Improving COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness and response through the downstream of multi-hazard early warning system
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Huddersfield
Department Name: Sch of Applied Sciences
Abstract
Many countries are now suffering after years of insufficient attention to warnings about the need for improved pandemic preparedness. The WHO has declared COVID-19 a pandemic, but its underlying factors, vulnerabilities and impacts go far beyond the health sector, and in Sri Lanka, it is overwhelming government and response agencies. This study will address two, inter-related challenges: How will countries cope if a major natural hazard occurs while the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing? How can pandemic preparedness make use of the existing infrastructure for tackling other hazards? The project team will attempt to understand the potential impact of a pandemic-natural hazard hybrid scenario. It will also seek to improve early warning and preparedness for such an event, as well as the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEW) and disaster risk information that include pandemic/biological hazards, which is also Target G of the SFDRR [1]. We will address these challenges by examining how public health actors be better included within a MHEW environment and how pandemic threats are integrated within national and local DRR strategies. We will explore the impact of COVID-19 on the response capabilities for other hazards, either multiple simultaneous events, or cascading impacts, and consider how COVID-19 and public health surveillance can be synergised with "the last mile" of MHEW. Pandemic is global, but the preparedness and response is local, and that response is very dependent on governance, laws, culture, risk perception and citizen behaviour. The study has been designed in close collaboration with Sri Lankan health and DRR agencies who identified the key gaps that need exploring. The team will develop and disseminate guidance to better incorporate pandemics and other biological hazards into national and local DRR preparedness and response
Organisations
- University of Huddersfield (Lead Research Organisation)
- Government of Sri Lanka (Collaboration)
- National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka (Collaboration)
- Disaster Management Centre (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Federation of Sri Lankan LGAs (Project Partner)
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority (Project Partner)
- Public Health England (Project Partner)
- Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine (Project Partner)
- UNISDR (Project Partner)
- Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (Project Partner)
- Ministry of Disaster Management (Project Partner)
Publications
Amaratunga D
(2021)
Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Disaster Risks
Amaratunga, D.
(2020)
The COVID-19 outbreak in Sri Lanka: A synoptic analysis focusing on trends, impacts, risks and science-policy interaction processes
in Progress in Disaster Science Journal
| Description | Upscaling the understanding and awareness/attitudes of national and subnational actors on the impact of COVID-19 on the response capabilities for other hazards towards multiple simultaneous events and/or or cascading impacts 1. What is the practical, real world economic or societal change brought about by research in beneficiary countries? COVID-19 has overwhelmed health systems and caused widespread social & economic disruption in Sri Lanka. The shock to Sri Lanka's economy from the coronavirus pandemic is massive. By putting societies and economies on hold, Sri Lanka has curtailed the virus' spread. These defensive measures have helped to limit the short-term impacts of the virus, but also resulted in a shift of priorities that disproportionately affect disadvantaged groups, including people in poverty, displaced people, and refugees, who most often live in overcrowded/under resourced settings. Current COVID-19 measures have also exposed gaps in the country's DRR strategies, which have failed to address pandemics and other biological hazards, the need of addressing both crises simultaneously as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected livelihoods across all communities, because: ? Health and disaster risk reduction (DRR) planning and policing have been largely reactive than proactive ? Planning and policing in both sectors have hardly been informed by forecasting of future possible scenarios or learning from global experiences. This has resulted in inadequate emphasis placed on pandemic management in both health and DRR policies ? DRR policies and plans lack clarity and specific. This has been challenging in terms of establishing accountability, i.e., in designating who is responsible for what ? DRR policies and plans lack technical considerations on biological hazards ? DRR and health policies and plans lack coherence possibility due the compartmentalized approach emulated in policy making ? Lack of attention towards economic and social vulnerability in risk identification exercises carried out ? Lack of attention has been paid to complex risk scenarios [e.g., compound events] in risk mapping exercises It has also challenged the understanding of how risk works and how risk cascades with unexpected consequences. Government agencies are already stretched trying to manage the COVID-19 response, but how would they cope if another major natural hazard occurred during this period? How do all hazards be integrated? In preparing ahead of time for a natural hazard to include ways to protect communities from COVID-19? And thereby how the policy mechanisms be changed on preparedness and response mechanisms for other hazards that occur concurrently with a pandemic? Addressing these gaps and opportunities require the integration of pandemics into a multi-hazard strategy for DRR, at both national and local levels. 2. How we are working to improve people's lives on the ground With the involvement of high level policy makers, the project team is making a positive contribution towards changing decision-making and behaviour of national and subnational actors on these concerns, associated with natural hazards to reflect COVID pandemic associated key issues. Some of our high-level stakeholders include: Ministry of Health; Association of Disaster Risk Management Professionals of Sri Lanka (ADRiMP); Disaster Management Centre (DMC); and the Federation of Sri Lankan Local Government Authorities (FSLGA). There have been interactive relationships between scientific communities (University of Colombo and University of Moratuwa) , and the above stakeholders and end-users. We got together with these key local stakeholders and end-users first to examine how national level integrated early warning can positively contribute in the local context and then to co-design an integrated early warning framework. This has enabled us to create a true sense of ownership by the local communities at risk, and thereby to carry put our tasks aiming at improving people's lives on the ground, from the perspective of better alignment of covid 19 with other natural hazards, in early action. This research has already informed Sri Lanka the ways to better prepare, respond and recover from disruptions caused by COVID-19 and other pandemic threats, made a shift to the ad-hoc early warning strategies to integrated early warning strategies to tackle pandemic risks, and thereby to make available more reliable, accurate and integrated early warning strategies. These will also provide information for the improved evacuation strategies. 