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Pandemics and Other Health Crises: A Special Report from a European Parliament Workshop

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2022

Gianluca Quaglio*
Affiliation:
Medical Advisor, Medical Preparedness and Crisis Management Unit (MPCMU), Directorate-General for Personnel, European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
Luca Ragazzoni
Affiliation:
Scientific Coordinator of CRIMEDIM, Center for Research and Training in Disaster Medicine, Humanitarian Aid and Global Health, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
Isabel De la Mata
Affiliation:
Principal Advisor for Health and Crisis Management, Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium
Raed Arafat
Affiliation:
Secretary of State, Head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Romania
Sabine De Muynck
Affiliation:
Medical Advisor, Medical Preparedness and Crisis Management Unit (MPCMU), Directorate-General for Personnel, European Parliament, Luxembourg
Erika Vlieghe
Affiliation:
Director of the Department of General Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital of Antwerp (UZA), Antwerp, Belgium
Petra Claes
Affiliation:
Director ad Personam, Head of Unit, Medical Advisor, Medical Preparedness and Crisis Management Unit (MPCMU), Directorate-General for Personnel, European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
*
Correspondence: Gianluca Quaglio, MD, PhD Medical Service, Directorate-General for Personnel European Parliament Rue Wiertz, 60, Brussels B-1047, Belgium E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Once an emergency has passed, general attention typically returns to dealing with day-to-day system management, and the opportunity to learn from the crisis and improve is missed. Lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis must be learned, and the necessary changes made at all levels, both in terms of improving collaboration and strengthening health systems. This special report provides the conclusion of a workshop held in the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels, Belgium. The event explored the modalities of response and preparation to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to health crises in general. The workshop considered actions at different levels: international organizations (global level), European Union (EU) Member States ([MS] national level), and health services (local level). It provided an opportunity to look back at several initiatives taken during the pandemic, and to draw inspiration from them.

Type
Research Report
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

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