In this webinar, senior staff of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) discuss measures taken to prevent the spread of the virus, the economic effect of COVID-19 in developing countries, how to prepare the health care system for the pandemic, care for those infected, and the need for humanitarian assistance among food-insecure populations.

Insights into the pandemic included a demand for long-term planning -- as the pandemic was not likely to “go away soon”; COVID-19’s “multi-dimensional” impact, which extended to the economy and was harshly felt by daily wage earners; the need for health system strengthening measures; and the way the pandemic worsens the problems encountered in a war-torn country such as Syria.

Moderated by former CNN-anchor Zain Verjee, the webinar included Dr. Najmuddin Najm, the Aga Khan Foundation’s CEO in Afghanistan, Dr. Maher Aboumayaleh, the CEO for the Aga Khan Health Services in Syria; Dr. Asim Belgaumi, the Chief Medical Officer at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan; Dr. Zeenat Sulaiman Khan, the Global Head of Nursing and Quality Coordinator for the Aga Khan Health Services in Pakistan; and Hadi Husani, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat’s CEO in Central Asia based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.