3. Who are the beneficiaries and how will the project make their lives better? The current pandemic continues to collide with a number of other threats to human life and livelihoods. Within such an environment, scientists and researchers work with policy-makers and practitioners (including government authorities, community and civil society) as well as governmental actors to co-design (identifying a problem) and co-produce research (developing understanding from research) and thereby informing policy and practice, on immediate action to provide warnings and initiate evacuation, but also quick decisions for self-evacuation, pandemic preparedness and response to make better use of the existing infrastructure, including other hazards' early warning protocols. This will directly help making lives of affected people due to multiple hazards, better. The research has also identified how public health actors be embedded within a multi hazard environment and how pandemic threats are integrated within national and local DRR strategies. Further, the research also has identified the impact of COVID-19 on response capabilities for other hazards, and cascading events. Beneficiaries of this project include the following categories of communities in Sri Lanka: policy makers and practitioners (both DRR and health) including in the government sector and other sectors, scientists and researchers, communities at risk of hazards. We also have received the fullest support of the IOC-UNESCO ICG/IOTWMS Working Group 1: Tsunami Risk, Community Awareness and Preparedness. Accordingly, the benefits of the study will be able to extend beyond Sri Lanka, targeting the 28 member states of the IOTWMS, twenty three of which are DAC countries: Bangladesh, Comoros, Djibouti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Yemen. 4. Application of amazing innovation and research: how did we find new and exciting ways to solve difficult problems ? We very much work as an interdisciplinary team, where a number of separate disciplines (medicine including public health, sociology, built environment, engineering, disaster management climate change) surrender their own concepts and goals, and collectively define themselves by reference to a common set of strategic concepts and goals around improving COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness and response through the application of multi-hazard early warning system. This can be noted as a major innovation in the Sri Lankan context, the researchers, and other stakeholders have the tendency in working within their own silos. The diversity of disciplines represented in the project include, medicine, sociology, engineering, built environment, geography, public policy. This research records as the first systematic and scientific research compilation in Sri Lanka on COVID 19 pandemic and its cascading impacts. We have managed to convince the core stakeholders in Sri Lanka on COVID 19 pandemic (E.g. Ministry of Health) and other natural hazards (Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka) to be proactive, and agile, when confronted with systemic risks that have become increasingly likely. At the policy level, most salient contribution is the contribution from the project towards the "Colombo 2020 DRR Declaration" of the government of Sri Lanka, incorporating the need to deal with biological hazard in a multy hazard scenario. It was formally launched by the Disaster Management Centre of the State Ministry of National Security, Home Affairs and Disaster Management, Government of Sri Lanka, with other disaster risk reduction related Ministries and Technical Agencies of the Government of Sri Lanka, together with other national and international key stakeholders, setting out national priorities and time scales for their adoption, as well as declaration among key stakeholders to act upon those priorities. The declaration also recognises the devastating impact of COVID-19 around the world and the threat posed by future epidemics and pandemics. It stresses the need to focus on developing a holistic understanding of societal challenges, risks and drivers, like poverty, climate change, loss of protective eco-systems and biodiversity, rapid urbanisation and unplanned development in hazard prone areas, socio-economic inequalities and population growth along with their interactions. It also underlines the need to build resilience against all hazards, including emerging and unforeseen hazards such as biological hazards. Further, the project spiked the need of exploring potentials of applying bottom-up approach in pandemic response, intergovernmental collaborations to mitigate adverse impacts of pandemics, and the need to decentralizing pandemic governance to the local authority, sub national and community level in Sri Lanka. 5. Gender equality or equality, diversity and inclusion We promote gender equity and inequality in research initiatives including policy-level efforts and community-level activities. For instance, many women who are in the informal sectors and economies, and depend on informal livelihoods have been badly affected by the pandemic. Females among underserved communities are socially and economically at greater risk during the pandemic and this intensifies in multi-hazard. We intend to capture this via the social survey which we will be conducting among underserved communities. Accordingly, it is our intention to raise the voice of equality and equity in terms of gender. 6. Remarkable stats and results underpinning the change we have brought about? Results underpinning the change we have managed to generate via this initiative have come to light (so far) by means of 5 peer reviewed journal papers, 13 peer reviewed book chapters, and 1peer reviewed intranational conference paper. The international symposium on Multi Hazard Early Warning and Disaster Risk Reduction, which was held from 14th, 15th and 16th December 2020 at the BMICH, Colombo, Sri Lanka as a hybrid event was another core example which underpins the change we have managed to bring about. It was jointly organized by the Disaster Management Centre of the State Ministry of National Security, Home Affairs and Disaster Management, Government of Sri Lanka; ,Global Disaster Resilience Centre, University of Huddersfield, UK; Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, Thailand; University of Moratuwa and University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, in collaboration with partner UN agencies, JICA, and a set of other local and international partners, aiming to promote the availability and application of research, science and technology to support implementation of Sendai Framework of Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. Our project as very strongly linked to the conference where 180 research papers were presented with 5 plenary sessions being organised, including, on "Integrating Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness into Disaster Risk Reduction", which was led by Prof. Nishara Fernando, one of our academic partners of the research project. Significance of this event was well recognized by the government of Sri Lanka with a large number of official delegates including the Minister of Internal Security, Home Affairs and Disaster Management; Secretary, Ministry of Defence; Secretary, and State Ministry of Road and other Infrastructure Facilities; participated at the event. Sirasa TV, a leading television channel in Sri Lanka telecasted some important features of the conference and collaborated as the official media partner of the event. The second most outstanding and impactful event of the project was the National Conference on "COVID 19: Impact, Mitigation, opportunities, and Building Resilience: from Adversity to Serendipity", jointly organized with National Science Foundation in Sri Lanka, on 27th and 28th January at BMICH, Colombo, Sri Lanka. This conference was aimed at developing and disseminating guidance to better incorporate pandemics and other biological hazards into national and local DRR preparedness and response which is the core theme of the research project. 82 peer-reviewed research papers were selected for presenting at the conference. 7. Benefits of international collaborative working. What has been the impact of international partnerships in your success, and in what ways do our collaborators take centre stage in the story? The core of our strategy is collaborating internationally with our Sri Lanka based partners, and pooling efforts to tackle the problems we identified to deal with as part of 0 this project. Early online project meetings were used to establish a common framework and detailed data collection protocols that are informed by our partners and other key stakeholder inputs from Sri Lanka. Our partners provided access to data immediately. Co-creation is at the heart of our methodology to ensure that knowledge exchange is intensive between the teams. Our international DRR landscape offered our Sri Lankan partners to complement national actions. Without a doubt, if not the GCRF funding , this research wouldn't have taken shape , coupled with our long standing, established links with our Sri Lankan partners. During the pandemic, they acted as catalysis for our success. We have contributed to the notion that real world research has a strong international character , with international publications and peer reviewing, extensive sharing of data and results, and that these processes are critical to shaping and achieving high quality research and to providing solid foundations for public policy and action. |
