Changes After COVID-19: Science Academies Discuss Global Health Approaches for Future Pandemics

The coronavirus pandemic put healthcare systems around the world under enormous strain and revealed weaknesses when it comes to managing global health crises. Healthcare inequalities, gaps in data sharing and in healthcare monitoring as well as the impacts on tackling other infectious diseases such as HIV or tuberculosis all emphasised the necessity of international cooperation and interdisciplinary approaches in preparing for pandemics. In an international virtual panel discussion of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in cooperation with the national science academies from South Africa, Senegal and Ethiopia, experts will discuss questions concerning global healthcare policy and pandemic prevention on Tuesday 14 May.

Leopoldina International Virtual Panel
“Catalysing Change: A Global Health Approach in the Wake of Pandemics”
Tuesday 14 May 2024, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Online via Zoom

The Leopoldina International Virtual Panel provides a platform for exchanging knowledge, ideas and perspectives on current research efforts. A particular focus is on fair access to medication and vaccinations, strengthening global healthcare research, and improving infection monitoring and data sharing. The Leopoldina will welcome the following experts to the panel discussion.

• Professor Dr Quarraisha Abdool Karim, Associate Scientific Director, Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), Durban/South Africa
• Dr Oliver Morgan, Director, Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence Systems, World Health Organization (WHO) Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, Berlin/Germany
• Professor Adrian Puren, PhD, Executive Director, National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), Johannesburg/South Africa
• Professor Dr Pedro L. Alonso, Senior Vice President Science and Medicine, Head of the Global Health Office (GHO), BioNTech, Mainz/Germany

The event will be moderated by Leopoldina Member and immunologist Professor Dr Stefan H. E. Kaufmann. The event is based on the conference report “Global Health: Approach for Infectious Diseases – A Proposal for the Next Decade”, a joint publication of the national academies of Ethiopia, Germany, Senegal, and South Africa that resulted from the “Infectious Diseases beyond COVID-19” workshop on 23 and 24 May 2023 in Berlin. The publication is available here: www.leopoldina.org/en/infectious-diseases

More information on the event is available here: https://www.leopoldina.org/en/events/event/event/3175/

This event is open to all interested parties and will be held in English. Admission is free of charge. Registration is required: https://leopoldina-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LKsd3QhJSuaQdfbkGW_SeA#/registration. Following registration, a confirmation email with a link and password for the virtual meeting will be sent. When using the Zoom video conference system, the privacy policy of the provider applies: https://explore.zoom.us/en/privacy/

Journalists who would like to attend should register by email at presse@leopoldina.org.

This event is part of the Leopoldina’s “International Panel Series”, organised in cooperation with its international partners. The virtual panels provide a space for dialogue between leading scientists and the general public. Previous panels addressed endometriosis as well as the coronavirus pandemic from different angles, including vaccination, multimorbidity, mental health, contact tracing, and long COVID.

The Leopoldina on X: www.twitter.com/leopoldina

About the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
As the German National Academy of Sciences, the Leopoldina provides independent science-based policy advice on matters relevant to society. To this end, the Academy develops interdisciplinary statements based on scientific findings. In these publications, options for action are outlined; making decisions, however, is the responsibility of democratically legitimized politicians. The experts who prepare the statements work in a voluntary and unbiased manner. The Leopoldina represents the German scientific community in the international academy dialogue. This includes advising the annual summits of Heads of State and Government of the G7 and G20 countries. With around 1,700 members from more than 30 countries, the Leopoldina combines expertise from almost all research areas. Founded in 1652, it was appointed the National Academy of Sciences of Germany in 2008. The Leopoldina is committed to the common good.

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