Aung Thura Htoo

Hello Cing, it is a strength to understand what others are feeling without any judgement. Since you are an introvert, it is understandable that it would take you much effort to express outward empathy. Yes, I agree with your action plan like listening to music, and playing your favorite games can get you through those emotional turnmoil. I also…[Read more]

Hello Tanaphum, thank you for sharing your points in emotional intelligence along with action plan. I agree with you that finding joy in small things in one’s life is a major strength as well. Additionally, I am also the kind of person who do not think too much about what other people think of me, however, we need to balance logics with empathy so…[Read more]

Hello Aye, I agree with your views on the areas of improvement for Myanmar. The trust in authorities has been a sharp decline since the coup. Additionally, consequences spun from the coup has led to collapse of many reform programs and digitalization and innovation of healthcare system. I do hope so that we could rebuild it in a foreseeable time.

Hello Tanaphum, digitalization of patient’s health record has been a difficult one in most countries, due to lack of supportive healthcare techno-infrastructure. However, with support from government and private sectors, we could envision a scenario where our healthcare sectors use paperless and digitalized health records.

Hello Wannisa, yes, ensuring personal data protectin act are simple and easy to understand for everyone is a good start for improving trust and transparency. Additionally, I agree with you that no matter how advanced the technology is, there is still a need to improve the digital literacy so that digital equity can be achieved. You have provided a…[Read more]

Thanks, Wannisa, for highlighting the need of robust assessment before declaring it as PEHIC. I agree with your suggestion.

Hello Tanaphum, yes, any disease can evolve into a PHEIC. Like you mentioned, it depends on how it spreads, and how it affects the public. Additionally, factors like climate change and globalization has made it a more additive factor to some diseases being more infectious and impactful.

Hello Wannisa, yes, I agree with you in this case that the viruses that are frozen in the permafrost of the arctic and antarctic areas should be a potential to cause PEHIC. Global warming is thawing away the ice-berg in those areas, posing a serious threat to the public. It is also true that the nature and mechanism of those viruses would be…[Read more]

Hello Aye, yes, it is fair to say that HIV should be classified as PHEIC for its serious impact on the public health, and its international spread. However, like Wannisa mentioned above, it is not unexpected at this moment. However, like you said, if the highly infectious and more virulent strain of the disease emerges, it would meet the criteria…[Read more]

After listening to both leaders addressing their nations regarding their actions and information related to COVID-19, it is fair to say that Lee Hsien Loong had met all the six principles recommended by CERC.
Firstly, he directly addressed his nation just after two weeks of COVID-19 outbreaks in Singapore and clearly specify where they were and…[Read more]

To be honest, I am the type of person who needs more actions on improving my emotional intelligence (EQ) as whole career was based on learning science subjects and drawing insights from numbers. Though I need actions on my emotional intelligence. There is one area that I have strength in terms of EQ.

Self-Regulation: It is my strongest component…[Read more]

Hello Cing, I agree with you that the surveillance system by Korea is still limited in its usefulness. As you have mentioned, we could integrate the system with other sectors to enhance its usefulness like monitoring and evaluation of the transition of acute to chronic cases.

Hello Aye, yes, duplicate reporting and misreporting are major challenges in this surveillance system of Korea. As you suggested, providing health education along with guidelines and protocols could improve its effectiveness. Additionally, integration of this surveillance system with other technologies in health fields like labs would be a great…[Read more]

Hello Wannisa, thank you for providing two major gaps along with possible solutions. Among them, having an automated data checks with alerts can reduce the mis-reporting but we also need to consider about alert fatigue as well. Additionally, yes, interoperability is still a major issue in this case, and using HL7-FHIR compliant EHR system along…[Read more]

Hello Wannisa, thank you for highlighting the specific tools and systems for the steps of outbreak investigation. Like you mentioned, electronic surveillance system, databases management system, and statistic software and mass media are important examples of the usage of IT in outbreak investigation.

Hello Tanaphum, yes, IT has enhanced the way we described the outbreaks (patients, locations and time) by making more efficient in the way we collect and organize data. Besides, it enhances not only by making it easier but also more accurate and timely.

Hello Aye, I agree with you that IT can enhance various aspects of outbreak investigation. Like you mentioned above, IT can assist in timely data collection and communication across different rapid response team, and enhance the process of data analysis, resulting in earlier detection and rapid response.

Areas for improvements in Myanmar for future global health security during pandemics, using digital health:

Team: It is one of the challenging themes for the country. Due to decades of conflicts and political instability, the collaboration between different stakeholders were literally non-existent across the different regions. The flow of data…[Read more]

There are eight PEHIC declarations from 2005 to 2024.
1. H1N1 (Swine Flu) pandemic – 2009-2010
2. Polio – since 2014
3. Ebola in Western Africa – 2013-2016
4. Zika Epidemic – 2015-2016
5. Kivu Ebola epidemic – 2018-2020
6. COVID-19 pandemic – 2020-2023
7. Clade II Mpox outbreaks – 2022-2023
8. Clade I Mpox outbreaks – 2024 – p…[Read more]

Hello Aye, yes, we always use data visualization tools for better understanding of the data and comprehension of the information and insights, however, we usually forget their roles and significance. Thank you for highlighting the importance of those tools in outbreak monitoring and disease surveillance. They are the tools that can be tailored to…[Read more]