Lessons learned, Lessons forgotten? - Webinar on Pandemic Preparedness

Looking back at the COVID-19 crisis, the prospect of any pandemic outbreak arising in the future poses an obvious major and immediate threat to human life across the planet. How can a disease outbreak caused by either known or emerging novel pathogens be better detected and controlled next time?

According to a comprehensive study published in Lancet, taking stock of pandemic management in 177 countries, the more trust and the less corruption there was, the lower the infection rate. These factors were also associated with higher COVID-19 vaccine coverage among middle-income and high-income countries where there was greater vaccine availability. The researchers note that if all countries had societies that attained at least the amount of trust measured in Denmark, which is in the 75th percentile across these spectrums, global infections could have been reduced by nearly 13% when looking at government trust and 40.3% for interpersonal trust.

Also the matter of innovation and access deserves more attention in relation to future pandemics, in order to streamline both innovation and access / affordability efforts, drawing upon insights from previous pandemic. The public health risk posed by epidemics and pandemics thus gives rise to a critical and ongoing necessity to systematically assess global preparedness. Looking at advise from a joint European expert group, their advise elevated efforts to prevent and pre-empt future pandemics; more coordinated response structures and mechanisms; the strengthening of essential systems, including healthcare, supply chains, public health, information and education; and protecting fundamental rights and social justice.

The matter of pandemic preparedness will thus be discussed from various perspectives during the webinar, bringing together both Academia and industry representatives.

Speakers  

Dr. Kshitij Kumar Singh

Dr. Kshitij Kumar Singh is an Assistant Professor at Campus Law Centre (CLC), Faculty of Law, University of Delhi (DU), and the faculty convener IPR Society, CLC, DU. He is the CeBIL Visiting Scholar (Spring 2022) at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law. He earned his LL.M. and PhD degrees from Banaras Hindu University and received Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Asia-Pacific 2010. As a Visiting Researcher, he visited the Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario, Canada, in 2009 and 2010. He is a collaborator at the esteemed international group Genetic Discrimination Observatory, McGill University, Canada (https://gdo.global/en/gdo-team).

Ana Santos Rutschman 

Ana Santos Rutschman is Professor of Law at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, where she teaches and researches topics related to health law, intellectual property, innovation in the life sciences, and law and technology. She is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on vaccine law and policy, the regulation of emerging health technologies, and access to medicines. Professor Rutschman’s book, Vaccines as Technology: Innovation, Barriers and the Public Health, was published in 2022 by Cambridge University Press. 

James Anderson

As Executive Director, James Anderson leads the IFPMA’s Global Health programme of work, developing policy, engaging with key stakeholders and building partnerships across the public and private sectors. Spanning the breadth of global health and focused on priority disease areas including AMR, pandemic preparedness, and non-communicable diseases, to address key challenges for our members, stakeholders and patients.

Moderator

Prof. Timo Minssen
Founder and Director CeBIL (Center on Advanced Biomedical Innovation Law), Copenhagen University

Agenda

14:00 - 14:10	Timo Minssen Important pandemic lessons and future challenges
14:10 - 14:30	Ana Santos Rutschman Technology Specificity for Pandemic Preparedness
14:30 - 14:50	James Anderson Building Better Preparedness for Future Pandemics
14:50 - 15:10	Kshitij Kumar Singh Pandemic preparedness needs a holistic approach
15:10 - 15:30	Q&A, Debate

Time and place

Zoom, 8 June 2023, 14:00-15:30 CEST

Registration

Please register here no later than 8 June September 2023, 12:00 CEST.

Link will be sent post registration.