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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 Open the ORCID record for Gianluca Quaglio [Opens in a new window] ,
Luca Ragazzoni Open the ORCID record for Luca Ragazzoni [Opens in a new window] ,
Isabel De la Mata ,
Raed Arafat ,
Sabine De Muynck ,
Erika Vlieghe  and
Petra Claes
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: gianluca.quaglio@europarl.europa.eu
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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.

Keywords

COVID-19disaster medicinedisaster relief planningspreparedness
Type
Research Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 37 , Issue 6 , December 2022 , pp. 827 - 831
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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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