Scientific event

Like a gigantic global earthquake, the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world and laid bare the weaknesses in our health, economic, and social systems. Algeria was not spared. Indeed, while in some respects the current epidemic resembles the experience of epidemics in general, particularly in its mode of transmission from person to person through the air or by contact, it differs in at least three main parameters that define its specificity and determine its consequences. The first is the absence of a known and effective chemical antidote (medicine or vaccine). This parameter starkly highlights the importance of "extra-sanitary" measures (known as barrier measures) in preserving health, and the role of public authorities, whose duty it is to adopt and enforce these measures. More generally, it underscores the role of health promotion and the necessary multisectoral nature of public health policies. The second is its geographical scope: unlike "classic" epidemics, it affects the entire world (pandemic). The third is its duration: it is a prolonged epidemic, which began in late February in our country and is still ongoing as we write. The pandemic struck the country just as it was emerging from a series of crises, with a healthcare sector rendered vulnerable and inefficient over the years and through repeated crises. The Covid-19 epidemic will generate additional shortcomings inherent to the disease and experienced by most countries. We propose to provide a brief overview of this shifting "tectonics" and the reconfigurations it could bring about, particularly in the area of ​​healthcare. Press release from the seminar