Geneva, Switzerland – 20th May 2013 (09.00am-15.00pm)

Dear Colleagues and TASW Network Members,

We would like to invite you to join us at the Towards A Safer World (TASW) Network event: “Achievements and Future Directions”, that will be held at the 4th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday 20th May 2013 from 09.00am to 15.00pm.

To assist Member States with the revision of their pandemic plans after the 2009 influenza H1N1 pandemic, WHO/Europe performed an evaluation of the usefulness of pandemic plans and preparedness activities (PPA) undertaken by Member States and WHO in the response to the pandemic. Using a systematic approach, more than 200 individuals representing national, regional and local responders in seven Member States were interviewed. Six major themes considered essential to PPA were identified: communication; coordination; capacity; adaptability/flexibility; leadership; and mutual support.

The TASW Network is a diverse group of energetic and expert practitioners from a variety of sectors, organisations and countries demonstrated how they had initiated whole-of- society preparedness for pandemic and related threats. They also indicated their commitment to maintaining and refining the best practices they have developed. They agreed to communicate it widely, mainstream it within institutions, sustain it, reach out and engage others who might benefit from it, and to continue to learn from each other.

More than 30 Member States in the WHO European Region are in the process of revising their pandemic plans, with two already published. Changes are being made based on lessons learnt from the response to the 2009 pandemic and these follow recommendations from numerous national, regional and global evaluations.

Complex Humanitarian Emergencies (CHE) result in rapid degradation of population health and quickly overwhelm indigenous health resources. Numerous governmental, non-governmental, national and international organizations and agencies are involved in the assessment of post-CHE affected populations. To date, there is no entirely quantitative assessment tool conceptualized to measure the public health impact of CHE.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) launched the Health and Climate Atlas yesterday.

Dr David Nabarro - Keynote at IDRC Davos 2012 from GRForum on Vimeo.