The 14th Asia Pacific Conference for Disaster Medicine (2018/10/16-18)
Topics: Building Bridges for Disaster Preparedness and Response
Venue: Hotel Maiko Villa (Kobe, JAPAN)

In the 14th Asia Pacific Conference for Disaster Medicine (APCDM), Professor Shinichi Egawa ofIRIDeS, made a lecture in the WKC Forum and Expert Round Table Discussion. APCDM started
30 years ago to promote the emergency, trauma and humanitarian medicine. The biannual
congress counted 14th this year under Congress President, Dr. Shinichi Nakayama in Hyogo
Emergency Medical Center. The delegates are experts in disaster medicine, researchers,responders and international stakeholders including World Health Organization (WHO) andgovernmental health sectors. The total delegates were 522 from 35 countries.
WKC Forum was organized by WHO Research Centre for Health Development (WHO Kobe
Centre: WKC) in collaboration with APCDM. The thematic title of the WKC Forum was “GlobalAction for Scientific Evidence Improvement in Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management–Expected Contribution from Asia and Pacific Region-”. The first day symposium and the second
day round table discussion were aiming at promotion of evidence making and usage in the complexfield of disaster medicine.
The WKC Symposium had three parts. The fist part was Keynote Lectures on the current situationof disaster medicine including WHO initiatives for management of disaster risk and healthemergencies, the importance of disaster medical research, medical information management inemergency medical team (EMT) and the standardization of disaster medical response in ASEAN
countries (ARCH Project). The second part was on the key areas of research including capacity
building of DMAT, DPAT, DHEAT and the Global Centre for Disaster Statistics in Tohoku University.
The third part focused on the mental health support after disaster including the mental healthresponse system in Japan, public health approach in Canada, the role of nurse and public healthnurse in disaster, the mental health support in ARCH Project.
Prof. Egawa presented the Global Centre for Disaster Statistics by the collaboration of nationalgovernments, United Nations Development Programme, Fujitsu and Tohoku University (IRIDeS).
Prof. Egawa indicated the strong correlation between the life expectancy of country and theINFORM disaster risk index. Life expectancy is a total indicator and achievement of healthpromotion in the country and its correlation with disaster risk supports the concept “healthy society
is resilient against disaster.” The symposium was very fruitful with multidirectional inputs fromexperts.
On the second day, the symposium member and additional delegates from ARCH Project
members and WHO Western Pacific and South Asia regional offices conformed a round tablediscussion. During the pre-meeting, the member discussed the purpose and product of the session
and decided to take World Café style. Each group of the five topics has Café Master and Rapporteur.
The guests and general audience other than Master and Rapporteur discuss in a relax mode likeCafé. The guests should move to another Café so that new wave of discussion will be possible.
The five topics are:
1) Health data management after natural disasters and extreme events.
2) Psychosocial management following disasters and extreme events.
3) Disaster response and disaster risk literacy.
4) Health workforce development for disaster risk management
5) Research methods and ethics
Five groups of people discussed in a large room of round table very actively. After the twosessions of discussion, each Rapporteur presented the discussion and the round table discussion
has agreed to collaborate together for better evidences and promotion of research. This is a rareopportunity as an academic congress, but because of all-hazard and multi-disciplinary nature ofdisaster medicine.
Reported by Shinichi Egawa (Disaster Medical Science Research Division)(continues to the next page)APCDM is an important opportunity for young responders and researchers. Many presentation
was actively discussed in both oral and poster sessions. Investigators, industries and governmentalorganizations are also trying to apply cutting edge technologies in disaster. City of Sendai isplanning to launch autonomic drone for the immediate flying over the possible tsunami inundation
area after alert to promote evacuation and to facilitate damage surveillance within a few years.
Several investigators reported drone application in disaster medicine and insisted the importanceof consensus formation at the launching and management of drone in disaster response.
The next 15th APCDM will be in Shang Hai, 2020. Asia Pacific region is sharing various disasters
in common and the promotion of disaster medicine and collaboration with other sectors arewarranted.

Symposium and Round Table discussantsJonathan Abrahams lectures on WHO
initiatives in disaster risk management

Sarah Barber, Director of WHO Kobe Centre

World Café discussion on five topics
in disaster medicine

Rapporteur summarizes the discussion andpresented in plenary