| Exploitation Route | some of the associated mechanics include: 1). Position paper on the integration of epidemic and pandemic preparedness in disaster risk reduction planning in Sri Lanka 2). Increased project visibility, and to visually represent the general overview, data, and most relevant findings of the research project 3). Provision of input towards important policy documents, with increase research visibility 4). Spotlights the effects, consequences, and ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic in the areas of knowledge production, knowledge transfer and innovation. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Construction,Education,Environment,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| URL | http://pandemic-mhew.org/ |
| Description | Impact area: Upscaling the understanding and awareness/attitudes of national and subnational actors on the impact of COVID-19 on the response capabilities for other hazards; and change decision-making and behaviour of national and subnational actors through improved standard operating procedures for natural/pandemic early warning How it was achieved: 1). Updated and up to date information on improving COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness and response, and on the multiple challenges and cascading impacts through the downstream of multi-hazard early warning system 2). Sharing of latest research findings with various stakeholders (researchers end users, policy makers etc.) on improving COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness and response, and on the multiple challenges and cascading impacts through the downstream of multi-hazard early warning system |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Environment,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | Colombo Declaration of Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Disaster Risk Reduction |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Input to United Nations European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction in Portugal (EFDRR |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | International observer for Sri Lanka for the UNESCO IOTWMS Indian Ocean Tsunami Exercise (IOWave20) |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | One of the core objectives of the exercise was to reflect the Guidelines for Tsunami Warning Services, Evacuation and Sheltering during COVID-19 developed by the ICG/IOTWMS. The current COVID-19 response has resulted in a shift of priorities, physical distancing, self-isolation and quarantine measures, as well as temporary lockdowns of entire communities. This may create ambiguity or confusion with regard to tsunami warning services and response actions such evacuation, under co-existing COVID-19 protocols. Tsunamis do not respect pandemics and can strike at any time, and the countries need to prepare for this situation as the community must immediately evacuate |
| Description | Lead author of the planned UNDRR - MCR2030 Europe and Central Asia Regional Coordinating Committee BRIEFING PAPER |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | National survey on vaccine hesitancy and public health information sharing among marginalized communities in Sri Lanka |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Plenary session on "COVID-19 and Systemic Risk" co-lead , along with WHO |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Private Sector Preparedness for Pandemic and Multi-hazard Scenarios |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| URL | http://www.pandemic-mhew.org/index.php/project-events |
| Description | RICS roundtable on National Resilience Strategy (representing research and universities) in response to the UK Cabinet Office's National Resilience Strategy with specific input on the covid pandemic and systemic risks |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Scenario-Based Training on Multi-Hazard Situations and Complex Emergencies for Grassroot Level Public Health Workers and First Responders |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Scientific advice on 'Crisis Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Resilience' |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | UNDRR Regional Assessment Report: MOVING FROM RESPONSE TO INVESTING IN PREVENTION OF RISKS |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://efdrr.undrr.org |
| Description | UNDRR panel on "Scaling Up DRR in Civil Protection and Healthcare session at the 2021 European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | UNDRR report on: "A Green and Resilient Recovery for Europe" |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.undrr.org/publication/green-and-resilient-covid-19-recovery-eu-working-paper-recommendat... |
| Description | WUF 11: Networking event: Disaster Risk Reduction new dimensions: COVID-19 preparedness at local level, World Urban Forum in Katowice, Poland |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Embedding COVID-19 preparedness into local disaster risk reduction |
| Amount | £79,500 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 622261152 |
| Organisation | British Council |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2021 |
| End | 02/2023 |
| Description | Integrating pandemic preparedness and disaster risk reduction to protect economic assets and people in the 'new normal' for the Greater Bandung Metropolitan area of Indonesia |
| Amount | £108,498 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 624574431 |
| Organisation | British Council |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2021 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | COVID-19 : Impact, Mitigation, Opportunities and Building Resilience: From Adversity to Serendipity, a 2 day national inter disciplinary conference from January, 27-28, 2021 |
| Organisation | National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Our research project was a strategic partner of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka (NSF) conducted 2-day national inter disciplinary conference titled "COVID-19: Impact, Mitigation, Opportunities and Building Resilience" There were 1100 participants, both face to face and online It aimed at bringing all the key players of the relevant public and private sector institutions under one roof to deliberate and reflect on the above aspects of the pandemic so as to build a robust and resilient community and economy in Sri Lanka. Other strategic partners included: World Health Organisation; State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research & Innovations, Sri Lanka; Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka; Postgraduate Institute of Management, Sri Lanka; and Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Our research project was a strategic partner of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka (NSF) conducted 2-day national inter disciplinary conference titled "COVID-19: Impact, Mitigation, Opportunities and Building Resilience" There were 1100 participants, both face to face and online It aimed at bringing all the key players of the relevant public and private sector institutions under one roof to deliberate and reflect on the above aspects of the pandemic so as to build a robust and resilient community and economy in Sri Lanka. Other strategic partners included: World Health Organisation; State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research & Innovations, Sri Lanka; Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka; Postgraduate Institute of Management, Sri Lanka; and Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka. |
