Disaster Medicine, Global Health, and Innovative Technology

Summary: Every disaster and emergency presents various and specific challenges. These can include scarcity of local resources and capacity in response, lack of safety and security even for relief workers, inefficiency due to lack of coordination and collaboration, and inequity of relief services reaching those in need. Drawing from experiences of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), UNICEF, and the Global Fund -- and addressing diverse relief operations and response to large-scale natural disasters such as Sumatra Earthquake/Indian Ocean Tsunami and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar; conflicts such as those in Somalia and Afghanistan; environmental disasters such as those in the Aral Sea and the forest fires in Indonesia; infectious diseases outbreak/pandemic such as Ebola Virus Disease and COVID-19 – this presentation highlights improvements seen in recent years and points to more efforts needed based on lessons learned. Improvement can be accelerated through innovation and technology, especially in information and data management, communications, and logistics. More efficient and effective global and local architecture, coordination, and collaboration mechanisms are also critical to maximizing impact in response to emergencies.