Risk Management Systems For Infectious Diseases HON. FLORIAN BODOG, MP OF ROMANIAN SENATE

 In cases of pandemics of international importance such as the Zika virus epidemic that has broken out in recent months and the Ebola epidemic that has hit the African continent hard, it is very important to recognize the crucial role that both local governments and the process of global governance has in such situations.  Through input received at conferences such as these we can thus elaborate a general framework, at least theoretically, to aid in the development of national and supra-national systems of control in cases of disasters and pandemics, so that the loss of life and the suffering is limited to a great extent.  Risk management is a precursor to this type of framework and we, as a whole body, should offer suitable alternatives to improve the national security measures and activities undertaken to prevent rather than control such epidemics which result in huge loss of life which resonates around the world.

 In the case of international pandemics such as the Ebola or Zika outbreaks, it is vital to recognize the importance of engaging communities in a dialogue and respect their privacy and right to care. Negative examples such as the closing off of an entire impoverished district in Liberia are good to learn from, having done much more bad than good by fueling mistrust and restricting access to basic care.  The forceful enforcement of quarantine and treating people like victims or biohazards is certainly not the way to go, and we should strive to educate actors involved in local health care and even international actors on the scene to slowly start eradicating such misconceptions.  More efforts also have to be done to re-write the entire public health narrative of such countries, and global governance might do well to step in in this area; for example, countries with more developed and tested health care systems might significantly aid by offering input in the way of directing and writing reforms and implementing programs that have worked in their respective countries, so that the tide will slowly start to turn from misdirected reactions to a constructive prevention.

 With help from the international community, the countries most in need must re- establish basic health-care and public-health measures such as infection control, precautions for handling blood and other bodily fluids, as well as triage.  Generally, we can thus name some crucial steps so that the national capacity for resilience against crises like Ebola or Zika can be strengthened, some with the help of global governance: isolate and care for patients properly with the use of medical and psychological support for them and their families, engage communities by working closely with them to help them understand the nature of these infections and viruses and what they can do to protect themselves, support disease surveillance by implementing mechanisms that can locate and track new cases easily and identify possible sites of infection and re-establish healthcare systems by making medical care readily available for the entire population at an affordable rate.  The measures highlighted above, as you can probably tell, speak as much to the issue of risk management and prevention as they do to handling a possible outbreak, and it is within our power and grasp to help better educate, modernize and re-think these systems from a global and international community perspective so that these people will not have to suffer again.

 Global governance and the help of international actors has time and time again been an engine behind maintaining international security and progressive standards which help in the development of our entire world. Things are no different and perhaps even more important on some level in the area of the international community’s involvement in global healthcare, with different actors benefiting from each other’s experience, resources and capacity to solve problems.  The role of the global community and global governance in risk management for possible global outbreaks in the future is and will continue to be huge, but in my opinion it needs more focused and incisive reforms and implication so that these commitments are made not only at a talking-points level but also through concrete steps.  The results of such an international collaboration and implication will be readily available and palpable and interest all the domains we are here debating; I am fairly certain that the boost given to the world’s population and level of health by correctly assessing risk and containing infectious epidemics will speak volumes and linger on for generations to come.