| Impact | Conference book, co edited by Prof. Dilanthi Amaratunga can be accessed via this link : https://covidcon.nsf.gov.lk/images/files/BookofAbs-26012021.pdf Senaratne, R., Amaratunga, D., Mendis, S. & Athukorala, P (eds) (2021), COVID 19: Impact, Mitigation, Opportunities and Building Resilience "From Adversity to Serendipity", Perspectives of global relevance based on research, experience and successes in combating COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, Vol. 1, National science Foundation, Sri Lanka: ISBN 978-624-5896-00-4 |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | DENGUE AMIDST THE PANDEMIC Improving preparedness and response for multi-hazard scenarios - 2022: International research and innovation symposium, 16-17 March 2022. |
| Organisation | Government of Sri Lanka |
| Department | Ministry of Health |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The symposium was organized as the key dissemination event of our project in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka which is the main partner of the project. The symposium was organized as a hybrid event. 100 peer-reviewed research papers were presented in the symposium and more than 200 researchers, experts, practitioners, and policymakers participated physically in the event whereas more than 500 participated online. Prof Dilanthi Amaratunga, Prof Richard Haigh and Dr Hemantha Herath were co-chairs of the symposium. Prof Dilanthi Amaratunga and Prof Richard Haigh were invited as keynote speakers and speakers in several plenary sessions. Prof Virginia Murray also was invited as a keynote speaker. Mr Thushara Kamalrathne, Dr Lahiru Kodituwakku, Prof Nishara Fernando, Dr Prasad Ranaweera and Dr Chandana Siriwardana contributed as members of the steering committee and pre-congress organizing committee of the symposium. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The symposium is the first-ever public health event in Sri Lanka which collaborated all public health-related national institutions such as the National Dengue Control Unit, the Anti-malaria campaign in Sri Lanka, stakeholders, and practitioners together for a national cause urged with COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Health and Global Disaster Resilience Centre co-organised the Conference in collaboration with the University of Colombo, the University of Moratuwa, the National Science Foundation in Sri Lanka, and The Federation of Sri Lankan Local Government Authorities. Embedding COVID-19 preparedness into Local disaster Risk Reduction (Newton Fund) and Integrating Pandemic preparedness and Disaster Risk Reduction to Protect economic Asserts and the People in the 'new normal' for the Greater Bandung Metropolitan Area of Indonesia (newton fund) projects were linked with the research symposium. |
| Impact | Book of abstracts edited by Amaratunga, D., Haigh, R., Kamalrathne, T., Samaraweera, S., Pannilahetti, N., Senaviratne, S., & Kodituwakku, L. (2022), International Research and Innovations Symposium conference proceedings on DENGUE AMIDST THE PANDEMIC Improving preparedness and response for multi-hazard scenarios - 2022. Available at: http://pandemic-mhew.org/images/2022/03/19/BoAv10.pdf |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | International Symposium on Multi Hazard Early Warning and Disaster Risk Reduction, held on 14th, 15th and 16th at the BMICH, Colombo |
| Organisation | Disaster Management Centre |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Experience over recent years of the impacts of tsunamis, cyclones, flooding and other major natural hazards has shown that inadequate preparation for, and response to, emergency situations have contributed to widespread damage and the avoidable loss of lives and livelihoods. Between 1998 and 2017, climate-related and geophysical disasters killed 1.3 million people and left a further 4.4 billion injured, homeless, displaced or in need of emergency assistance. While the majority of fatalities were due to geophysical events, mostly earthquakes and tsunamis, 91% of all disasters were caused by floods, storms, droughts, heatwaves and other extreme weather events. There are increasing calls for strengthened risk assessment and mitigation, community awareness and preparedness, and multi-hazard early warning systems at all levels. As emphasised by the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR 2015-2030), this requires an integrated and holistic approach to early warning for multiple hazards, and for risks tailored to user needs across sectors and community awareness. Together these will help to mainstream disaster risk reduction and to support efforts towards the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This high-level, international symposium, which was organised in collaboration with Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka; Global Disaster Resilience Centre, University of Huddersfield, UK; IOC-UNESCO IOTWMS, WG 1 on Tsunami Risk, Community Awareness and Preparedness, and other partners will be held to recognise achievements, and to highlight work that still needs to be done. It will promote collaboration among academia, research institutions and disaster management offices, and encourage multidisciplinary and multi sectoral interaction. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Sri Lankan Government, third and private sectors, and higher education commit to work together to improve multi-mazard early warning and reduce disaster risk At the culmination of an International Symposium on Wednesday 16th December 2020, thirty-two national, regional and international agencies responsible for tackling disaster risk in Sri Lanka, came together to agree the Colombo Declaration of Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Disaster Risk Reduction. The three-day event, held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, as a hybrid face to face and online, brought together over 2500 participants from the Sri Lankan Government, the third and private sector, and higher education. They examined how research, science and technology could be used to support efforts to reduce to support the implementation of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction towards 2030. Due to the pandemic, many Sri Lankan and international participants took advantage of an online platform to join the event remotely. The event was jointly organised by the Disaster Management Center from the Government of Sri Lanka, the University of Huddersfield in the UK, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, and the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka, with the input from several other partners. The Symposium programme included a combination of four keynote addresses and five panel discussions that involved leading national and international policy makers and scientists. These were complemented by twenty technical sessions where 157 detailed scientific, policy and practical applications were presented and shared. These wide-ranging interventions provided the basis for a Declaration by the Disaster Management Centre, Government of Sri Lanka, together with other key stakeholders responsible for disaster risk reduction in the country, region, and beyond, to work together to tackle the priority issues identified and addressed during the Symposium. It is a key milestone for the Disaster Management Practice Community in Sri Lanka, adopting the Colombo Declaration, which will reshape, rephrase and accelerate the implementation of National strategies supported by Global and regional instruments. The Declaration expresses deep concern at the growing frequency and intensity of extreme weather and climate-related challenges, and their continuing impact of disasters, resulting in an unacceptable loss of human lives and livelihoods, displacement of people, and environmental and economic damages in Sri Lanka and across the world. The Declaration sets out fifteen key priorities and actions that must be taken by stakeholders in order address these challenges. The Declaration also recognises the devastating impact of COVID-19 around the world and the threat posed by future epidemics and pandemics. It stresses the need to focus on developing a holistic understanding of societal challenges, risks and drivers, like poverty, climate change, loss