The crisis inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered many initiatives around the world to employ innovative solutions that aim at impeding the spread of the virus and curbing its disastrous impacts.
Examples of these impactful innovations include shift labs, remote screening and monitoring of patients, DIY face shields, low-cost ventilators, and the mobilisation of 3-D printing and robotics to manufacture vital medical devices or test kits. Overall, the registered progress at this front has highlighted the underlying and more critical long-term need to better resource and institutionalize strategic innovation in rebuilding local capacities of the health and economic sectors. Some expert opinions advocate for greater investments in developing platforms for diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics as a means to overcome the huge economic toll of this pandemic. Similarly, supporting and funding highly innovative start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs is crucial to the economy’s fast recovery.

Given the urgency for innovative solutions to the pandemic, sharing existing and emerging breakthrough achievements is of utter importance. Sharing and disseminating such knowledge can potentially facilitate the creation of partnerships which in turn are pivotal to initiating strategic and operational response to the short-term challenges resulting from COVID-19, as well as to the long-term planning for recovery.

To this end, this virtual knowledge-exchange event showcases ongoing grassroot initiatives developed collaboratively by local and national entities, research institutions and the private sector. In particular, FIGHTCORONA.AC initiative1 from Aachen (Germany), COV-Fight project2 from Biskra (Algeria), as well as the good practice of using 3D-printing technology for the production of medical supplies3 in Batnah (Algeria) will be presented.

Language: English and Arabic.

Date: 14th October 2020
Time: 13:00 - 14:45 CEST

More Informationen: Programme [pdf]

If you have any queries about the event and the participation process, we encourage you to contact

Muna Shalan, Connective Cities' regional coordinator for MENA: muna.shalan(at)giz.de