The Inevitability of Pandemics: is Asia Pacific Prepared?

10 March 2020

Each time the world is struck by an infectious disease outbreak, the weaknesses of the healthcare system are laid bare. Asia Pacific must urgently address these weaknesses, because COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic. Hear from the region’s top clinicians, public health experts and academics as they explore the way forward.

Event Highlights

Is Asia Prepared for the Next Pandemic?

Three experts discuss the lessons learned from COVID-19 and what it will take to be prepared for the next outbreak.

The Impact of Repeated Infectious Disease Outbreaks on Patient Management

In a world where outbreaks are common, how is clinical practice adapting?

Epidemic Prevention and Control — Labs at the Forefront

The pandemic has shown the value of labs, but can more be done to integrate them into the healthcare system?

Panel

Dr Anna Ong-Lim

Immediate Past President of the Paediatric Infectious Disease Society, the Philippines

Dr. Ong-Lim has published extensively on pediatric health and infectious disease and is heavily involved in clinical trials of pediatric vaccines, including those for measles, mumps and rubella, polio, pneumococcal disease, as well as influenza vaccines.

Dr Rob Grenfell

Director, Health & Biosecurity, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia

Dr Rob Grenfell is a public health physician and Director of CSIRO, where he leads a broad portfolio covering nutrition, eHealth, medtech and diagnostics and biosecurity, from weeds to Ebola. Prior to joining CSIRO in 2016, he was the National Medical Director of Bupa Australia and New Zealand.

Lance Little

Board Member of the Asia Pacific Medical Technology Association (APACMed) and Managing Director Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific

Lance Little became the Managing Director for the Asia Pacific region for Roche Diagnostics in 2012. He is based in Singapore. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director of Roche Diagnostics India, where he was also the head of the wider Indian sub-region, which includes the neighbouring markets of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Dr. Abdul Bari Khan

CEO, Indus Health Network, Pakistan

Dr Abdul Bari Khan is the Chief Executive Officer of Indus Health Network (IHN) where he aims to make IHN the largest healthcare institution of Pakistan. Dr Khan was contacted by the management of the then Islamic Mission Trust to manage a hospital in Korangi in 2004. After joining hands with them in 2007, he embarked upon the establishment of The Indus Hospital (TIH). TIH has now evolved into IHN.

Dr Leong Hoe Nam

Infectious Disease Specialist, Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Singapore

Dr Leong’s clinical interest is in the treatment of complex infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV and surgical complications, especially for transplant patients and patients with multi-drug resistant organisms. He has first-hand experience in managing outbreak situations, including SARS and the H1N1 pandemic infection. He has also published several research papers on virology.

Dr Ning Zhou

Associate Professor, Cardiology, Tong Ji Hospital, Wuhan, China

Prior to working at Tong Ji Hospital, Dr Zhou was a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Chicago and Loma Linda University, USA from 2013 to 2016. Dr Zhou is a specialist in the field of electrophysiology and critical cardiovascular disease. He has published over 20 papers and has served as an editorial board member of many journals.

Prof Nguyen Lan Hieu

Cardiologist and Hospital Director, Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam

Prof Nguyen has authored several books and articles on cardiology. He also published the 2010 Guidelines of the Vietnam Heart Association, when he was a Secretary Member of the Vietnam Heart Association.

Chris Hardesty

Director, Life Sciences, KPMG, Singapore

Based in Singapore, Chris is a director under KPMG’s Global Healthcare & Life Sciences Centre of Excellence where he looks after developments in the Asia-Pacific region and shares best practices across all geographies. Prior to being in Singapore, his postings have included Europe, US, and Brazil. Chris sits on the global health council for World Economic Forum.

Dr Dominic Dwyer

Medical Virologist and Director, New South Wales Health Pathology, Australia

Dr Dwyer is a member of the WHO Global Outbreak Alert Response Network (GOARN), and the Sydney Institute for Emerging Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity at Sydney University. He assists State and National governments in planning for pandemic influenza and emerging infections.

Dr Aryati

Chairperson, Society of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indonesia

Prior to her current appointment, Prof. Dr Aryati was the Head of Clinical Pathology at the Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah (RSUD) Dr Soetomo as well as the Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Specialists.