four main areas of action in
support of Countries to fight against the COVID-19. Dr Apurva Chaturvedi gave deliberation on
‘Infection Prevention and Control during COVID 19 in India’ highlighting the benefits of high
risk group, Infection prevention and control, Triaged system also sharing good practices of
Maharashtra, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal. She also highlighted the collaborative
approach to address physco-social issues during COVID scenario in Gujarat. Professor Surya
Parkash, gave a informative presentation and stressing upon the sustainable development goals
with respect to COVID-19, relevant national guidelines on disaster management, preventive
measures, sanitation and hygines. The webinar was supervised and guided by Major General
Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, Executive Director, NIDM and about 365 participants from various
field and states attended the webinar.
Programme Schedule
Session Theme Speaker Duration
Inaugural Remarks Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, ED,
NIDM 5 mins
WASH, Infection Prevention
and Control including
Biomedical Waste
Management
Dr. Anuj Sharma, NPO, AMR, WHO 15 mins
Dr. Manjeet Saluja, NPO, WASH, WHO 15 mins
Dr. Pratibha Singh, WASH Specialist - UNICEF
India 15 mins
Dr Apurva Chaturvedi, Health Specialist,
UNICEF India 15 mins
Question and Answer Mr. Raju Thapa (Moderator) 10 Mins
Concluding remarks Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, ED, NIDM 5 mins
Summing Up and Conclusion Dr. Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-Meteorological
Risks Management Division, NIDM 10 Mins
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Photo Gallery
18
"Psycho-social Care and Gender based violence (GBV) Issues”
on 30th
June 2020
National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in collaboration with World Health Organization
(WHO) conducted webinar on "Psycho-social Care and Gender based violence (GBV) Issues”
on 30th
June 2020. The webinar aimed to emphasize on actions, strategies and recommendations
that can help mitigate the impacts of violence on women & children during this pandemic’. The
webinar also aimed to raise awareness on different forms of gender-based violence and to
encourage the exchange of practical examples of how violence against women can be addressed
by law enforcement. Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, Executive Director, NIDM;
Professor Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management Division, NIDM; Dr.
Atreyi Gangluy, NPO, Psychoscial Care, WHO; Dr. Kiran Sharma, NPO, AHD, WHO and Prof.
Kasi Sekar, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences were the key speakers of the
webinar that was moderated by Dr. Harjeet Kaur, YP, Geo-Meteorological Risks Management
Division, NIDM. Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, Executive Director, NIDM in his
keynote address highlighted that violence against women poses a significant public health
problem in every country. He mentioned that women are the primary caretakers of children and
elders in every country of the world. During situation like COVID-19 pandemic, women take the
lead in helping the family adjusts to new realities and challenges. They are likely to be the prime
initiator of outside assistance, and play an important role in facilitating (or hindering) changes in
family life. Rural women play a key role in supporting their households and communities in
achieving food and nutrition security, generating income, and improving rural livelihoods and
overall well-being. Dr. Atreyi Gangluy gave a detail presentation on “Psychosocial support
during COVID-19”. She highlighted COVID-19, mental health and psychosocial support, UN
Interagency Task Force guidelines on mental health and psychosocial support during COVID-19.
She also discussed about the available psychosocial support and looking after ourselves and
minding our minds. Professor Surya discussed the strategies to prevent and address gender based
violence. He also highlighted chapter XI, section 61 of DM act which deals with prohibition
against discrimination and PM agenda 3 which encourages greater involvement and leadership of
woman in disaster risk management. He also presented various examples of consequences
frequently associated with gender-based violence. Dr. Kiran Sharma gave a detail presentation
on “Gender based violence and COVID-19” giving an in-depth information of Gender-based
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Violence and Violence against woman. She also discussed health consequences of violence,
challenges posed by COVID-19, first line support, linkages that need to be established to support
a survivor. Prof. Kasi Sekar talked about the psychosocial support during the COVID-19
pandemic where he focuses on the biopsychosocial model of health. He also discussed about the
mental illness, causative factors, HRV analysis, and common reactions to the COVID-19
situations. Dr. Saurabh Dalal, NPO Emergency, WHO in his concluding session addressed the
participants and highlighted the successful completion of the 5 webinar series “COVID-19
pandemic and Disaster Management” and also gave indications of road ahead and future
programmes. The webinar was supervised and guided by Major General Manoj Kumar Bindal,
VSM, Executive Director, NIDM and about 365 participants from various field and states
attended the webinar.
