? 20 May 2020 ? 15:00 to 16:30 (CET)
Webinar
Western Mediterranean countries have been severly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. This health crisis has uncovered the respective degree of unpreparedness of the different countries of the region, putting a huge strain on their health systems.
Despite the international competition for medical equipment and potential treatments being on public display, this crisis has also shown that facing a common challenge such as the COVID-19 pandemic, cooperation, coordination and solidarity are more than ever required. In the aftermath of the crisis, our capacity to cope with similar health hazards will be inevitably reassessed. It will eventually lead us to (re)build sustainable and resilient health care systems. Cooperation will definitely need to be a valuable part of this process.
Compared to other fields of regional cooperation, the health topic has not historically attracted deserved attention from Mediterranean partners. However, potential benefits are clear: by sharing practices and experiences and making the best of existing resources and capacities, Mediterranean countries would support health development and resilience, realise common health objectives, and foster regional cooperation and eventually integration.
The 5+5 Dialogue gathering countries from the northern and southern shores of the Western Mediterranean Basin appears to be one of the most relevant frameworks to develop such cooperation in the area of health. In the face of the lessons learned of the COVID-19 health crisis, it seems now very timely for the 5+5 Dialogue to further engage in long-term cooperation on health issues in the Western Mediterranean.
Following an introduction on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the different Western Mediterranean countries and their respective responses to the health crisis, this MedThink 5+5 webinar will aim at highlighting the potential benefits of an intensified cooperation on health issues at the level of the 5+5 Dialogue. It will identify and discuss specific priority issues where North-South and South-South cooperation could be stepped up with the aim to develop the basis for common health policies in the Mediterranean.
Original source: UfM
Published on 18 May 2020