of protective eco-systems and biodiversity, rapid urbanisation and unplanned development in hazard prone areas, socio-economic inequalities, and population growth along with their interactions. It underlines the need to build resilience against all hazards, including emerging and unforeseen hazards such as biological, human-animal transfers of diseases, hormones and microplastics. The Declaration was inspired by the UN Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, agreed by UN member states in 2015. It includes a strong call for higher education and science to support the understanding of disaster risk and promote risk-informed decisions and risk sensitive planning from the local to the global levels. The goal is to strengthen the evidence-base in support of the implementation of the new framework. The Declaration recognizes the importance of ensuring coherence among the global frameworks such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the New Urban Agenda among others. There is an urgent need to strengthen and mainstream the inclusion of the research, science, and technology applications. There is also a need to build a community of practice that crosses scientific disciplines, and links science, policy and practice. This Declaration provides an important step in roadmap for achieving this and protecting people at risk. |
| Impact | Fifty-four scientific contributions from the conference will also be published in a peer reviewed book, titled: "Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Disaster Risks [Amaratunga, D., Haigh, R,. & Dias N. (Ed.)], to be published by Springer Nature in 2021. It is a key milestone for the Disaster Management Practice Community in Sri Lanka, adopting the Colombo Declaration, which will reshape, rephrase and accelerate the implementation of National strategies supported by Global and regional instruments. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | ?????? - 19 ?????? ?? ???? ????????? (Covid 19 and Disaster Management), article published in the "Hiru" news paper in Sinhala Language in Sri Lanka |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The above paper article was published in a reputed newspaper in Sri Lanka in Local Language for the awareness of general public on Covid-19 and its impact |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 preparedness: national to local engagement with the focus on DRR principles, View point by Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga, Global Disaster Resilience Centre, University of Huddersfield, UK , ADRiMP Sri Lankan news letter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The newsletter was published by ADRiMP, Sri Lanka. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Community engagement workshop 1 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The first community engagement workshop was held in Rathnapura which is a disaster-prone district in Sri Lanka. The objective of the workshops was to incorporate citizens' perspectives on pandemic preparedness amidst a multi-hazard scenario in their respective districts. The target audience was community members of the Community Based Organizations (CBOs) who have actively engaged in pandemic response, grass-root level public health workers including Public Health Inspectors (PHI) and Public Health Midwives (PHM), and members of the local youth, women, and faith-based organizations. All together 75 members participated in the workshop. Representing the project, Mr Thushara Kamalrathne and Dr Lahiru Kodituwakku participated as resource persons in the workshop. Dr Sudatah Samaraweera, Director, National Dengue Control Unit, also participated as a resource person for the workshop. This workshop was planned as a simulation-based training program to absorb the real-life experience of people. Six multi-hazard scenarios have been given to community members to propose their own plans to reflect the preparedness and response. Once the plan was presented by each group, expert opinion was incorporated. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.pandemic-mhew.org/index.php/project-events |
| Description | Community engagement workshop 2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The second community engagement workshop was held in Jaffna which is a disaster-prone district in Sri Lanka. The objective of the workshops was to incorporate citizens' perspectives on pandemic preparedness amidst a multi-hazard scenario in their respective districts. The target audience was community members of the Community Based Organizations (CBOs) who have actively engaged in pandemic response, grass-root level public health workers including Public Health Inspectors (PHI) and Public Health Midwives (PHM), and members of the local youth, women, and faith-based organizations. All together 75 members participated in the workshop. Resource panels were selected from local faculty including public health professionals, sociologists and experts in rural development and community engagement. Dr. Hemantha Herath, Director, Education and Research, Ministry of Health, Dr. Sudath Sanaraweera, Director, National Dengue Control Unit, Dr. Prasad Ranaweera, Director, Anti-Malaria Campaign participated as experts in the public health in Sri Lanka. Also, DR Lahiru Kodituwakku, Dr Nimalka Pannilahetti, Dr Iroshani Abeysekere, and Dr Nagoor Ariff participated as experts from the National Dengue Control Unit. Mr Ravi Sangarapillai, Mr S. Sivakanthan and Mr K Sajanthan from the university of Jaffna contributed as resource persons in the area of DRR and Sociology. Prof Dilanthi Amaratunga, Prof Nishara Fernanado, Thushara Kamalrathne, Nanduni Jayasinghe, Ravindu Jayasekere, Thisasra Pereara and Shavindree Nissanka participated in the event as experts from GDRC, University of Huddersfield, University of Colombo and University of Moratuwa. Taking a novel approach, instead of the usual didactics, a simulation-based training workshop was designed to mimic real-life disaster scenarios encountered in the local setting. Each scenario for the simulation was tailormade to extract local knowledge and skills on multi-hazard preparedness, mitigation, and response. Participants were encouraged to work in groups to share their best practices among them. The interaction between grass root level public health workers and community-based organizations were envisioned to build a concrete working relationship that would be of immense potential during a real disaster. Participants were expected to come up with a locally grown, community-driven action plan based on the areas of preparedness, mitigation, response, and post-disaster recovery at the end of the simulation. Facilitators and observers were tasked with imparting essential technical knowledge whenever required and ensure a participant-driven approach throughout the simulation. Feedback and comments from the participants and facilitators were compiled for successive scenario development in a similar setting in future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.pandemic-mhew.org/index.php/project-events |
| Description | D-MOSS workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | D-MOSS workshop aimed to develop an early warning system, a satellite-based innovative model to predict dengue outbreaks by utilizing climatological, epidemiological, and related earth observation data. This model is already live in Vietnam and is being implemented in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, The Philippines, and Sri Lanka. It gives beneficiaries several months' advance warning of likely outbreaks of dengue fever. It allows local communities to mobilize to eliminate mosquito-breeding sites thus reducing the incidence of dengue. The objective of the workshop was to introduce a novel dengue forecasting model to regional health authorities across Sri Lanka. This two days workshop introduced evidence-based novel techniques in dengue forecasts, incorporating different meteorological, hydrological and epidemiological parameters. HR Wallingford, the lead technical agency behind the project conducted two knowledge dissemination workshops on this model for Regional Epidemiologists and Medical Officers of Health in dengue high-risk areas on 21st and 22nd March at Hotel Blue Waters, Wadduwa, and Cinnamon Lakeside, Colombo. 120 members participated in this two-day event |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.pandemic-mhew.org/index.php/project-events |