Programme Schedule
Session Theme Speaker Duration
Inaugural Remarks Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, ED,
NIDM 5 mins
Psycho-social Care and Gender
based violence (GBV) Issues
Dr. Atreyi Gangluy, NPO, Psychoscial Care 15 mins
Dr. Kiran, NPO, AHD, WHO 15 mins
Prof. Kasi Sekar, NIMHANS 10 mins
Prof. Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-Meteorological
Risks Management Division, NIDM 10 mins
Question and Answer Moderator 5 Mins
Concluding remarks Maj. Gen. Manoj Kumar Bindal, VSM, ED,
NIDM 5 mins
Concluding remarks Dr. Saurabh Dalal, NPO Emergency, WHO 5 mins
Summing Up and vote of Thanks Moderator 5 Mins
20
Photo Gallery
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Way ahead
The webinar series has received an overwhelming response and has been one of the most
successful events with over 1700 participant attending the webinar. The webinar received very
positive remarks and feedback with high level of appreciation for the distinguished speakers
where it contained seamless coordination and richness in content. The webinar series discussed
in details various aspects of COVID-19 pandemics. Some of the important points that were
highlighted as way ahead are mentioned below.
1. A renewed focus on public health:
Perhaps the most important insight from the global COVID‑19 response to date has been that to
successfully slow transmission and protect health systems, it is essential to accurately diagnose
and effectively isolate and care for all cases of COVID‑19 including cases with mild or moderate
disease. Speed, scale, and equity must be our guiding principles. Speed, because the explosive
nature of the virus means every day lost in implementing effective response capacities and
behaviors costs lives; scale, because everyone in society has a part to play in building the
capacities required to control this pandemic; and equity, because everyone is at risk until the
virus is controlled everywhere in the world: collective resources must be directed to where there
is greatest risk. COVID‑19 is a truly global crisis: the only way to overcome it is together, in
global solidarity.
2. Find, test, isolate and care for cases and quarantine contacts to control transmission
Stopping the spread of COVID‑19 requires finding and testing all suspected cases so that
confirmed cases are promptly and effectively isolated and receive appropriate care, and the close
contacts of all confirmed cases are rapidly identified so that they can be quarantined and
medically monitored for the 14‑day incubation period of the virus.
To achieve this, countries and communities must fundamentally increase their capacity to
identify suspected cases of COVID‑19 in the general population quickly based on the onset of
signs or symptoms. This will require a shift from reliance on existing surveillance networks to
system of rapid, population-level active surveillance. In addition to active case finding in
communities, health facilities, and at points of entry, it will be necessary to enable the general
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population to practice self-surveillance, in which individuals are asked to self-report as a
suspected case as soon as they have symptoms or signs and/or if they are a contact of a
confirmed case. To achieve this shift, countries will need to rapidly scale up their workforce to
find cases, including by looking outside the traditional public health system to train non-public-
health workers, and by using innovative technology such as online applications to enable
individuals to self-report.
Quarantine can be a stressful experience and a significant imposition and disruption to the life of
the quarantined individual and their family. Every effort must be made to support individuals
required to undergo quarantine, including through the provision of basic necessities, income
support, psychosocial support, and health care as needed.
3. Provide clinical care and maintain essential health services to reduce mortality
One of the defining features of COVID‑19 is the huge stress placed on health systems and health
workers by the large proportion of COVID‑19 patients who can require quality clinical care.
Many patients need help to breathe, with outbreaks placing acute burdens on staffing levels,
availability of equipment, and crucial supplies such as medical oxygen, ventilators and personal
protective equipment (PPE). Frontline health workers have had to put themselves in harm’s way
to save lives, and some have lost their own lives as a result.
4. Renewed global strategy to respond to covid‑19:
The overarching goal is for all countries to control the pandemic by slowing down the
transmission and reducing mortality associated with COVID‑19.
The global strategic objectives are as follows:
• Mobilize all sectors and communities to ensure that every sector of government and society
takes ownership of and participates in the response and in preventing cases through hand
hygiene, respiratory etiquette and individual‑level physical distancing.
• Control sporadic cases and clusters and prevent community transmission by rapidly finding
and isolating all cases, providing them with appropriate care, and tracing, quarantining, and
supporting all contacts.
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• Suppress community transmission through context‑appropriate infection prevention and
control measures, population level physical distancing measures, and appropriate and
proportionate restrictions on non‑essential domestic and international travel.
• Reduce mortality by providing appropriate clinical care for those affected by COVID‑19,
ensuring the continuity of essential health and social services, and protecting frontline workers
and vulnerable populations.
• Develop safe and effective vaccines and therapeutics that can be delivered at scale and that are
accessible based on need.
