Good Health and Decent Work for Sustainable Development: 

Reshaping Infectious Disease Control and the Future of Work

14~16 November 2022                                               Jeju, Republic of Korea

14 ~ 16 November 2022

14:30 ~ 17:30 (Seoul Time)

Organized by

United Nations Institute for Training and Research(UNITAR) CIFAL Jeju/JITC

KNTA STOP-TB Partnership KOREA

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a significant loss of human life around the globe and poses a significant threat to public health and the world of work, not to mention the economic and social disruption. The pandemic has left tens of millions of people at risk of falling into extreme poverty while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year.[1] In particular, the impact on the activities of HTM(HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria) prevention and treatment has been devastating and far-reaching, putting vulnerable people further at risk.[2] This threatens fundamental human rights, such as the right to life, health, well-being, safe work as well as the protection of the most marginalized groups.

Given that vulnerable people are highly exposed to the pandemic impacts along with the existing inequalities, it is critical to place a greater focus on equity, resilience, and sustainability while taking action to build more inclusive and sustainable systems to deliver health and well-being. In particular, the disproportionate impact of the crisis is quite significant in certain population groups and workers in specific sectors: women who have suffered from disproportionate job and income losses, youth who have a hard time with education, training and employment, those in the informal economy who have no access to social protection, and workers in the service industry and manufacturing, many of whom are migrant workers.[3]

In addition to the unequal impacts of the crisis in the world of work, the global community is faced with the unprecedented challenge in achieving more equitable health for all. In 2020, for the first time in history, key programmatic outcomes in the fight against infectious diseases declined in particular across all three terrible epidemics: HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (HTM). Tuberculosis(TB), the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, ranking above HIV, is generally curable and preventable with a 6-month drug regimen. However, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people have died from TB with much fewer people being diagnosed and treated or provided with the preventive treatment and overall spending on essential TB services falling.[4]

To get back on track against these life-threatening diseases and move towards more equitable, resilient, and sustainable world for all, we must address structural barriers, leverage innovations, and build inclusive systems not to be knocked off course from the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). With this sense of urgency in mind, UNITAR CIFAL Jeju and STOP-TB Partnership KOREA co-organize a three-day training workshop. The event will facilitate deeper understanding of a human-centered approach for good health and well-being, explore the needs of the most vulnerable and hardest hit by the pandemic, and put more focus on catalytic, people-centered investments that promote faster progress in efforts to end infectious diseases as public health threats. The participants will be able to have a closer look at challenges and opportunities in the two main contexts: good health and well-being, and labor market policy/recovery for ensuring decent work. Different learning opportunities including a series of expert lectures, panel discussion, and knowledge sharing session will be provided for the participants to rethink infectious disease control and the changing world of work in the pandemic context and beyond.

Event Objectives

ž  To provide a platform for sharing good practices and lessons learned on the pathways to equitable, resilient, and sustainable world for all

ž  To explore what people-centered investments are and how to leverage them along with innovative technologies to tackle the challenges in ensuring good health and well-being

ž  To gain insight into how to implement recovery strategies that ensure decent work and support the needs of the most vulnerable and hardest hit by the pandemic

ž  To apprehend the impact of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, tuberculosis on the economic productivity of a community, nation, and the world, as well as individuals, and to recognize the urgency of active prevention and control of such diseases.

Expected outcomes

ž  Better understanding of what a human-centered approach for good health and well-being is

ž  Sharing different experiences in challenges and opportunities in the context of good health and the changing world of work during the pandemic and beyond

ž  Getting familiar with strategies and tools that can be adapted to the contexts and needs of each locality for health and labor market policies

ž  Adapting gained knowledge and experience to the contexts of infectious diseases: understanding a patient-centered approach, sharing different challenges and opportunities, and getting familiar with strategies and tools that can be adapted to the local contexts and needs of each site in the prevention and control of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, as well as COVID-19.

Target Audience

This training is mainly open to those from different sectors in the Asia Pacific region – governments, NGOs, CSOs and Private Sector, who have been engaged in the area of social inclusion in line with SDG 3 – Good health and well-being, and SDG 8 Decent work and economic growth. The third session, however, is a working-level workshop on infectious diseases, especially tuberculosis; it requires staff at clinics and other medical institutions in the Asia Pacific region to be a target audience.

Methodology

The training consists of:

-  expert lecture and Q&A session 

-  panel discussion

* For detailed information on the program, please download and see the attached agenda above.

Venue

Online + Offline(Jeju-do, Republic of Korea)

Registration

-   Register by November 10, 2022 (Thursday) through the following link: https://bit.ly/3rWpQbw

E-Certificate

ž  E-Certificate of Participation will be jointly issued by UNITAR, UNITAR CIFAL Jeju and KNTA STOP-TB Partnership KOREA.

Contact

Ms. Sunhee Cho, Senior Program Officer/UNITAR CIFAL Jeju

E-mail:cifaljeju.jitc.1@gmail.com

Ms. Sumin Shim, Global TB Program Officer/STOP-TB Partnership KOREA

E-mail: asiya0427@gmail.com