| Description | Empowering community through effective communication in dengue- scenario-based training for Public Health Midwives |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This workshop was organized for Public Health Midwives in Sri Lanka on Empowering communities through effective communication in dengue scenario-based training. This pre-congress session was held in the regional health training centre, Kadugannawa on25th February 2022. 50 Public Health Midwives and Supervising Public Health Midwives from Kandy and Kegalle districts participated in the program. The aim of this session was to develop the capacity of PHM on community empowerment for effective risk communication in dengue and other hazards mainly utilizing the services of 'Mother Support Groups' through active engagement of local networks catered by the Public Health Midwife. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.pandemic-mhew.org/index.php/project-events |
| Description | Interdisciplinary Policy dialogue On COVID 19: Impact, Mitigation, Opportunities and Building Resilience |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof. Dilanthi Amaratunga delivered a keynote speech at the International Dialog on "Disaster during Disaster: Multi-Hazard Approach for Geological and Hydro-meteorological Hazards Amid Covid19 Pandemic", organised by Indonesia National Disaster Management Organisation (BNPB), Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) of Indonesia together with UNESCO and Indonesia Disaster Experts Association, held on the 12th October, marking the International DRR day. 12th October 2020 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | International Research and Innovations Symposium on DENGUE AMIDST THE PANDEMIC Improving preparedness and response for multi-hazard scenarios 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The symposium was organized as the key dissemination event of our project in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, which is the project's main partner. This symposium was organized as a hybrid event. 100 peer-reviewed research papers were presented in the symposium and more than 200 researchers, experts, practitioners, and policymakers participated physically in the event whereas more than 500 participated online. The symposium is the first-ever public health event in Sri Lanka which collaborated all public health-related national institutions such as the National Dengue Control Unit, the Anti-malaria campaign in Sri Lanka, stakeholders, and practitioners together for a national cause urged with COVID-19 pandemic. The conference was co-organized by the Ministry of Health and Global Disaster Resilience Centre in collaboration with University of Colombo, University of Moratuwa, the National Science Foundation in Sri Lanka, and The Federation of Sri Lankan Local Government Authorities. Embedding COVID-19 preparedness into Local disaster Risk Reduction (Newton Fund) and Integrating Pandemic preparedness and Disaster Risk Reduction to Protect economic Asserts and the People in the 'new normal' for the Greater Bandung Metropolitan Area of Indonesia (newton fund) projects were linked with the research symposium. The conference book was co-edited by Prof Dilanthi Amaratunga, Prof Richard Haigh, Thushara Kamalrathne and Lahiru Kodituwakku can be accessed via this link (http://pandemic-mhew.org/images/2022/03/19/BoAv10.pdf ) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.pandemic-mhew.org/index.php/symposium-2022 |
| Description | International Symposium on Multi Hazard Early Warning and Disaster Risk Reduction |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | At the culmination of the international symposium on Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Disaster Risk Reduction 2020 (MHEW DRR 2020) held on 14th, 15th and 16th at the BMICH, Colombo witnessed the participation of thirty-two national, regional and international agencies responsible for tackling disaster risk in Sri Lanka. This three-day international symposium held as a hybrid event of face to face and online brought together over 2,500 participants from the Sri Lankan government, private sector, non-governmental organisations and higher educational institutions on to one common platform. The event was jointly organised by the Global Disaster Resilience Centre, the University of Huddersfield in UK, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre and the University of Moratuwa along with the input and sponsorship from several other partners. The new normal lifestyle amidst the current global pandemic of COVD-19 paves the way for the creation of a virtual platform which was a well-coordinated and successful effort between the whizzes of the two universities and DMC, the host of this international event. Many local and international participants took the advantage of the virtual platform facility and joined remotely. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Invited talk at the International Dialog on Disaster during Disaster: Multi Hazard Approach for Geological and Hydro-meteorological Hazards Amid Covid19 Pandemic |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof Dilanthi Amaratunga was the Invited speaker at the International Dialog on "Disaster during Disaster: Multi Hazard Approach for Geological and Hydro-meteorological Hazards Amid Covid19 Pandemic", organised by Indonesia National Disaster Management Organisation (BNPB), Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agnecy (BMKG) of Indonesia together with UNESCO and Indonesia Disaster Experts association, was held on the 12th October 2021, marking the International DRR day. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Keynote on Missing Insights on COVID-19: The Intersectionality of Disaster Risks, Epidemics, and Pandemics Informed Decision Making |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote on Missing Insights on COVID-19: The Intersectionality of Disaster Risks, Epidemics, and Pandemics Informed Decision Making. Prof Dilanthi Amaratunga was an invited keynote speaker in International Research and Innovations Symposium on DENGUE AMIDST THE PANDEMIC Improving preparedness and response for multi-hazard scenarios - 2022, held on 16 and 17 March 2022, at Waters' Edge, Colombo Sri Lanka. This conference was jointly organized by the Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka and all other partners of this project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | National Conference on COVID-19 : Impact, Mitigation, Opportunities and Building Resilience: From Adversity to Serendipity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | GDRC was a strategic partner of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka (NSF) conducted a 2-day national interdisciplinary conference titled "COVID-19: Impact, Mitigation, Opportunities and Building Resilience" under the theme "From Adversity to Serendipity" from January, 27-28, 2021. It aimed at bringing all the key players of the relevant public and private sector institutions under one roof to deliberate and reflect on the above aspects of the pandemic so as to build a robust and resilient community and economy in Sri Lanka. Other strategic partners included: World Health Organisation; State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research & Innovations, Sri Lanka; Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka; Postgraduate Institute of Management, Sri Lanka; and Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://covidcon.nsf.gov.lk/images/files/BookofAbs-26012021.pdf |
