The 8th Asia Pacific Emergency and Disaster Nursing Network (APEDNN) meeting was held at WHU from 25th to 27th , November. Over one hundred emergency and disaster nursing experts from China, Japan, Philippines and etc. gathered to probe into building the capacity for post-disaster response.
As Youmei Feng, Executive President of WHU, said in her welcoming speech, disasters happen so frequently in the Asia-Pacific region that it appears to be particularly important to conduct disaster rescues. Since the Wenchuan earthquake occurring in 2008, there have been more than 1.6 billion people in western Pacific and Southeast Asia affected by emergency situations as well as disasters, which include epidemics, accidental injuries, earthquakes, storms, tsunamis, floods, droughts and other natural and man-made catastrophes. From 2012 to 2013, the floods in Philippines, the droughts in India, the earthquakes in Indonesia and Sichuan province, the spread of the H7N9 epidemic and the collapse of buildings in Bangladesh have caused huge damage to the entire western Pacific and Southeast Asian area. Due to the insufficient preparations and training of the medical staff, in particular that of nurses, some countries fail to respond properly to various often occurring disasters. The Asia and Pacific Emergency and Disaster Nursing Network was established in 2007 to improve the capacity of medical care, to reduce the harm caused by emergencies and disasters to communities. The network has already become the leader in the western Pacific and Southeast Asian area in what regards disaster and emergency nursing.
As reported, Dr Judith Shamian, president of the International Council of Nurses, gave a keynote speech on the theme of "Who will care for me Post Disaster? Policy to Action”. Dr Judith said, “Nightingale was the image of nurses saving lives in wartime, while these days, in the era of peace, nurses are not only images of professionals walking from ward to ward as the public thinks. It is also a group of dedicated people running around in ambulances, visiting earthquake affected areas, offering medical assistance in mines and on maritime rescue vessels”.
Dr. Li Zong Hao, Deputy General of China Association for Disaster and Emergency Rescue Medicine, expressed great hope in the important role ADPNN would play, believing the network would promote deep multilateral cooperation among universities and international organizations in the Asia-Pacific region in what concerns emergency and disaster nursing.
The major issues of the conference covered current nursing disaster research in this region, the post disaster construction, regional readiness, global solidarity as well as the role of APEDNN in disaster preparation and response. The meeting was hosted by the Asia Pacific Emergency and Disaster Nursing Network and organized by the HOPE Nursing School of WHU in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the University of Manila.
（Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-11/25/c_1113401804.htm）
(Edited by Sijia Hu & Diana)
