Webinar to launch the report on Social Infrastructure for Health and Consumer Protection in Times of COVID-19 and Beyond

Since 2020, as part of the COVID-19 Response project and within the social protection stream of the Social Protection Project led by ESCWA and UNECA, the Competition and Consumer Protection Policies Branch of UNCTAD has been engaged in discussing with representatives from Consumer Protection Agencies and Ministries of Health how consumer protection policies can support digital health during COVID19 and for the post-crisis recovery.
 
First, UNCTAD drafted a report on the interlinkage between consumer and social protection with digital health (or e-health). Recommendations of this report were disseminated at regional dialogues held in collaboration with Regional Economic Commissions and WHO Regional Offices between April and July 2021. 
UNCTAD held 5 (five) Regional Policy Dialogues in partnership with WHO regional offices. The regional dialogues brought together more than 1000 representatives of Ministries of Health and Consumer Protection authorities to discuss how consumer protection can support the provision of health services especially e-health in the wake of COVID-19. 

Based on the feedback from Phase I & II of the project, UNCTAD commissioned the report “Social Infrastructure for Health & Consumer Protection in times of COVID-19 and beyond”. This event aims to showcase the report’s most important findings and present Member States with the learned lessons during the regional gatherings and offer avenues for reform in several areas that will facilitate the provision of healthcare and its extension to all the populations in need.