| Description | Online newsletter on public engagement activity conducted by the project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The first community engagement workshop was held in Rathnapura which is a disaster-prone district in Sri Lanka. The objective of the workshops was to incorporate citizens' perspectives on pandemic preparedness amidst a multi-hazard scenario in their respective districts. The target audience was community members of the Community Based Organizations (CBOs) who have actively engaged in pandemic response, grass-root level public health workers including Public Health Inspectors (PHI) and Public Health Midwives (PHM), and members of the local youth, women, and faith-based organizations. All together 75 members participated in the workshop. Resource panels were selected from local faculty including public health professionals, sociologists and experts in rural development and community engagement. Dr. Hemantha Herath, Director, Education and Research, Ministry of Health, Dr. Sudath Sanaraweera, Director, National Dengue Control Unit, Dr. Prasad Ranaweera, Director, Anti-Malaria Campaign participated as experts in the public health in Sri Lanka. Also, DR Lahiru Kodituwakku, Dr Nimalka Pannilahetti, Dr Iroshani Abeysekere, and Dr Nagoor Ariff participated as experts from the National Dengue Control Unit. Mr Ravi Sangarapillai, Mr S. Sivakanthan and Mr K Sajanthan from the university of Jaffna contributed as resource persons in the area of DRR and Sociology. Prof Dilanthi Amaratunga, Prof Nishara Fernanado, Thushara Kamalrathne, Nanduni Jayasinghe, Ravindu Jayasekere, Thisasra Pereara and Shavindree Nissanka participated in the event as experts from GDRC, University of Huddersfield, University of Colombo and University of Moratuwa. Taking a novel approach, instead of the usual didactics, a simulation-based training workshop was designed to mimic real-life disaster scenarios encountered in the local setting. Each scenario for the simulation was tailormade to extract local knowledge and skills on multi-hazard preparedness, mitigation, and response. Participants were encouraged to work in groups to share their best practices among them. The interaction between grass root level public health workers and community-based organizations were envisioned to build a concrete working relationship that would be of immense potential during a real disaster. Participants were expected to come up with a locally grown, community-driven action plan based on the areas of preparedness, mitigation, response, and post-disaster recovery at the end of the simulation. Facilitators and observers were tasked with imparting essential technical knowledge whenever required and ensure a participant-driven approach throughout the simulation. Feedback and comments from the participants and facilitators were compiled for successive scenario development in a similar setting in future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2022/april/gdrc-leads-major-international-symposium/ |
| Description | Panel Discussion on Multi-Hazard Response at Grass-Root Level : Strengthening the hands that matter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof Dilanthi Amaratunga participated as the Panel Discussion on Multi-Hazard Response at Grass-Root Level : Strengthening the hands that matter, Organised by Ministry of Health Sri Lanka, World Food Programme and the Australian aid, on the occasion of launching the handbook: Scenario-Based Training on Multi-Hazard Situations and Complex Emergencies for Grass-root Level Public Health Workers and First Responders, held on 22/02/2023 at Colombo: Sri Lanka. Initial ideas were conceptualized at several community engagement workshops conducted by the Ministry of Health and the project in Sri Lanka in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Plenary on "Integrating Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness into Disaster Risk Reduction" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Plenary session on "Integrating Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness into Disaster Risk Reduction", ", held at the International Symposium on Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Disaster Risk Reduction, 14th to 16th December 2020 (Virtual event), Colombo Sri Lanka. Session chair: Dr Nishara Fernando, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. All panellists were members of the project: Prof. Dilanthi Amaratunga, Global Disaster Resilience Centre, University of Huddersfield, UK; Dr. Hemantha Herath, Deputy Director General of Public Health Services, Sri Lanka; Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe, DG, Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka; Dr Chandana Siriwardana, Senior Lecturer, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka; Mr. Sunil Jayaweera, Director Preparedness Planning Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Plenary on Integrated pandemic and multi-hazard preparedness planning strategies: national to community empowerment and social mobilization |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Plenary on "Integrated pandemic and multi-hazard preparedness planning strategies: national to community empowerment and social mobilization", was held at the International Research & Innovations Symposium on Dengue Amidst the Pandemic 2022 - Improving Preparedness and Response for Multi-Hazard Scenarios, 16th to 17th March 2022, Water's Edge, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Professor Nishara Fernando, co-investigator of the project from the University of Colombo participated as a panellist. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Plenary on Tackling the complexity and interdependencies of systemic disaster risk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Plenary on "Tackling the complexity and interdependencies of systemic disaster risk", held at the International Research & Innovations Symposium on Dengue Amidst the Pandemic 2022 - Improving Preparedness and Response for Multi-Hazard Scenarios, 16th to 17th March 2022, Water's Edge, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Session chair, Professor Richard Haigh, Global Disaster Resilience Centre, University of Huddersfield, UK. Ms. Naduni Jayasinghe, the research assistant of the project from University of Colombo participated as a panellist. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Plenary on: "Science, Policy and Practice Nexus for Risk Analytics, Early Warning Systems and Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs): Perspectives from the Asian Countries" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This Plenary on "Science, Policy and Practice Nexus for Risk Analytics, Early Warning Systems and Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs): Perspectives from the Asian Countries", was held at the International Symposium on Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Disaster Risk Reduction, 14th to 16th December 2020 (Virtual event), Colombo Sri Lanka. Session Co-Chairs were Major General (Retd) Sudantha Ranasinghe, Director General, Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka & Prof. Richard Haigh, Global Disaster Resilience Centre, University of Huddersfield, UK |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Policy Dialogue on Building a Robust and Resilient Community and Economy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Policy Dialogue on Building a Robust and Resilient Community and Economy was held at the Lotus Hall, BMCH, Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 28 January 2021, which was held in conjunction with the COVID-19: Impact, Mitigation, Opportunities and Building Resilience, the National Conference Organized by the National Science Foundation, Sri Lanka. Prof. Dilanthi Amaratunga was the moderator of this high-level policy dialogue. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Presentation on Integrating epidemic and pandemic preparedness into national and local disaster risk reduction strategies , School of Applied Sciences, Research Conference: COVID-19, 24th February 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This work presented at the conference organized by the School of Applied Sciences, the University of Huddersfield on COVID-19 on 24th February 2021. The presentation was about 20 mins and the post-presentation discussion took place as a policy level dialogue. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Printed and online newsletter on international symposium on dengue amidst pandemic 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The newsletter (April 2022) was published by the national dengue control unit, ministry of health, Sri Lanka, highlighting the international research symposium organized by the project in collaboration with the ministry of health, Sri Lanka and other partner universities in Sri Lanka. This newsletter is widely recognized among public health practitioners and academics in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this newsletter helps to disseminate the event to a wider public audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.pandemic-mhew.org/images/2022/09/01/Feature_article_on_Degue_conference.pdf |
