The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role of law in preparing for and responding to health emergencies. It has tested the capacity of domestic legal frameworks and revealed the shortcomings and opportunities for strengthening in all countries across the Western Pacific Region. There is a unique opportunity to identify lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and harness the attention on legal frameworks for health emergencies to strengthen legal preparedness and response for the future and contribute to broader health system strengthening in the process.
The Forum on COVID-19 and Law is a WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific event, hosted with the support of the University of Melbourne. It will bring together partners and experts at a regional and country level to share experiences and discuss future actions and directions for strengthening legal preparedness and response in the Region.
Program
The conference will take place on 3-4 November, 2021
Manila time - GMT+8: 9:00am-1:00pm
Melbourne time - GMT+11: 12:00pm-4:00pm
Program Overview
Speakers
- Professor Nancy Baxter
Head of School, Melbourne School of Population & Global Health, The University of Melbourne
- Ms Mandy Charlton
Director, Border Health Section, Australian Government Department of Health
- Fernandez Gonzalez-Martin
IHR Secretariat, WHO HQ
- Dr Genevieve Howse
Coordinator, Legislation and Governance, Health Law and Ethics Team, World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific
- Hayley Jones
Director, McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer (WHO Collaborating Centre on Law and Noncommunicable Disease)
- Dr Bal Kama
Lawyer, Australian National University and Environmental Defenders Office; Visiting Fellow, Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National University
- Associate Professor Jonathan Liberman
Associate Professor in Law and Global Health, University of Melbourne
- Ben Lilley
Technical Officer, Legislation and Regulation, Health Law and Ethics team, World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific
- Dr Tamano Matsui
WHO Health Emergencies Programme, WPRO
- Dr Nguyen Khanh Phuong
Vice-Director, Health Strategy and Policy Institute, Ministry of Health, Vietnam
- Professor Pip Nicholson
Dean, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne
- Dr Koam Sinoun
Deputy Director, Legislation Department, Ministry of Health (KHM)
- Associate Professor Mark Taylor
Associate Professor in Health Law and Regulation, Melbourne Law School; Director, HeLEX, University of Melbourne
- Dr Pura Angela (Peewee) Wee Co
Country Manager (Philippines), ThinkWell
- Mr Bob Williams
Secretary of Health Cook Islands
- Tan Sze Yao
Director (Legal), Ministry of Health, Singapore
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Session 1: Opening Session
Session 2: Role of Public Health and Health Emergency Laws During COVID-19 and Opportunities for Strengthening
Session 3: Use of Digital Technologies in the COVID-19 Response
Session 4: Engaging the Whole of the Health System in the COVID-19 Response to Meet Surging Demand
Session 5: Building and Mobilising Legal Capacity for the COVID-19 Response and for Legal Preparedness Beyond COVID-19
Session 6: Wrapping Up, and Where to from Here