The Korea Institute for Development Strategy (KDS) organized the ‘International Symposium on Global Health Security Agenda’ at the Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam Hotel from 27 to 28 of August 2019. The Symposium was co-hosted by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.CDC) to enhance health security through global partnership by sharing experiences and expertise. Various international experts were invited and attended the event, such as KOICA, U.S.CDC, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Ghana, Ghana Health Service, U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) and participants from academic institutions and private sectors. The symposium commenced on the 27th with opening remarks by Mi-kyung Lee, the President of KOICA and Honorable Harry H. Harris, the Ambassador of the U.S to R.O.K. Plenary session was then followed by a panel discussion with panels from KOICA, KCDC, U.S.CDC and Ministry of Health of the Republic of Ghana to discuss each country’s vision for health security over the next five years and share commitments to GHSA 2024. In the opening session, remarks by KDS, KOICA, U.S.CDC and Ministry of Health of Ghana were made to the invitees and audience and was followed by a presentation on health security and GHSA overview delivered by U.S.CDC Ghana GHSA program director, Chastity L. Walker. In the GHSA Partnerships & Collaboration session, the invited speakers shared the experience of collaborations and partnerships between KOICA and U.S.CDC in Ghana and Cambodia. Also, speakers discussed how these collaborations and partnerships advanced health security to realize the GHSA goals and visions. In the following session, PPP in Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness Effort, the speakers and panels invited from BD Global Health, noul, KH Medical, MiCo BioMed, International Vaccine Institute and Yonsei University Graduate School of Public Health GHSA Program added diversity and vitality to the discussions. As the stakeholders of the private sector, they shared valuable insights and ideas on stimulating Public-Private-Partnership(PPP) for global health security.
The second day started with concurrent breakout sessions with three sub-sessions; ‘Laboratory Systems Strengthening’, ‘Emergency Preparedness/Response’ and ‘Workforce Development’, where lively discussions were made on current development status of each topic, Joint External Evaluation (JEE) indicators, International Health Regulation (IHR) compliance depending on the different situations of Korea, Cambodia and Ghana.
Throughout the day, three Korean private companies, MiCo BioMed, KH Medical and noul took part in a showcase to highlight Korean technologies and platforms for potential use in support of preparedness and outbreak response efforts. Also, students and panelists exchanged their knowledge and experiences on health security issues at the K-CHAT Student Forum session.
Overall, the ‘International Symposium on Global Health Security Agenda’ was meaningful since it provided a platform for both political and technical dialogues among related governmental organizations, multilateral organizations and nongovernmental stakeholders to strengthen collaborations and partnerships. Through the experience attained by organizing the symposium and the network formed, KDS intends to take a big step towards becoming a leading international development consultancy in the health sector in addition to its current proficiencies.