| Description | Project kick-off meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Project Kick-Off Meeting was intended to ensure that all project participants begin the project with a clear and shared understanding of the project and project expectations including: Description of the effort (What); What it will entail (Scope); Why it is being done (Value Proposition); When (Schedule); How (Methods and process) and How much (Cost); Project team members role and responsibilities. The kick-off meeting also provided a forum to: Publicly state that the project is beginning; Communicate the shared view of the project; and Establish a commitment by project partners. Further, the meeting was aimed at discussing the dissemination of the project outputs and the importance of including external stakeholders for dissemination events - enterprises, national authorities, NGOs etc., |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Public health newsletter on international research symposium on dengue amidst pandemic 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Apart from the newsletter published in April, This newsletter (May 2022) was published by the national dengue control unit, ministry of health, Sri Lanka, highlighting the international research symposium organized by the project in collaboration with the ministry of health, Sri Lanka and other partner universities in Sri Lanka. This newsletter is widely recognized among public health practitioners and academics in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this newsletter helps to disseminate the event to a wider public audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.pandemic-mhew.org/images/2022/09/01/feature_article_in_NDCU_May.pdf |
| Description | Research relevance and interest beyond a community of scholars: How can we achieve this? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga was the invited keynote speaker at the launch meeting of the Strengthening University-Enterprise Collaboration for Resilient Communities in Asia (SECRA), held from 2-4 February 2021. Her keynote speech was titled: "Research relevance and interest beyond a community of scholars: How can we achieve this? |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Stakeholder seminar on Private Sector Preparedness for Pandemics and Multi-Hazard Scenarios |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | An event organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on 'Private Sector Preparedness for Pandemics and Multi-Hazard Scenarios' was held on 30th March, 2022 at Taj Samudra, Colombo. The event was held with the objective of bringing together key private sector and state sector stakeholders to present key findings and recommendations pertaining to private sector preparedness for pandemics and multi-hazard scenarios features pandemics. The findings were presented jointly by Professor Nishara Fernando, the co-investigator of the project from University of Colombo and Mr. Chandrarathne Vithanage, the Senior Assistant Secretary General of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. The event also saw the launch of two position papers, targeted at the private and state sectors, which have captured the socio-economic impacts of the 1st and 2nd waves of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka and the degree of pandemic preparedness within four key economic sectors namely, apparel sector, agriculture sector, constriction sector and tourism sector. Further, the event featured a panel discussion among representatives from the mentioned sectors, health sector, the disaster management sector and academia. The objective of the panel discussion was to gain fresh perspectives by reflecting on the developments since April 2021 in private sector responses to, and recovery from, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. 35, members including invitees and the research team were attended in the event |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.pandemic-mhew.org/index.php/project-events |
| Description | Validation Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The workshop was organized by the University of Colombo team on 31st march 2022 at the Hilton Colombo Residences with the objective of validating the findings derived under Work packages 01, 02 and 03 of the project. Seven stakeholders representing the disaster management sector, another seven stakeholders from the health sector and two other miscellaneous stakeholders were invited to validate the findings presented during the session. All together 22 participants attended. The workshop commenced with a presentation made by Mr. Thushara Kamalrathne on a conceptual framework developed featuring the key actors and processes involved in the preparation of COVID-19 and other pandemic warning and dissemination processes. This was followed by a presentation delivered by Ms. Naduni Jayasinghe representing the University of Colombo team which focused on providing a Sri Lanka-based perspective of the actors and processes involved in the issue and dissemination of Early Warning for COVID-19 and other pandemics. Ms. Nilushi Dewapura subsequently made a presentation on data gathered under Work Package 02 which focused on the research question: 'How are COVID 19 and other pandemic threats integrated within national and local disaster risk reduction strategies?' Consequently, Dr. Chanadana Sirwardena and Mr. Ravindu Jayasekara representing the University of Moratuwa team presented the key findings derived under work package 03 of the project. The invitees actively contributed to verifying the findings presented. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.pandemic-mhew.org/index.php/project-events |
| Description | Vector bionomics and integrated vector management in Malaria and Dengue |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Vector Bionomics and Integrated Vector Management in Malaria and Dengue workshop was held on the 2nd March 2022 at the Auditorium of National Blood Transfusion Service Center, Colombo 05. It was held with the participation of 50 Regional Malaria Officers (RMO), Entomologists and Health Entomology Officers (HEO), and technical staff of the Anti-Malaria Campaign (AMC) and National Dengue Control Unit(NDCU). The workshop was jointly organized by the AMC and the NDCU. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.pandemic-mhew.org/index.php/project-events |
| Description | Workshop on improving preparedness and response for multi-hazard scenarios for public health inspectors in Southern Province, Sri Lanka |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This workshop was on improving preparedness and response for multi-hazard scenarios for Public Health Inspectors- Southern Province Sri Lanka. The event was held on 8 th March 2022 at the Auditorium of the Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) office, Matara with the participation of 50 Public Health Inspectors of Matara, Galle, and Hambantota districts. This session further facilitated PHI to effectively communicate the risks of multiple hazards to the community through the engagement of all stakeholders and also to empower the people to control their own behaviour and health to mitigate the effects of diseases and other hazards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.pandemic-mhew.org/index.php/project-events |
| Description | key note speech on Risk is systemic, crises are cascading |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This key note speech on Risk is systemic, crises are cascading : Contributions of the scientific community in addressing the dual challenges to enhance comprehensive disaster risk management, at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka was delivered by Prof Dilanthi Amaratung at the INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, from 1-3 December 2021, organized by University of Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |