Upcoming webinar – COVID-19 experience and lessons: Country-to-Country learning and SSC & TrC

On Thursday 30 April 2020, at 8 AM EDT/GMT-4, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), with the support of the International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), is organizing a webinar on COVID-19 experiences and lessons learned.

The contribution of South-South and triangular cooperation to responding to health crises and disaster risk reduction has been widely recognized. It has also been proven during responses to MERS, Ebola and now, to COVID-19.  In the early phase of the outbreak, about 79 countries, majority from the Global South, have donated medical supplies and other materials to China. And as the pandemic continues to spread globally, developing countries have been sending medical experts and providing support to both developing and developed countries. Among the assistance that is currently being provided, the Chinese government has delivered testing reagents, masks and protective suits, as part of their announced commitment to provide assistance to 82 countries, WHO and the African Union.

Given this background, the webinar seeks to promote sharing of experiences and emerging lessons learned from different countries responding to COVID-19. Panelists and participants of the webinar will share insights and perspectives on: 1) the overall Covid-19 situation in their respective country 2) overall response and management of the epidemic; 3) social protection and economic measures that have been put in place to support vulnerable populations; 4) lessons learned and recommendations; and 5) opportunities for South-South knowledge sharing and cooperation.

Following the presentations from the panelists there will be a Q&A session during which it will be possible to ask questions and further discuss lessons learned.

Presenters:

1. Opening remarks: Mr. Jorge Chediek, Director of UNOSSC and Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation
2. Lessons from Kerala, India – Mr. Mihir Bhatt, Director of All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI)
3. Lessons from China- Mr. Taidong Zhou, Head of Global Development Division, Center for International Knowledge on Development (CIKD)
4. Lessons from the Republic of Korea – Prof. Choe Young June, MD, PhD, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Hallym University, Republic of Korea
5. Summary and closing: Ms. Xiaojun Grace Wang, Deputy Director, UNOSSC

Moderator: Ms. Martha Santos, UNICEF