Public Health Protection and Epidemic Control at Municipal Level

Connective Cities Dialogue Event Frankfurt, Germany

Overview

What kind of measures are necessary to sustainably protect citizens from infectious diseases and epidemics? How have German municipalities organised their response model? And what is the situation like in other cities and regions around the world? Moreover, what can be done to strengthen local health systems? These questions were at the heart of the dialogue event 'Public Health Protection and Epidemic Control at Municipal Level'.

In cooperation with the City of Frankfurt’s Public Health Department, the international urban networking platform Connective Cities invited German and international stakeholders from Brazil, Jordan and Liberia to exchange their experience and showcase their good practices in Frankfurt from 25 to 27 November 2015. This event attracted medical doctors and staff from municipalities, state governments and ministries as well as experts from the field of infectious disease control and crisis management.

The primary objective of this event was to map out practicable prevention strategies and to collectively identify project ideas for controlling and responding to biological hazards. The upshot: in future improved cooperation and the ongoing exchange of knowledge are intended to prevent the spread of infectious diseases at local and supraregional level.

Program

Event Programme
[German Version]

Background Paper
[German Version]

Keynotes

Keynote by Prof. Dr. Dr. René Gottschalk, Head of Office, Public Health Department, Frankfurt am Main
Public health protection in biological emergencies at the local level - current challenges
[pdf, 21 pp., 4mb, German Version]

Presentations

Siegfried Ippisch, State Office for Health and Food Safety of Bavaria, Germany
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for biological hazards – current development needs

Dr. Klaus Göbels, City of Düsseldorf, Public Health Department, Germany
Operating procedures for ambulance services for patients with highly contagious diseases

Dr. Jürgen Krahn, Public Health Department City of Darmstadt, Germany
SOP for Infection-reports

Beatriz Monteiro, Secretariat of Health of the State of Paraná, Brazil
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) management in the Paraná State

Dr. Thomas Kratz, Robert Koch Institute, Germany
Ebola virus disease : Measures undertaken and Lessons Learned in Germany

Dr. Khaled El Jbour, Ministry of Health, Jordan
Assessment of Preparedness and Readiness Measures for Ebola Virus Disease

Hans Georg Jung, City of Frankfurt, Public Health Department, Germany
Biological emergencies as a challenge for public health services in Frankfurt am Main

Detlef Cwojdzinski, Senate Department for Health and Social Affairs, Berlin, Germany
Generic response model for biological hazards

Results

In four working groups, experts and practitioners exchanged their views on pertinent framework conditions and on transferable emergency response models for various hazard situations, with a view to sustainably improving municipal health resilience – in Germany but also in cities in other countries – inter alia by formulating concrete proposals and multidisciplinary approaches for improving crisis management.In four working groups, experts and practitioners exchanged their views on pertinent framework conditions and on transferable emergency response models for various hazard situations, with a view to sustainably improving municipal health resilience – in Germany but also in cities in other countries – inter alia by formulating concrete proposals and multidisciplinary approaches for improving crisis management.

The obstacles that have to be overcome range from differences in legislation (national and federal) and international (health) regulations, the inadequate scope of funding for relevant authorities and institutions through to a lack of joint, internationally applicable (technical) standards and norms.

During this professional exchange, it became clear that in emerging economies and developing countries such as Brazil, Jordan or Liberia, for example, local actors primarily require assistance with the generation of a corresponding infrastructure and the procurement of suitable protective equipment but also with staff training by internationally seconded experts.

Based on the insights gained and also the needs of the respective municipalities and stakeholders, the participants decided to step up their networking activities in future and to work together on follow-on projects. Suggestions for cooperation include an undertaking with representatives from Jordan and Brazil – possibly spearheaded by the City of Frankfurt's Department of Public Health – in order to standardise basic and further training for hospital staff and people engaged in civil defence at local level. Moreover, the participants also explored the idea of actors from German cities and the Liberian city of Monrovia working together to improve public health protection, specifically through hygiene protocols and the generation of control mechanisms.

Report

Connective Cities Dialogue Event
Public health protection in biological emergencies at the local level
25 – 27 November 2015 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
[pdf, 20 pp., 707kb, English Version]

Gallery

Video

Connective Cities Dialogue Event Frankfurt, Germany
'Public Health Protection and Epidemic Control at Municipal Level'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG1aMkQW9co

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Categories: Connective Cities Documentation Good Urban Governance
Regions: Europe Germany Frankfurt

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