5. Suppressing community transmission
Even with the proactive implementation of comprehensive public health measures, transmission
of COVID‑19 can rapidly become established in countries and subnational regions, with
explosive outbreaks that grow at an exponential rate. In countries and states in which community
transmission has become established, or that are at risk of entering this phase of an epidemic,
authorities must immediately adopt and adapt population-level distancing measures and
movement restrictions in addition to other public health and health system measures to reduce
exposure and suppress transmission, including the following:
• Personal measures that reduce the risk of person-to person transmission, such as hand washing,
physical distancing, and respiratory etiquette;
• Community-level measures to reduce contact between individuals, such as the suspension of
mass gatherings, the closure of non-essential places of work and educational establishments, and
reduced public transport;
• Measures to reduce the risk of importation or reintroduction of the virus from high-
transmission areas, such as limits on national and international travel, enhanced screening and
quarantine;
• Measures to ensure the protection of health workers and vulnerable groups, such as through the
provision of correct personal protective equipment.
Targeted and time-limited implementation of these measures will potentially reduce mortality by
flattening the trajectory of the epidemic and relieving some pressure on clinical care services.
However, these measures are blunt tools with considerable social and economic costs, and
should be implemented with the understanding, consent, and participation of communities, and
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based on the principle of doing no harm. The risks of implementing these measures must be
effectively communicated to the affected populations and communities engaged to own and
participate in them.
6. Coordination and planning
Successful implementation of adaptive COVID‑19 preparedness and response strategies will
depend on all of society being engaged in the plan, and strong national and state coordination. To
provide coordinated management of COVID‑19 preparedness and response, national public
health emergency management mechanisms, including a multidisciplinary national coordination
cell or incident management structure, should be activated, with the engagement of relevant
ministries such as health, foreign affairs, finance, education, transport, travel and tourism, public
works, water and sanitation, environment, social protection and agriculture.
7. Engage and mobilize communities to limit exposure
Slowing the transmission of COVID‑19 and protecting communities will require the
participation of every member of at-risk and affected communities to prevent infection and
transmission. This requires everyone adopting individual protection measures such as washing
hands, avoiding touching their face, practicing good respiratory etiquette, individual level
distancing and cooperating with physical distancing measures and movement restrictions when
called on to do so. It is therefore essential that international, national, and local authorities
engage through participatory two-way communication efforts proactively, regularly,
transparently and unambiguously with all affected and at-risk populations.
8. Adapt strategies based on risk, capacity, and vulnerability
The ability of countries to engage and mobilize communities; find, test, and isolate cases;
provide effective clinical care; and maintain essential health services will differ according to
their capacity and context as well as the intensity and prevalence of COVID‑19 transmission.
The combination of public health measures that should be implemented at any one time will
depend to a large extent on whether there is community transmission, clusters of cases, sporadic
cases, or no cases and the capacity of the public health system.
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Every country must put in place comprehensive public health measures to maintain a sustainable
steady state of low-level or no transmission and have the surge capacity to rapidly control
sporadic cases and clusters of cases.
9. Accelerating research, innovation, and knowledge sharing
Building and expanding on the Global Research Roadmap, WHO is working with partners to
develop a framework for coordinated research and innovation and an overview of the scale of
investments required for financing. Enabling the greatest global good will require solidarity and
collaboration, establishing sufficiently funded, collaborative, cross-agency and public-private
partnerships, and facilitating open data access and information sharing. Support and investment
will be necessary across public, private and philanthropic sectors along with prioritization and
proper stewardship of those resources.
Coordination and the combination of efforts will be critical to collective success. Individual and
isolated action, however dedicated and determined, will not be sufficient to meet the current
challenge of COVID‑19. In order to be successful we will need to pool, build, and pass
innovation from strength to strength. This will require proactive and intentioned coordination
rather than more passive monitoring and reporting of activities.
10. Strengthening pandemic preparedness for the future
With the world facing an unprecedented threat, there is an opportunity to emerge with stronger
health systems, and improved global collaboration to face the next health threat. As we focus on
the immediate response to the COVID‑19 crisis, it is important to keep in mind the breadth and
depth of consequences already being felt across the globe. We must learn the lessons of this
pandemic now and, in so doing, ensure that our response, wherever possible, leaves a lasting
positive legacy, and makes the world of the future a safer place.
11. Upcoming collaborative training programme by NIDM and WHO
The webinar series has received an overwhelming response and has been one of the most
successful events with over 1700 participant attending the webinar. It is proposed to continue
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this collaboration further to develop a collaborative training programme as a take away from this
webinar series.