Israel-Shanghai Collaboration in Health Emergency Management

Ben Gurion University (BGU) is leading a unique workshop on emergency preparedness and response for Chinese senior officials from Shanghai.  The workshop is designed to achieve two major goals.  The first is to promote the policy initiated by the Israeli government to enhance relations between Israel and China.  The second is the firm belief that global disaster management can be best attained through collaboration and cooperation between all countries. BGU’s PREPARED Center for Emergency Response Research has specialized in the last few years in creating and disseminating knowledge and research in the field of disaster management and has been recognized as a center of excellence in this field, both locally and globally. Between August 31 and September 19, twenty professionals from the Office for Health Emergency Management of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, led by the director of the Office, will participate in a unique workshop designed by BGU’s Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Emergency Medicine in collaboration with MASHAV, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health.  During the three weeks of the course, the participants will be exposed to cutting-edge knowledge in disaster management. They will participate in lectures presented by leading Israeli professionals and will visit many relevant agencies, including first responders such as Magen David Adom, hospitals, the Home Front Command and many others.  This workshop is the first of several such workshops planned for Chinese officials at BGU in the upcoming years.