Topic:
Country: Belgium
Delegate Name: Vivienne Grzelak
Delegate: Viv Grzelak
School: Williamston High School
Country: Belgium
Committee: WHO
Topic: Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention
When it came to pandemic preparedness in Belgium, things went pretty well. With the 5th best healthcare in Europe, Belgium implemented a series of measures to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. When observing Flanders, Belgium (the Flemish, Dutch speaking, Northern region of Belgium) the main groups most susceptible to a pandemic were the elderly and the uneducated. In 2009 during the Influenza pandemic in Belgium only 141 out of 100000 residents went to the doctors to get a consultation for Influenza. Compared to other countries the mortality rate of this Pandemic was only 3% of the population, no more than the yearly average.
A major help when dealing with the recent COVID-19, Coronavirus, pandemic was having an extremely good healthcare system. Belgium spends the most money on healthcare in the European Union. Spending so much on healthcare and being the home base of the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance gives us many ways of communication with other countries to see how they were also dealing with the pandemic.
Although Belgium did significantly better than most nations when it came to COVID preparedness, especially because of its links to the EU and NATO. Belgium’s close connection with several European countries has made it so that Belgium was able to make several good connections with other European nations and nations overseas.
He, R., Zhang, J., Mao, Y., Degomme, O., & Zhang, W.-H. (2020, October 30). Preparedness and responses faced during the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium: An observational study and using the National Open Data. MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/21/7985
Guerrisi, C., Thomas, B., Diez, A. O., Cauteren, D. V., Alonso, J. E. L., Moreels, S., Falchi, A., Alonso, T. V., Bonmarin, I., Raude, J., Vilcu, A. M., Hanslik, T., Debin, M., Rossignol, L., Colizza, V., Souty, C., & Blanchon, T. (2022, January 23). Initial risk perception and feeling of preparedness of primary care physicians regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium, France and Spain in February 2020 – BMC primary care. BioMed Central. https://bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-021-01588-5
Niesters, H. G., Miller, E., & Loeb, M. (2011, January 7). Hospital preparedness and clinical description of the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in a Belgian Tertiary Hospital. Journal of Hospital Infection. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195670110004524
Mortelmans, L. J. M., Cauwer, H. G. D., Dyck, E. V., Monballyu, P., Giel, R. V., & Turnhout, E. V. (2012, June 28). Are Belgian senior medical students ready to deliver basic medical care in case of a H5N1 pandemic?: Prehospital and disaster medicine. Cambridge Core. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/prehospital-and-disaster-medicine/article/abs/are-belgian-senior-medical-students-ready-to-deliver-basic-medical-care-in-case-of-a-h5n1-pandemic/629C64BEDBA79B92CD0E369D18B3B9E2
Nguyen, T., Ronse, M., Kiekens, A., Thyssen, P., Nova Blanco, J. R., Van den Cruyce, N., Craps, M., & Vandamme, A. ‐M. (2022, April 1). Learning for the future: A case study of transdisciplinary collaboration to improve pandemic preparedness. Latest TOC RSS. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/leuven/ti/2022/00000005/00000002/art00003
De Coninck, D., d’Haenens, L., & Matthijs, K. (2020, July 1). Perceived vulnerability to disease and attitudes towards public health measures: Covid-19 in Flanders, Belgium. Perceived vulnerability to disease and attitudes towards public health measures: COVID-19 in Flanders, Belgium. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886920304098
Nicoll, A. (2010, December). Pandemic risk prevention in European countries: Role of the ECDC in preparing for pandemics. development and experience with a national self-assessment procedure, 2005-2008. Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7079977/
“Numbers.” Sciensano.Be, www.sciensano.be/en/node/464
“What Are the Current Measures?” What Are the Current Measures? | Coronavirus COVID-19, www.info-coronavirus.be/en/faq/
“Uitbraak Coronavirus COVID-19.” Uitbraak COVID-19, www.zorg-en-gezondheid.be/per-domein/infectieziekten-en-vaccinaties/coronavirus/uitbraak-coronavirus-covid-19
Ostbelgien Live – Coronavirus, ostbelgienlive.be/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-6711/
“Belgium: Health System Summary | European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.” World Health Organization, eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/belgium-health-system-summary
“Belgium COVID.” Worldometer, www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/belgium/
