PROJECTS
Regional Solutions for COVID-19 Response and Vaccine Delivery in Selected Developing Member Countries
Overview
In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, knowledge sharing, innovation, and collaboration are key. That’s why the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is leveraging regional cooperation mechanisms and knowledge-sharing platforms to ease the exchange of ideas and experiences on responding to the pandemic. ADB approved Regional Solutions for COVID-19 Response and Vaccine Delivery in Selected Developing Member Countries in December 2020 to tackle the unique challenges posed by the pandemic.
The project had three objectives: first, to document the pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical responses of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to COVID-19; second, to generate and disseminate knowledge products; and third, to strengthen knowledge networks.
From August 2021 to August 2022, the project drew extensively from the PRC’s experiences in managing its COVID-19 response. The PRC’s approach offers a wealth of insights and lessons that can be shared with other developing member countries. Thanks to the project’s innovative and collaborative efforts, we can look forward to a more coordinated and effective response to COVID-19 across the region.
Briefs, Blogs, Interviews and Podcasts
The project produced knowledge we hope will be useful to anyone with an interest in health and development.
The good practice briefs dive deep into the key ingredients that drove the PRC’s COVID-19 response beyond the pharmaceutical approach. Discover how effective risk communication, community engagement, and a well-calibrated multimedia vaccine education campaign overcame vaccine resistance and paved the way for a coordinated response.
The blog posts highlight the adaptive and innovative responses that helped control the pandemic. From vaccination buses that reached people who couldn’t access vaccination centers, to fangcang hospitals that provided vital care to thousands of people with mild to moderate COVID-19, we show the inspiring initiatives that eased the burden on general hospitals. And don’t miss our coverage of the modifications to existing hospital-based tuberculosis (TB) services that maintained the continuity of essential TB care during the pandemic.
The interviews with health frontliners are a powerful testament to their bravery and resilience in the face of immense challenges. Discover their personal stories and reflections, learn how they overcame physical and emotional exhaustion to carry on, and uncover the valuable lessons they’ve learned to be more prepared for future pandemics.
Finally, our podcast explores the experiences of health workers on the frontlines of the pandemic and of an ADB staff member and her family living in Beijing during the pandemic.
The project’s knowledge products are a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and sharing of ideas in the fight against COVID-19.
ADB is grateful to the following for their hard work in producing the contents of this project page: Najibullah Habib, Project Lead and Senior Health Specialist, East Asia Department (EARD); Dr. Xuefeng Zhong, Public Health Specialist (Consultant); Dr. Lin Li, Researcher and Translator (Consultant); Marzia Mongiorgi-Lorenzo, Principal Economist, EARD; Pedrito dela Cruz, Technical Assistance Coordinator (Consultant); Muriel Ordoñez, Writer and Editor (Consultant); and Jerald Acosta, Multimedia Consultant.
ADB is especially thankful to the health-care workers who took the time to share their stories, harrowing yet inspiring, of fighting on the frontline against the pandemic. Dr. Lianzhi Zhang, who retired from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Anhui Province was unstinting in her help to coordinate the interviews with frontliners at the Wuzhong health service centers.
Briefs and East Asia Blog Series
Frontline Stories
Navigating the Pandemic
When COVID-19 was new and not yet well understood, health-care workers in the PRC underwent strict training to prevent infection. Some were veterans of the battle against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which had spread in 2003, and knew the protocols and how to use personal protective equipment (PPE). Others were facing their first pandemic. Some had no PPE because supplies were low. In Wuhan City, Hubei Province, the pandemic’s ground zero, many local health workers had been infected by COVID-19… Read more.
Health Workers Share Their Experiences
COVID-19 swept across the world in early 2020, upending economies and bringing misery to millions. By 2022, the disease had started waning, if unevenly. In many countries, people started going about their business unmasked; in others, they kept their masks on and their distance from each other… Read more.
