UAE, EU and UN host Virtual International Expert Gathering – Preparing For A Second Wave

19.08.2020

Sharing Lessons Learned during COVID-19

The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) in partnership with the European Union’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence Initiative (EU CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative) and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) are hosting a series of complimentary webinars from the 20 August through to October 2020. This Gathering will bring together international experts involved in the global response to the pandemic to discuss key issues following the first wave and its consequences, creating a space for engaging, interactive and powerful contentious discussions. Are we already seeing, or will we eventually see, a second wave of the virus? Are we sufficiently prepared? Have we even learned from the “first wave”? And more importantly, what measures can we put into place to prevent the huge negative impact in various sectors we have and continue to experience?

 

The viruses are not the only threat that could have international consequences. Criminal acts involving CBRN agents could potentially lead to similarly severe health, social, political, and economic impacts, including incredible pressure on the medical and educational infrastructure. Therefore, it is imperative that the lessons identified during the COVID-19 crisis be examined for the implication in other large-scale contamination events like CBRN emergencies.

 

H.E. Andrea Matteo Fontana, Ambassador of the European Union to the UAE, said: “The global dimension of the COVID-19 pandemic turns the immense challenge we face into an opportunity to be better prepared, not only by sharing lessons learned but also by developing a global and coordinated approach to manage this kind of crisis in the future .”

 

The UAE is hosting the EU CBRN Centre of Excellence Regional Secretariat in the Gulf Corporation Countries in Abu Dhabi. The EU CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative is the largest European civilian external security programme, with a budget of €155 million for 2014-2020, under the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP).  61 partner countries are grouped into 8 Regions, each with one Regional Secretariat, covering both the close and the wider neighbourhood of the EU. Since 2010, 22 projects (out of a total of 82) have focused exclusively on the Biological risks such as infectious diseases, in addition to several others that have integrated it in the CBRN all hazard approach, comprising the preparedness, prevention and response to outbreaks and other events.

 

For more information and to register, please click the link below: International Expert Gathering - Preparing for a Second Wave