On 3 September 2021, experts discussed medical aid during emergencies in the SCO countries at the SCO Secretariat at a China-initiated webinar.
The webinar was organised under the Action Plan for implementing the Intergovernmental SCO Agreement on Emergency Relief Cooperation in 2021-2021.
The main goal of the event was to exchange information between emergencies ministries, the experience of search-and-rescue operations and best practices on preventing and containing the spread of the pandemic.
The webinar was attended by representatives of the emergencies ministries and emergency medical care centres of the SCO countries, SCO observer nations and dialogue partners. SCO Deputy Secretary-General Yerik Ashimov spoke at the opening of the webinar on behalf of the Secretariat.
He described the results of 20 years of cooperation in the SCO, including joint efforts to eliminate the threats caused by natural and human-made disasters and the prompt response to public health emergencies.
Mr Ashimov spoke in detail about the results of implementing the 2005 agreement on emergency relief cooperation, the international exercises of the rescue services of the SCO countries, and cooperation between them in disaster medicine during the global spread of the coronavirus infection.
He talked about the need to further develop cooperation and implement comprehensive measures aimed at ensuring readiness to counter the threats of infectious diseases and the prompt response to natural and human-made disasters. In this context, he emphasised the importance of building direct cooperation between research and medical centres, conducting joint R&D, organising exercises on responding to outbreaks of cross-border epidemics of infectious diseases, creating joint mobile groups or rapid response units in the face of emergencies, using new technology in emergency prevention and relief, establishing a humanitarian assistance fund, training professionals, and promoting vast international cooperation.
In conclusion, the participants agreed to conduct webinars on exchanging experience in organising rescue operations during emergencies, as well as best practices in providing emergency medical aid in countering epidemics.