2021-02-08

Reflection of challenges and opportunities within the COVID-19 pandemic to include biological hazards into DRR planning

As part of its Health-Emergency and Disaster Risk Management programmatic area, together with academic partners, GX Foundation published a commentary on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on disaster risk reduction strategies, especially for biological hazards. Key lessons learned include the need for advancement in multi-sectoral, multi-hazard action plans; issues associated with the application of technology in data collection, utilisation, and dissemination; protection and promotion of the health and wellbeing of essential and nonprofessional workers; and improving inclusivity of digital literacy in emergency contexts. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique opportunity to re-evaluate the response mechanisms against concurrent, cascading or interacting risks of future biological hazards. Continuous education on multifaceted risk governance is key to building awareness, capacity and accelerating towards achieving international targets.

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